What it takes..........October 2011
Can you believe it's October already??? What happened to summer?
How are you ladies doing? Just a few more races left in the season (with this weekend obviously being a biggie) and then it's all about the OS around here. I've gotta get on that Body Comp Challenge pronto so I stay on track over the winter months. For some reason (with or without holidays) that always seems to be a hard time of year for me to maintain body weight.
Anyhoo- I'll be in Chicago this weekend for the marathon (more like , I'll be in Chicago for a little site seeing and visiting friends, but then I have this silly 26.2 miles I've gotta run on Sunday morning). I've got absolutely no time goals for the race. This is a reunion trip for me (10 years since the last time I did this race with this group of friends) so it's all about the experience. If I can finish without hurting myself- that will be mission accomplished.
Last weekend I did my first Cyclocross race. I already put in a race report (with pictures) so I won't repost that here. But I will say this, if any of you ladies have thought about cyclocross= DO IT!!! OMG it is sooooo much fun. I want to be out there on my bike right now!
What's everyone else up to? Becky is still in Africa - looking forward to hearing from her when she returns! I bet the pics will be amazing.
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I have been working on all the neglected things around the house the didn't get done the last 10 months while I was training. Haven't done much in the way of exercise in the past 3 weeks since IMWI and starting to feel guilty but I have been getting plenty of walking at the apple orchard, farmers market, shopping, enjoying my favorite time of the year.....
Hope everyone has been doing well.
I'm loving all the cyclocross pics on FB. Everyone seems to be getting into it this year!
I am not on here as much due to work and life stress. Work is busier, which is good, but leaves me little time to check in these days.
I am ever so slowly taking care of my father's estate, but I still have a long way to go and siblings that can act like idiots. We had a memorial celebration of his life last week and it was really special.
Home life is good. I can only say this here: the DH's daughter from 1st wifey is driving us crazy. She is a hormonal and immature 20 yo young woman. Was I that way? Were you?
I am full on into fall running, but am riding when I can.
Saw TTBike Fit and had the TT bike majorly adjusted. So much better, but I think the Adamo is too hard for me. Probably going back to Cobb.
No CX for me. I already own too many bikes.
On sadder news, my cat Lilly is sick. Very sick. We don't know exactly what has caused the illness, but she has kidney failure and prognosis is pretty grim right now. So if you have a little extra time in your day, please send thoughts of healing to Lilly.
@ Michele: Thoughts are with you too. Dealing with the estate and a hormonal 20 year old (which I am currently experiencing now with my sister) is A LOT to handle. And you're right, I do like going out for just whatever route fits my time and just running however I feel. It's been giving me back that great feeling, like "hey, nice job!" instead of "yeah you got the workout done, but did you do it all."
I am currently trying to help my brother find a job. He's just out of college and it's becoming incredible tough to find something for him. He's had a bunch of interviews, but with only 1 spot open these days vs. the 5 these marketing and advertising companies used to have, it's very demoralizing for him. Keeping my fingers crossed that something comes along soon. I looked for 2 years after law school before I got hired, and I just remember what a depressing and dark place daily life was because of it. Don't want him to have to go through that!
I'm back! I missed all of you and your great support both in racing and in life. I took a year off from racing to give myself a big mental break. Now, after having gained a little weight and lost a little speed, I'm ready to work hard! I swore after IMLou in 2007 I would never do another IM, but that was before IMTX popped up right in my backyard. Oops!
I look forward to catching up with everyone again!
LADIES!!!!
Hi or should I say jambo!!! I didn't catch up with what happened in Sept but I just skimmed through Oct...
@Nemo - I hope Lilly is okay. I remember seeing something on FB about her. And I hope you had a great time in Chicago. It sounds like your trip home was quite an adventure. Except for it being crazy hot the year I did it (the year after they shut the race down), I had a great time doing that race.
@Mary - This week was my first week back doing anything for obvious reasons (race recovery then travel, heck, I couldn't even take a walk in Africa because I wasn't allowed, literally... nowhere to walk when we were out on safari, no fences between the lions and me. Needless to say my weight is crazy high and I don't fit into my clothes but wow what an amazing trip - with too much amazing food on top of it.
@Kristen - welcome back! I don't blame you for taking on another race that will be so close - dealing with logistics (and the extra expense of the travel) is such a huge factor and not having to worry about it makes the decision almost a no brainer (except for all the months of training).
As for me, Kenya was amazing but to be honest I was ready to come home. I could only take sitting in a jeep day in and day out (with lunch and nap in between game drives) for so long... Don't mistake me, it was absolutely amazing and the hours would tick by like minutes when we were out there watching lions or whatever, but I was getting itchy not being able to do anything at all, not even walk around the grounds of our campsites bc they were in the middle the "jungle" or savannah or whatever - no fences, nothing but a Samburu (or Masai) warrior with a club and a spear to keep the critters out and us safe. And the camps we stayed in were absolutely amazing - beautifully appointed, running water, electricity, indoor plumbing, 4 poster beds, 3 course meals... I was absolutely not roughing it in any sense. My biggest hardship was not being able to dry my hair (no loss there). Oh, and get this, no clocks in the "tents" (I use the term loosely, I was staying in tents that came out of a Harry Pottter movie) so a tent steward would personally wake me up and bring me my morning hot beverage of choice with cookies... seriously. No wonder I gained 10 lbs while I was there. Ugh! I posted a small fraction of the pictures I took on FB (Rebecca Allyn if you want to friend me). I took over 800 and some video of lion cubs playing, wildebeast crossing, elephants playing in the water... The animals and birds were absolutely amazing and beautiful. I always thought zoos were depressing and I don't think I could ever go back to one now, having seen these animals in their natural habitats doing what they're supposed to be doing. It was so awesome.
I started PT last Monday. Still not running yet. We're working on my functional imbalances (hips and glutes) while also trying to tackle the inflammation in my post tib. I just signed up to go to Pursuit Athletic Performance in CT on the high recommendation of Linda, Michele, and Tracy. I need to get my stuff squared away and hopefully have a more successful IM than IMWI... not to mention run the NYC marathon next november. I will go do that in a few weeks, on 11/12. Wish it could be sooner, but next weekend is my only free weekend and I guess they're booked. I'll keep you posted. I just sent a note to the coaches asking about when I should start OS and ten when to start IM prep... so I might be jumpiing into that soon (even wo running). But for now I'm taking spin class or doing the elliptica at the gym and am lifting on alternate days to mix things up a bit.
Becky- thanks for the reminder about your Africa pics. I saw them posted right around the time I was dealing with Chicago marathon, traveling home, Lilly and made a note to "go back later", but somehow forgot. I know I'll enjoy looking at them! Oh- and I'm looking forward to hearing how your experience with PAP goes.
OK- now a little good news. The OBX Marathon is coming up- it's actually a full weekend of events (5K, 8k, Half, Full, & kids fun run). My parents are coming to visit the week before the race and I've managed to get them (and Joe) to join me in the 8K on Saturday. It will be a real treat to do the race with them (walking it, but that's totally ok). I'm still trying to decide if I'll do the full or half on Sunday- but that will take a big back seat to the 8K with my family.
Oh, and on the PF front, the PT gave me the green light to start jogging. 5 minutes on with 1-3 minutes of recovery - doing 3-5 sets depending on how it feels. I did a session yesterday (5/2 3x) and it went okay. My ankle was tight for the rest of the day and my heel would hurt when getting up after sitting for a while, but other than that, no problems. I rolled my calves like crazy yesterday. I'm gonna try another 3 sets tomorrow then lift. Monday, if it feels okay, I'll shoot for 4.
I'll head to CT for PAP analysis in mid November, and want to be sure I am not in pain when I go to that so my time and money will be well spent on the full blown analysis.
Other than that, nothing to report. Back on match now that I'm home but no leads to report. Granted, that's a lot of my own fault bc I haven't been searching or winking or whatever. I no longer have access from work - and, now that I'm in a new job at the commission I don't really have time in the day to fart around. When I get home I'm just not that into turning on my computer and putting in the time. I will... I have to... it's not just gonna fall into my lap, but I still feel depressed that I'm on it in the first place. Never had much luck (although I did meet mike through cupid). we'll see... it's getting to be the hard part of the year (holidays) for singles ... and I'm not looking forward to that, either. but last year I wasn't single but I knew things with Dan were bad and that was hard, too... sigh. it's always something with me. ;-)
Hope everyone is having a great off season. And for those of us starting OS today, good luck with the bike test (I'm catching up tomorrow bc I have PT tonight).
If you've got kids, have fun tonight!
All is well with me. I started a 30 day paleo challenge last Monday (the Whole 9 program's Whole 30). It's not too bad although I'm still adjusting to breakfast - no cereal, no smoothie... no fruit (bc of the sugar spike, but I can eat fruit at other times of the day). We're not supposed to weigh ourselves for the whole thing, but I just couldn't resist after a few days bc I felt like my gut was finally de-pooching. My percent body fat (per the tanita) is definitely up, but my weight is coming down. About 6.5 lbs since Monday. Wow, and I know most of that was bloating from carbs and wine. I'd really really like to lose another 10 (and that would still put me slightly over my old norm, and about 5 lbs from my race weight), but if I could get there and stay there during OS, I'd feel pretty good about getting down to my race weight by June for CDA. What's amazing is that I'm not snacking during the day. I don't feel hungry. I guess there's something to the eating real food and healthy fat thing... I'm not measuring portions or anything, just making what I make (meat or fish, with veggies on the side - with healthy fat included) and eating what I want (trying to eat slowly, always a big problem). And it seems to be working. Kinda cool. I will say that I'm glad I can have coffee (unlike the Clean cleanse), but not having milk or sugar with it kinda sucks. I've been adding coconut milk, but it's just not the same. I do miss my wine, but I'll survive. I've gone without for a month before and it didn't kill me. I think I'm over the sugar cravings (I went a little nuts pre and post IM with sweets). Still not bounding out of bed in the morning with tons of energy, but, that may be a few weeks in the making... it actually never happened with the cleanse. I'm hoping that my new job, and feeling a little better on the personal level will help with that (I was pretty low during the cleanse after the break up...although the upcoming holidays and planned trip home aren't exactly hi-lites on my social schedule).
How is everyone else doing? I hope you're still checking in, even if just lurking.
Hi Becky, I did the Whole30 last year right after Halloween when I felt like I had become a sugar addict again and needed to kick it bad. I've been eating mostly Paleo in the year since then, though I have to admit I do have some cream in my tea and usually some dark chocolate sometime during the day.
I'm new here and doing IMCdA as well.
Not too much going on = not too much to say.
@ Becky- looks like your trip was great! Good luck with going back to Paleo. After you did it last year I bought the book...I did not last long! But it does give me something to think about.
@ Nemo- still thinking about you, hope Otto is making good company!
@ Robin- welcome to the haus!
I am doing a 15k this weekend and am hoping the weather will stay relatively nice. No real goals but I'm looking forward to just running. Plus I start a nine day vacation from work on Friday in honor of my 30th next Monday! Hard to believe!
Hope everyone is well!
I guess we really need to start the November thread! In the mean time, things are OK here. Otto seems to be a little more snuggly than usual but otherwise is adjusting OK. We're trying to figure out if we need to get another kitty for him to play with.
Becky- I've never heard of Whole 9 or Whole 30 before- but from what you are describing it sounds a bit more reasonable that the cleanse you did last year. Looking forward to hearing how it works out for you.