Welp, Andrea has twisted my arm and suckered me into another race.
;)
I will be part of a relay team with other Team Drea people for the City of Oaks Marathon on November 1. According to Andrea, I'll be doing a 5.3-ish-mile section of the course. Andrea will be doing the whole thing on her trike!!
I haven't been running much at all since I finished my Ninja Challenge race back in early May. I still meet with my trainer twice a week, and she sometimes has me do some circuits with short runs or running drills (especially lately since I am having some shoulder drama and can't do much upper body work). I kept going back and forth, trying to decide if I really wanted to continue running on a consistent basis. It really is great exercise, but it's hard on my legs... and no, I never got to a point where I enjoyed doing it. I'm just not a runner. But I still want to lose some more weight, and I want to support Andrea and Team Drea... so I'll do it for a little bit longer :)
And so, let the training re-begin...
Friday, July 24, 2015
Saturday, May 9, 2015
I am sorta ninja.
I am finished. With my first real race ever. And a freaking ninja obstacle race at that. What a crazy experience.
I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. I had eggs, bacon, a banana, and coffee for breakfast. I drank water, took preemptive Aleve, and took a multivitamin for good measure. I left a little later than I wanted to, but I had plenty of time. It was a 40-minute drive, which was just long enough to get myself totally freaked out on the way. Note to self: next time, make someone drive you to your damn race and play some good music on the way.
I parked, and as I walked up, the first person I saw was my mom. I was so glad to see her and my dad. I turned in my waivers and then hung out to wait for my start time. Some awesome folks trickled in to see me off - my coworkers Rich and Delia, fellow Team Drea challengers Julie and Linda (who had awesome signs!), my personal trainer Alexis with one of her clients, and Andrea's wonderful parents who were all suited up in Team Drea attire (crazy socks and all). I felt really loved. And really freaking nervous. But I was there for Andrea. We were all there for Andrea!
It got to be 9:25, so I went to the start line and met up with part of my team - Emily, Scott, and Robin. A few other team members came a bit late, so we missed starting with them :(
It hit 9:30 and off we went. We ran for a little bit and then got to the first obstacle: low-strung ropes we had to crawl under. My bib was on my back and kept catching the ropes, and then while I was crawling, I noticed that the barrels holding the ropes had signs from the company where my dad worked for 35 years. Funny! Got through that with no problem and thought to myself, "okay. I can do this race." Well played, Ninja Challenge. That was one of the easiest obstacles, of course.
I jogged, jumped over big tires, climbed over walls, jogged some more... And at some point, I looked around and didn't see my team. They must've ended up behind me because I'm sure I would've noticed if they were ahead of me. Sorry about that guys! I'm such a space cadet sometimes.
I couldn't tell you what all the obstacles were. But I do remember coming up on the monkey bars. I rocked those things as a kid, so I was a little cocky. Ha! And sooooo wrongfully so! I tried once, got a few rungs in, and fell. My second try was better, but I fell again and gave up. The bars were at different levels, and I just couldn't hang (har har har). Other people were skipping, and I knew I could try to get across for 30 minutes and wear myself out and still fail, or I could just keep going after a couple of good strong tries. So I did the latter. Failed obstacle #1 of 2.
Then came this slanted wall with ropes. I heard someone yelling my name - it was my trainer Alexis. She said to run up the wall and grab the top of the rope to get all the way over. I scoffed at first, but she convinced me it was the way to go, so I did it that way. Thank goodness! Definitely the way to go. I still struggled to get over the top, but I made it. Then I had to jump down into a giant vat of water. I went all the way under, so I was soaked. Then I had to jump up to get out of the water and then jump down into the mud. I was scared I'd slip and bust my face; I think I might've fallen down, but I got up and kept going.
A few more obstacles later came the vertical rope climb. The ropes had knots, but that shit was HARD. I made it up about halfway before I slipped (I partially blame my wet shoes and legs, but I think it was mostly lack of strength). I fell down and busted my nose on a rope knot on the way down. I checked for blood (there was none), decided I was done with that, and kept going. Failed obstacle #2 of 2.
As I ran off from that stupid obstacle, I heard my heart monitor watch beep. It does that sometimes. But when I looked a few seconds later, it read zero, and then I realized that the chest sensor had popped off of the strap and fallen somewhere. Dang it... but I apparently decided it wasn't worth going back to look for it.
A few obstacles later was the one where you have to run across floating boards in a pond. They move and they sink. I saw my posse (yay!) and my dad and trainer came over to give me pointers - stay in the middle, go fast, and do high knees. I watched the girl in front of me fall in the water and have to swim across. Then it was my turn. I hesitated, but I thought about my friends and family watching me, and I thought to myself, "Be brave!" and I went for it. I focused really hard, and I could feel my arms flailing like a weirdo, but after the 3rd board, I knew I had it. I just kept going and focusing... almost lost it at the end, but safely made it to land. WHEW!!! I cheered for myself (but not as loudly and awesomely as Julie did!) and then kept going.
After a few more obstacles, I saw the finish line area. I came around the corner to the last obstacle. It was one that looked hard but doable. You have to shimmy up between two side walls and make it up and over the back wall. I had to wait a few minutes, so I chatted with Rich and Delia beforehand. I finally got up there, and I started trying to shimmy up, but my back would not slide up the damn wall. It felt like my bib was stuck, but maybe I was just wedged too tight for fear of falling. I knew my posse was there watching me, so that made it worse because I got totally nervous and frustrated. I was using up all my strength just to try to move my back up that damn wall, and I couldn't even budge. I guess I just didn't have the right technique. A magical hand came down from above and a sweet voice said, "Do you need help?" I reached out and said, "Yes, I do need help." I struggled up and up and up and FINALLY got over that freaking wall.
I sat down on the other side and just pouted for what felt like 10 minutes (it was probably like 30 seconds tops). I was just SO done. I finally jumped down off the wall and started running toward the finish line. I wanted to walk so bad, but it was the last little stretch, so of course I had to run. I crossed the finish line and heard a guy say jokingly, "Good job! You're halfway done!" Before I knew what I was doing, I flipped him off with both gloved hands. A few people laughed, and they gave me my medal. I stepped off to the side and cried. I would've been fine (I think?), but that last obstacle just threw me over the edge. I was tired, frustrated, and emotional.
The end was so anticlimactic for me. After that long, arduous journey, I just wanted to cross the finish line and go home. Race time: 1:04:57. My goal was an hour-ish, so yay!
It was really awesome to see my awesome people after I calmed down a bit. And Shelly, Katie, and Kevin came too, which was so great! Then, mostly inspired by Andrea's suggestion, most of us went to brunch at Jus' Enuff in Fuquay. I had a fabulous plate of eggs, bacon, and hash browns.
I wish I had had more energy - there was an AWESOME thrift store next door. I browsed briefly but was just ready to get home. I came home, took a hot bath, and pouted... A LOT. I got over that hump, and now here I am having a cider and some gluten-free cookies.
The race was hard. I did well, but I seem to be focusing a lot on the things I could've done better. I vaguely (if at all) remember the obstacles I finished with ease, but the tough ones stick out very clearly in my mind. There were 19 obstacles. NINETEEN! And I only failed at 2, and the last one made me cry. That is pretty darn good, Carrie. Give yourself some credit. Sheesh. SMH.
Thank you to EVERYONE who has shown me so much emotional support, and to everyone who donated. You all helped me raise over $1,000 for the Blazeman Foundation for ALS research, which is just freaking amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Will I do more races? Meh......
.JPG) .JPG) |
| Thanks for the awesome tattoos, ladies! |
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| So clean and dry! |
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| Andrea's awesome parents :) |
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| Making them smell me! Just kidding, I'm actually trying to show off my tattoos. |
It hit 9:30 and off we went. We ran for a little bit and then got to the first obstacle: low-strung ropes we had to crawl under. My bib was on my back and kept catching the ropes, and then while I was crawling, I noticed that the barrels holding the ropes had signs from the company where my dad worked for 35 years. Funny! Got through that with no problem and thought to myself, "okay. I can do this race." Well played, Ninja Challenge. That was one of the easiest obstacles, of course.
I jogged, jumped over big tires, climbed over walls, jogged some more... And at some point, I looked around and didn't see my team. They must've ended up behind me because I'm sure I would've noticed if they were ahead of me. Sorry about that guys! I'm such a space cadet sometimes.
I couldn't tell you what all the obstacles were. But I do remember coming up on the monkey bars. I rocked those things as a kid, so I was a little cocky. Ha! And sooooo wrongfully so! I tried once, got a few rungs in, and fell. My second try was better, but I fell again and gave up. The bars were at different levels, and I just couldn't hang (har har har). Other people were skipping, and I knew I could try to get across for 30 minutes and wear myself out and still fail, or I could just keep going after a couple of good strong tries. So I did the latter. Failed obstacle #1 of 2.
Then came this slanted wall with ropes. I heard someone yelling my name - it was my trainer Alexis. She said to run up the wall and grab the top of the rope to get all the way over. I scoffed at first, but she convinced me it was the way to go, so I did it that way. Thank goodness! Definitely the way to go. I still struggled to get over the top, but I made it. Then I had to jump down into a giant vat of water. I went all the way under, so I was soaked. Then I had to jump up to get out of the water and then jump down into the mud. I was scared I'd slip and bust my face; I think I might've fallen down, but I got up and kept going.
A few more obstacles later came the vertical rope climb. The ropes had knots, but that shit was HARD. I made it up about halfway before I slipped (I partially blame my wet shoes and legs, but I think it was mostly lack of strength). I fell down and busted my nose on a rope knot on the way down. I checked for blood (there was none), decided I was done with that, and kept going. Failed obstacle #2 of 2.
As I ran off from that stupid obstacle, I heard my heart monitor watch beep. It does that sometimes. But when I looked a few seconds later, it read zero, and then I realized that the chest sensor had popped off of the strap and fallen somewhere. Dang it... but I apparently decided it wasn't worth going back to look for it.
A few obstacles later was the one where you have to run across floating boards in a pond. They move and they sink. I saw my posse (yay!) and my dad and trainer came over to give me pointers - stay in the middle, go fast, and do high knees. I watched the girl in front of me fall in the water and have to swim across. Then it was my turn. I hesitated, but I thought about my friends and family watching me, and I thought to myself, "Be brave!" and I went for it. I focused really hard, and I could feel my arms flailing like a weirdo, but after the 3rd board, I knew I had it. I just kept going and focusing... almost lost it at the end, but safely made it to land. WHEW!!! I cheered for myself (but not as loudly and awesomely as Julie did!) and then kept going.
After a few more obstacles, I saw the finish line area. I came around the corner to the last obstacle. It was one that looked hard but doable. You have to shimmy up between two side walls and make it up and over the back wall. I had to wait a few minutes, so I chatted with Rich and Delia beforehand. I finally got up there, and I started trying to shimmy up, but my back would not slide up the damn wall. It felt like my bib was stuck, but maybe I was just wedged too tight for fear of falling. I knew my posse was there watching me, so that made it worse because I got totally nervous and frustrated. I was using up all my strength just to try to move my back up that damn wall, and I couldn't even budge. I guess I just didn't have the right technique. A magical hand came down from above and a sweet voice said, "Do you need help?" I reached out and said, "Yes, I do need help." I struggled up and up and up and FINALLY got over that freaking wall.
I sat down on the other side and just pouted for what felt like 10 minutes (it was probably like 30 seconds tops). I was just SO done. I finally jumped down off the wall and started running toward the finish line. I wanted to walk so bad, but it was the last little stretch, so of course I had to run. I crossed the finish line and heard a guy say jokingly, "Good job! You're halfway done!" Before I knew what I was doing, I flipped him off with both gloved hands. A few people laughed, and they gave me my medal. I stepped off to the side and cried. I would've been fine (I think?), but that last obstacle just threw me over the edge. I was tired, frustrated, and emotional.
 |
| Over it! |
The end was so anticlimactic for me. After that long, arduous journey, I just wanted to cross the finish line and go home. Race time: 1:04:57. My goal was an hour-ish, so yay!
It was really awesome to see my awesome people after I calmed down a bit. And Shelly, Katie, and Kevin came too, which was so great! Then, mostly inspired by Andrea's suggestion, most of us went to brunch at Jus' Enuff in Fuquay. I had a fabulous plate of eggs, bacon, and hash browns.
 |
| "Friends become our chosen family" - so appropriate! |
I wish I had had more energy - there was an AWESOME thrift store next door. I browsed briefly but was just ready to get home. I came home, took a hot bath, and pouted... A LOT. I got over that hump, and now here I am having a cider and some gluten-free cookies.
The race was hard. I did well, but I seem to be focusing a lot on the things I could've done better. I vaguely (if at all) remember the obstacles I finished with ease, but the tough ones stick out very clearly in my mind. There were 19 obstacles. NINETEEN! And I only failed at 2, and the last one made me cry. That is pretty darn good, Carrie. Give yourself some credit. Sheesh. SMH.
 |
| I tried to remember the obstacles... this is the best I could do... may or may not be accurate... |
Will I do more races? Meh......
Friday, May 8, 2015
Almost Ready
The Ninja Challenge race is TOMORROW!
Live results here!
I am excited, but I cannot believe how nervous I am. I have imagined so many things going wrong... I've had dreams about so many things going wrong (even a dream about things going wrong and then I wake up in the dream and then go to the "real" race where MORE things go wrong)... I've thought about everything from not being able to do obstacles... to not being able to run up hills... to my shoes not having enough traction and me slipping on mud and breaking my leg in half... to me losing my Grandmother's wedding ring in a mud pile (gotta remember to take that thing off tonight)... Yikes! But, as many things as could go wrong, most likely everything will go great, and I'll have a blast. I just gotta freakin' RELAX. Sheesh!
I went to pick up my stuff early this afternoon. They looked up my name and handed me a bib - #1040. Um, excuse me. I requested #179 in JANUARY, was told I was good to go, and I even confirmed it in the ItsYourRace app just 3 days ago. I even took a screen shot! See?? PROOF!!
I've been so wound up and nervous and freaked out... I thought I might start crying right there in the middle of Omega Sports over my bib number. NNNOOOOOOOOOO!!
Then the guy said, "Well, maybe we can be sneaky. If the other person hasn't picked up their stuff yet, maybe we can switch it." So he looked it up, and sure enough, she hadn't picked up her stuff yet (not surprising since I got there 5 minutes before they started). So he switched the bib stickers and (supposedly) switched the numbers in the computer. It hasn't updated in the app yet, but maybe it'll just take time. Or maybe I'll end up with someone else's time or something, but you know, I don't even care about that. I just wanted to proudly wear that #179 bib on my back. I do worry that maybe she had requested the bib at the last minute, and that my request got overwritten, and that I stole it from her... but I had it first!! And I'm on TEAM DREA!! So there!! :-P
** UPDATE ** I just checked, and it's updated in the app! So YAY! GIMME DAT 179, BIATCH!
By the way, it says to use 6 safety pins. I see 4 holes. Where do the other two safety pins go?? Will I be disqualified if I only use 4 safety pins??? Aaaahh! Mostly kidding...
Oh well, at least that's all taken care of. I need to put gas in my car, do some laundry, set out my clothes, pack up my stuff, drink plenty of water, eat some good food, make some good food to eat for breakfast in the morning, and get a good night of sleep. I wish I could drink like 4 ciders to calm down, but I GUESS I will abstain. I think I will get up at around 7am and leave the house around 7:45. I don't start until 9:30, but it's a 40-minute drive, and I want to make sure I have PLENTY of time so my nightmares about missing my start time and then letting everyone down don't come true. Kinda like getting to the airport 2 hours early seems excessive until you actually miss a flight one day... then suddenly it seems totally reasonable!!
Deep breaths. What is my problem?? It's not that big of a deal! SIGH.
In other news, thanks to everyone's generous donations, I have FAR exceeded my fundraising goal! By 448%!! That is so crazy awesome. And if you haven't donated, you still can - every extra dollar does even more good for ALS research! Let's find a cure for this stupid thing!
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Live results here!
I am excited, but I cannot believe how nervous I am. I have imagined so many things going wrong... I've had dreams about so many things going wrong (even a dream about things going wrong and then I wake up in the dream and then go to the "real" race where MORE things go wrong)... I've thought about everything from not being able to do obstacles... to not being able to run up hills... to my shoes not having enough traction and me slipping on mud and breaking my leg in half... to me losing my Grandmother's wedding ring in a mud pile (gotta remember to take that thing off tonight)... Yikes! But, as many things as could go wrong, most likely everything will go great, and I'll have a blast. I just gotta freakin' RELAX. Sheesh!
I went to pick up my stuff early this afternoon. They looked up my name and handed me a bib - #1040. Um, excuse me. I requested #179 in JANUARY, was told I was good to go, and I even confirmed it in the ItsYourRace app just 3 days ago. I even took a screen shot! See?? PROOF!!
Then the guy said, "Well, maybe we can be sneaky. If the other person hasn't picked up their stuff yet, maybe we can switch it." So he looked it up, and sure enough, she hadn't picked up her stuff yet (not surprising since I got there 5 minutes before they started). So he switched the bib stickers and (supposedly) switched the numbers in the computer. It hasn't updated in the app yet, but maybe it'll just take time. Or maybe I'll end up with someone else's time or something, but you know, I don't even care about that. I just wanted to proudly wear that #179 bib on my back. I do worry that maybe she had requested the bib at the last minute, and that my request got overwritten, and that I stole it from her... but I had it first!! And I'm on TEAM DREA!! So there!! :-P
By the way, it says to use 6 safety pins. I see 4 holes. Where do the other two safety pins go?? Will I be disqualified if I only use 4 safety pins??? Aaaahh! Mostly kidding...
Oh well, at least that's all taken care of. I need to put gas in my car, do some laundry, set out my clothes, pack up my stuff, drink plenty of water, eat some good food, make some good food to eat for breakfast in the morning, and get a good night of sleep. I wish I could drink like 4 ciders to calm down, but I GUESS I will abstain. I think I will get up at around 7am and leave the house around 7:45. I don't start until 9:30, but it's a 40-minute drive, and I want to make sure I have PLENTY of time so my nightmares about missing my start time and then letting everyone down don't come true. Kinda like getting to the airport 2 hours early seems excessive until you actually miss a flight one day... then suddenly it seems totally reasonable!!
Deep breaths. What is my problem?? It's not that big of a deal! SIGH.
In other news, thanks to everyone's generous donations, I have FAR exceeded my fundraising goal! By 448%!! That is so crazy awesome. And if you haven't donated, you still can - every extra dollar does even more good for ALS research! Let's find a cure for this stupid thing!
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Thursday, April 30, 2015
ALS Research at Wake Forest School of Medicine
The Blazeman Foundation just posted this on their website, and it sounds very promising. I wanted to share so that donors to the Foundation can see what type of research their money is going directly to support! Thanks to everyone for your generosity!!
Letter from the Wake Forest School of Medicine
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Letter from the Wake Forest School of Medicine
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Monday, April 20, 2015
Promising Improvement
Just a quick update - the shins are improving. I've been resting and icing and Advil-ing, and it seems to be making a huge difference. I worry about the fact that I haven't done much with my legs in a week, but I plan to start back slow this week and see how it goes. I do know one thing - I REALLY don't feel like a ninja right now...
In other news, The Ninja Challenge sent out an obstacle map. It's not terribly informative, but it's more info than I had before. I do believe they try to make it sound a lot scarier than it actually is. I sure hope so, anyway.
Less than 3 weeks... aaaahh!
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
In other news, The Ninja Challenge sent out an obstacle map. It's not terribly informative, but it's more info than I had before. I do believe they try to make it sound a lot scarier than it actually is. I sure hope so, anyway.
Less than 3 weeks... aaaahh!
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Panic
My newest obstacle: shin splints. I don't know if the muscle fatigue I had before was related, but now I'm having full-on stabbing pain in my shins all the time. It was really bad on Friday after a short run on Thursday evening, then it got better over the weekend, and yesterday it started bothering me again. I'm wearing my compression sleeves a lot, icing, taking Advil, and resting (i.e. no running until this goes away). I tried to do some stretching, but that seemed to irritate it, so I'm just going to be easy on them and leave them alone. I've heard this is common, so I hope it will heal up and go away so I can continue. Part (most?) of me is terrified that this won't go away, and I'm screwed and won't be able to do my race. One day at a time... if it's not better by next week, I'll check out a PT who can hopefully help me fix it and prevent it from happening again.
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Obstacles
A few weeks ago, my trainer had me do dead lifts for the first time in a while. We even went up to 115 lbs! The next day (Thursday), I tried to do my usual 3.1-mile run on the treadmill, and my leg muscles were having none of it. I walked and jogged for 12 minutes before I gave up and switched to upper body strength exercises instead.
That Sunday, I went for a run outside. I did pretty well, although my time suffered since I kept stopping to take pictures, and at one point I had to stop and check a map to see where I was on these unmarked park trails. Not to mention HILLS! But over all, not horrible.
Then the next week, my legs refused to cooperate. I tried to run again on Monday, and it was miserable. The muscles on the front/side of my lower legs were pissed off. They didn't hurt per se, but they were exhausted and burning. I pushed through the 3.1 miles, but it was not pretty. I ended up doing upper body strength for the rest of the week to give my legs a break.
After asking the other Team Drea folks, it sounds like I was running too far too often, considering how new to running I am. I was doing my 5K race distance three times per week, plus shorter running sprints in circuits with my trainer twice a week. I also don't think I was stretching enough before and after running, although my calves and quads seem fine, but maybe they're more resilient than these other muscles.
So my new plan is to do my race distance once per week, do shorter runs beyond that, and do some low impact cardio (bike?) in place of the excessive running. Before I run, I will bike or walk for a bit to warm up and stretch my legs. I also bought some compression leg sleeves to try. And after I run, I will stretch longer and continue to take my post-workout "pout baths" - a nice hot bath with Epsom salts and lots of pouting because I always feel like crap after exercising (where is this "high" everyone talks about? I feel quite the opposite). I also bought a $5 wooden rolling pin at the grocery store so I can roll those little muscles, and I'll start using my foam roller on the big muscles more often - just to keep them happy.
The weekend before last, I met my trainer on the greenway for my first run since my little break. We ran 0.5 or 0.25 miles at a time and then stopped every so often to do pushups or whatever other strength things - to sort of mimic the obstacle race. My legs did okay, but I was struggling with the cardio since I hadn't been running. During the running part, I averaged about 11-minute miles.
Last Wednesday, my trainer had me do back squats for the first time in a long time, and I got up to 105 lbs. My legs were SO sore for days. On Thursday, I wanted to do my 3.1-mile run, so I did. My legs were pretty angry, and I'm still trying to get back on track with my pace, so it wasn't pleasant, and I averaged about 13-minute miles. I'm not making any pace progress, which is a little frustrating, but I'll keep pushing. I know my trainer will have me do more back squats tomorrow, so I think I'll either do my 3.1 today, or maybe this weekend...
Also, I am noticing that the tempo of my music is affecting my running pace. I discovered that "Army" by Ben Folds Five is almost the right pace (maybe a little too fast, but close)... so now I'm trying to make a NEW playlist of music that is all about the same tempo. I think that will also help my pace and hopefully improve my overall level of misery during the run. And yay for the internet actually making the BPM music search super easy! I love the internet.
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Last Wednesday, my trainer had me do back squats for the first time in a long time, and I got up to 105 lbs. My legs were SO sore for days. On Thursday, I wanted to do my 3.1-mile run, so I did. My legs were pretty angry, and I'm still trying to get back on track with my pace, so it wasn't pleasant, and I averaged about 13-minute miles. I'm not making any pace progress, which is a little frustrating, but I'll keep pushing. I know my trainer will have me do more back squats tomorrow, so I think I'll either do my 3.1 today, or maybe this weekend...
Also, I am noticing that the tempo of my music is affecting my running pace. I discovered that "Army" by Ben Folds Five is almost the right pace (maybe a little too fast, but close)... so now I'm trying to make a NEW playlist of music that is all about the same tempo. I think that will also help my pace and hopefully improve my overall level of misery during the run. And yay for the internet actually making the BPM music search super easy! I love the internet.
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Progress and Perspective
I'm slowly making progress in my training. It's not getting any easier because my goal is still so far away, but my heart rate doesn't spike as much, and I can run for a bit longer before I start really pouting. I had a major revelation last night... there's something I hate WAY more than running: walking lunges. Seriously, those things can bite me. They occasionally make me cry. But YAY, running isn't the worst thing in the world anymore! Is that progress? Or just perspective? Actually, I can think of a lot of things worse than running. Starting with the obvious: having ALS.
Must. Keep. Pushing.
... without whining too much...
(... yeah right, let's be real.)
I went for my first outdoor run his past weekend. I felt like I was on display and everyone was staring at me. Logically I know this is silly, but I couldn't shake my self-consciousness. Was my butt jiggling? Could people tell how hard I was huffing and puffing and struggling like a fat kid in gym class? Did they think I was demented for running in the first place (like I normally would)? Or would they applaud my attempt at being active? Chances are, they didn't even see or notice me beyond being vaguely aware of an obstacle on the side of the road (if that). "10 points for the overweight asthmatic bitch trying to run!"
Speaking of which, I stupidly forgot to use my inhaler before heading out, so the results of my run were less than phenomenal. Not that I'd know if they were because the stupid running app I downloaded clocked me for 3.5 minutes (it was 30 minutes!!) and 0 miles (I don't know how far I went, but it was definitely more than zero!!). And it can't display my last name properly because the programmers are obviously prejudiced against apostrophes. Jackasses. What's a good running app anyway?
Tonight I spent some quality time with the treadmill, and I was able to run 5.5mph for 300m - 400m at a time, which is like over two minutes or something! If I had been really bad ass, I probably could've pushed it more, but I'm trying to be reasonable and not kill myself. But... omg, tiny progress!
Someone recommended Chi Running to me. I want to look into this, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to spend money on all that stuff yet. Maybe I'll check into YouTube videos. If anyone has any input, I'd love to hear it - about Chi Running, or any other good resources (especially form-related) for newbies.
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Must. Keep. Pushing.
... without whining too much...
(... yeah right, let's be real.)
I went for my first outdoor run his past weekend. I felt like I was on display and everyone was staring at me. Logically I know this is silly, but I couldn't shake my self-consciousness. Was my butt jiggling? Could people tell how hard I was huffing and puffing and struggling like a fat kid in gym class? Did they think I was demented for running in the first place (like I normally would)? Or would they applaud my attempt at being active? Chances are, they didn't even see or notice me beyond being vaguely aware of an obstacle on the side of the road (if that). "10 points for the overweight asthmatic bitch trying to run!"
Speaking of which, I stupidly forgot to use my inhaler before heading out, so the results of my run were less than phenomenal. Not that I'd know if they were because the stupid running app I downloaded clocked me for 3.5 minutes (it was 30 minutes!!) and 0 miles (I don't know how far I went, but it was definitely more than zero!!). And it can't display my last name properly because the programmers are obviously prejudiced against apostrophes. Jackasses. What's a good running app anyway?
Tonight I spent some quality time with the treadmill, and I was able to run 5.5mph for 300m - 400m at a time, which is like over two minutes or something! If I had been really bad ass, I probably could've pushed it more, but I'm trying to be reasonable and not kill myself. But... omg, tiny progress!
Someone recommended Chi Running to me. I want to look into this, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to spend money on all that stuff yet. Maybe I'll check into YouTube videos. If anyone has any input, I'd love to hear it - about Chi Running, or any other good resources (especially form-related) for newbies.
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Team Drea Challenge
My friend Andrea was recently diagnosed with ALS at age 33. She is quite an athlete, having completed many races, triathlons, and a 70.3 half ironman. Her ALS progression is making physical activity much harder for her, but she does what she can. She recently proposed a challenge for people to push themselves to do a race that represents a major challenge for them: the Team Drea Challenge.
I shied away at first, hoping maybe she wouldn't notice if I crawled my fat ass under the radar for this one. I'm not into running. Let me rephrase that: I HATE running. I think people who love running are bonkers (sorry Andrea - love you, mean it!). Actually, I dislike exercise in general, but running is the worst of all. But who knows... Maybe a few months from now, I'll be bonkers, too. (Since I'm totally normal and sane at the moment. Duh.)
I eventually warmed up to the idea of participating somehow. I thought maybe I could do a long hike (I actually LIKE hiking)... Or maybe just donate to other people's fundraisers and support them from the comfy cozy couch in my pajamas with my cat in my lap. However, I could tell how much this challenge excited Andrea, and I know how much she loves running and races, and my being slack was everything this challenge is not. A quote on her blog post really struck a chord: "You can do this. You GET to do this." Well, shit. That is true.
I grumbled some more cuss words and started searching for races. They seemed too soon, too far away, too short, too long, too hard, too dinky. Every time I searched, I would end up grumbling more cuss words and not committing to anything.
Then I suddenly remembered the Ninja Challenge obstacle race that has been held near Raleigh for the past few years. I love watching Ninja Warrior on TV (the original Japanese version "Sasuke," not the glitzy Americanized one), and this Ninja Challenge had always intrigued me. It's a 5K obstacle race with obstacles reminiscent of Ninja Warrior. I have been meeting with a personal trainer for a few months, and I thought, hey, I'm in better shape than I've been in years... I might actually be able to pull this off, and it would be way more fun than a standard road race. It's in May, so I have time to train. So, I bit the bullet and signed up. Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!
Luckily, a few of my friends are also registered for the Ninja Challenge, so I joined their team. Yay! Friends! People to keep me going, make it more fun, and call in first responders when I'm dying during the race!
So, I told my personal trainer about the race, and she is training me accordingly. We are doing circuits of strength training and running. I am only able to run at 5.5mph for short periods of time (a minute and a half tops), so I have a long way to go. But I still have a few months to train, so I'm just gonna keep on keepin' on. I've also heard that pull-ups are an important part of training for this thing, so I bought a pull-up bar and some assisted pull-up bands so I can work on that at home.
And... I bought running shoes. Real ones. Ones that cost 4 times what my old sneakers cost. Apparently the investment is worth it, so I went for it. Asics gel Kayano 21... Whatever that means. They are gelly and cushy and comfy! And totally tacky and dorky-looking like all running shoes... What is up with that anyway?
I still hate running. I don't know if I'll ever get over that. But I'm trying. I'm testing different distractions while on the [grumbled cuss word] treadmill - music, mentally playing connect-the-dots with the little light-up dots on the treadmill display, comedy audio, podcasts, audiobooks, mentally reciting the lyrics of "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel... Any runners out there with any good distraction ideas, please share!
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
I shied away at first, hoping maybe she wouldn't notice if I crawled my fat ass under the radar for this one. I'm not into running. Let me rephrase that: I HATE running. I think people who love running are bonkers (sorry Andrea - love you, mean it!). Actually, I dislike exercise in general, but running is the worst of all. But who knows... Maybe a few months from now, I'll be bonkers, too. (Since I'm totally normal and sane at the moment. Duh.)
I eventually warmed up to the idea of participating somehow. I thought maybe I could do a long hike (I actually LIKE hiking)... Or maybe just donate to other people's fundraisers and support them from the comfy cozy couch in my pajamas with my cat in my lap. However, I could tell how much this challenge excited Andrea, and I know how much she loves running and races, and my being slack was everything this challenge is not. A quote on her blog post really struck a chord: "You can do this. You GET to do this." Well, shit. That is true.
I grumbled some more cuss words and started searching for races. They seemed too soon, too far away, too short, too long, too hard, too dinky. Every time I searched, I would end up grumbling more cuss words and not committing to anything.
Then I suddenly remembered the Ninja Challenge obstacle race that has been held near Raleigh for the past few years. I love watching Ninja Warrior on TV (the original Japanese version "Sasuke," not the glitzy Americanized one), and this Ninja Challenge had always intrigued me. It's a 5K obstacle race with obstacles reminiscent of Ninja Warrior. I have been meeting with a personal trainer for a few months, and I thought, hey, I'm in better shape than I've been in years... I might actually be able to pull this off, and it would be way more fun than a standard road race. It's in May, so I have time to train. So, I bit the bullet and signed up. Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!
Luckily, a few of my friends are also registered for the Ninja Challenge, so I joined their team. Yay! Friends! People to keep me going, make it more fun, and call in first responders when I'm dying during the race!
So, I told my personal trainer about the race, and she is training me accordingly. We are doing circuits of strength training and running. I am only able to run at 5.5mph for short periods of time (a minute and a half tops), so I have a long way to go. But I still have a few months to train, so I'm just gonna keep on keepin' on. I've also heard that pull-ups are an important part of training for this thing, so I bought a pull-up bar and some assisted pull-up bands so I can work on that at home.
And... I bought running shoes. Real ones. Ones that cost 4 times what my old sneakers cost. Apparently the investment is worth it, so I went for it. Asics gel Kayano 21... Whatever that means. They are gelly and cushy and comfy! And totally tacky and dorky-looking like all running shoes... What is up with that anyway?
I still hate running. I don't know if I'll ever get over that. But I'm trying. I'm testing different distractions while on the [grumbled cuss word] treadmill - music, mentally playing connect-the-dots with the little light-up dots on the treadmill display, comedy audio, podcasts, audiobooks, mentally reciting the lyrics of "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel... Any runners out there with any good distraction ideas, please share!
Donate to the Blazeman Foundation from my page here!
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