The greatest thing about sleeping for 12 hours is how you can remember your dreams. The dream telling below is a little disjointed and choppy, but that's a dream for ya! Yes, that's my excuse.
Dream #1: I was pregnant. I kept putting off going to my first wellness check and when I was down at Timpanogos* Hospital working one day, a co-worker (you know those random strangers that you know in the dream but don't know in real life?) said I should just go to his wife's OB for my first check-up. I felt a little weird about going without my husband but what the heck? He was mad about the whole baby thing anyway. (haha...it's true honey...)
We drove to the doctor which was in this really shady area - we crossed this bridge that was in this scary area of Orem. The building was worn down as well. But the inside was very impressive, bright and pretty. The doctor made me fill out this long questionnaire that was quite annoying. And asked me a ton of obnoxious and irrelevant questions such as what kind of toothbrush I use and if I like jelly beans.
The next day I was really sick from the pregnancy so I didn't go to work. But I also forgot to call into work. At the end of the day I told Josh, "Oh no! I forgot to call into work! But it's okay because Jason Martinez (who in this dream was my boss....) will forgive me."
* Did you know that spell check wants to change Timpanogos to Timpanists? heh.
Dream #2: I was a witch. A very powerful witch. Who could fly. Without the use of a broom, tyvm. I was walking around one evening and wanted to skip over something gross on the ground I didn't want to step on, so I flew up a bit to skip over it and a car. 'Cause it was fun. And this guy saw me. So he knew what I was. He kept stalking me to get evidence so he could turn me into the police. I had to find him so I could erase his memory but he kept getting away.
But then I had bigger troubles. I was investigating a bad guy who was trying to destroy the world. And everyone kept telling me I needed to be in a specific place at midnight the next night or the world would end. I kept laughing because no one can tell the future. But then this woman went into a trance and said "Be at the steel at midnight or the world will buuuuuuurn *cackle cackle cough cough*" and I believed her and the prophecy.
What's the steel? Ya, no idea. But I knew in the dream. Oh yes. And only I could save the world! 'Cause I was powerful and all that. Ya! Go me!
So I flew up to the top of the bad guy's building and kept spying on him, because that is where I was supposed to be. Stopping bad guys!
Unfortunately I woke up and didn't get to find out how I was going to save the world. But I really need to stop watching TV. I blame this on Lost Girl.
You know what? If Stephanie Meyer can write a book based off her crazy ass sparkly vampire dream, so should I! But should I choose dream #1 or 2? hmmmm.... Dream 1 is as interesting as sparkly vampires... ;O)
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Saturday, July 30, 2011
It's been a while
I ran today! Kinda. It's amazing how quickly you can lose your endurance when you don't run for 6 weeks AND don't cross train either. Plus my knee did hurt a little (it wasn't bad) so I decided to go slow and walk a bunch just to be safe. Nothing I'm worried about. Just a little tight. I have 11 weeks until my next half. I'll be able to pick it back up just fine. Today's pace was a joke. And really I can't count that as running today. More like walk/jog.
Our bathroom is being remodeled and the guy doing it is just so slow and he really doesn't do the best job. I mean he does a good enough of a job. But the stuff he does is just okay...like using drywall in the shower instead of greenboard which is much better for wet areas (or so I've been told by friends and the interwebs). This house is owned by my grandma and we rent from her. I tried really hard to talk her out of having him do the remodel. I knew it needed to be done. There's water damage on the walls and sub-floor. I tried to first talk her out of it completely and then talk her into letting me find someone else. But she's totally sold on him. And he's nice enough and it will look really nice when he's done. Yes I'm trying to convince myself. But .... gah.
Work is good - I like the job. Pretty stressful right now with tons of crap going on. But I do like being busy so it fits me well.
I got new glasses that I hate. Yup. They give me headaches and I'm having difficulty focusing on things. I hope I adjust. Or I need to just suck it up and go get that stupid surgery I keep putting off. :) $$ Which will then, hopefully, allow me to get Lasik. More $$.
I close with this - Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. No wonder my hair is so heavy.
Our bathroom is being remodeled and the guy doing it is just so slow and he really doesn't do the best job. I mean he does a good enough of a job. But the stuff he does is just okay...like using drywall in the shower instead of greenboard which is much better for wet areas (or so I've been told by friends and the interwebs). This house is owned by my grandma and we rent from her. I tried really hard to talk her out of having him do the remodel. I knew it needed to be done. There's water damage on the walls and sub-floor. I tried to first talk her out of it completely and then talk her into letting me find someone else. But she's totally sold on him. And he's nice enough and it will look really nice when he's done. Yes I'm trying to convince myself. But .... gah.
Work is good - I like the job. Pretty stressful right now with tons of crap going on. But I do like being busy so it fits me well.
I got new glasses that I hate. Yup. They give me headaches and I'm having difficulty focusing on things. I hope I adjust. Or I need to just suck it up and go get that stupid surgery I keep putting off. :) $$ Which will then, hopefully, allow me to get Lasik. More $$.
I close with this - Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. No wonder my hair is so heavy.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Wasatch Back Ragnar 2011
What am amazing time! That is an endurance test! You're awake for over 36 hours in a van - and you are expected to run three times. Three challenging times. When you're done you're sore from head to toe and physically & mentally exhausted. Yet you're strangely excited to do it again because it was so much fun! The thing that I love so much, as Nancy pointed out, is that we are all running the same race yet it's an individual experience for everyone. Each leg is so diverse. And beautiful! And a different challenge completely.
What I want to know is why are my arms sore? I get why my legs, back and even my hands hurt (story below) but my arms?
What I need to remember for next time (yes you read me right):
Dramamine (I had no idea I could get that car sick)
Pepto (remember the car sick?)
Bring my salt pills & other fueling items such as my shot blocks
Get good sleep the week BEFORE the race (no need to start in a deficit)
AND don't stress!!!
So let's start at the beginning...
Ragnar is a relay race series covering about 200 miles. It is broken up into 36 "legs" and 12 people run it in a team - taking turns on the legs. (Or 6 if you're really really really crazy). You split up into two vans so you really only get to spend "quality" time with 5 of them. Plus if you're really lucky, a 7th person who is your dedicated (and much loved) driver.
Here's the official explanation from their website: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/about
The one I participated in is the Wasatch Back Relay. 191.7 miles. (I think it was a few miles longer because they made some last minute course changes.) Starts in Logan, UT and ends in Park City, UT. I was runner #12 so that means I ran legs 12, 24 & 36. Yup, I finished it! I was in Van 2.
My adventure started on Friday morning while 6 of my friends (and THEIR amazing driver) started the race off in Logan at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, 6/17. I woke up in my own bed that morning which was the main perk of being Van 2 (haha). After a terrible and anticipatory night of "sleep" of course. I was picked up at my house by Kelvin at 8:30 a.m. (Along with Mina who was dropped off at my house.) And then we drove up to Syracuse to meet our van (which was aaaamazing by the way....so much room! Thank you!!), our driver (Trent) and two more team mates (Nancy & Carrie). After that we sped on up to Eden to pick up our last (but not least!) teammate, Leah.
Then after that it was a quick trip to our first exhange in Eden - #6 - to wait for Van 1 to show. Of course, based off of my bad reading comprehension skills, we went to the wrong park (exhange #7) which was on one end of Eden. When we finally found exchange #6 (thanks to the better navigation & reading skills of Kelvin & Trent), we started the "Hurry up and Wait" part of Ragnar. Which should be the official name.
Something terrible I did to myself - somewhere around leg 7 or 8 I came down with a migraine - the visual aura part & head pain. Seriously. No, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to worry anybody or give them stress. I took some ibuprofen & acetaminophen and closed my eyes. This is why I said above "don't stress!". I know that stress (and don't forget just THINKING I'm going to get a migraine) is my biggest trigger. It all went away by leg 10 which is a good thing seeing as I was running soon!
My first leg -- #12. I can't figure out which leg was hardest for me. But I'm pretty sure this was the one. 4.7 miles. I "ran" up the very steep road to Snow Basin. It also had a terrible headwind. It's hard to run up a steep hill with the wind pushing you backwards. It was gorgeous though! I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to mess with that, but I really did have time to look at the view. I had to walk quite a bit of the first three miles. Nothing wrong with that! I'd run for a few minutes, then walk, etc. My asthma was horrible and completely unimpressed with the steep hill. There was one little part that Mina showed up and walked up with me. It was too steep to run. She's awesome!
And, omg, I think I had a cold the whole race. I was thinking it was just allergies but my lungs had (and still have) so much crap in them. After my first leg I was downing Robitussin the rest of the race (and cough drops). I'm soooo glad I thought to bring some with me as a "just in case" measure. And I'm really sorry to my van-mates for the hacking and possible germ spreading I did.
When I was running through the finish line, both Van 1 and 2 were there to cheer me on. And of course the wonderfully sarcastic Clint Luft (van 1) yelled at me "only 1 more mile!" I promptly gave him the bird and continued to run (with laughter from the crowd in the background) to pass the slap bracelet off to Terra Luft. :) Clint is lucky I love his wife. Otherwise I'd be kicking him.... hahaha ;O)
After that we had a few hours to break at a high school where we ate a great dinner of chicken, pasta salad (I made it and it was the yum), bagels and PB&J sandwiches. It started to get dark & really cold which made us all a little apprehensive of our night time runs. Yup, van 2 gets the wonderful opportunity of running all night long. Van 1 had to attempt to sleep and be bored all night in a van. Not sure which was worse.
But thankfully even though it was cold, it wasn't bad. The weather was nice! In fact it was nice the entire race. Unlike right now as I type this where it is windy, raining & hailing outside my window. Wow we were lucky. My tomato & basil plants are not.
My next leg started at about 6:30 in the morning. #24. At this point I was feeling really sleep deprived and sick. When I am really tired I get sick to my stomach. I was weak and not fully with it. A big part of this was most likely because I was not fueling correctly and I wasn't getting enough electrolytes. It was 6.9 miles. I was doing really well the first part of it but then at about mile 4 I hit a wall. Or bonked. Whatever you want to call it, I did it. But first, at about mile 3 I got a rock in my shoe so I was moving over to the left to take it out. I was concentrating on what was directly in front of me so I didn't notice until just before it was too late that there was a rotting deer carcass. I had to do a little leap over one of the legs. It was stinky but not too bad. It had been there a while. That woke me up!!! haha But not for long.
After I hit that wall, I started to get a little side tracked and had a hard time concentrating on where I was and what I was doing. Then the bad happened. The road I was running on in Oakley wasn't well taken care of. Lots of rocks and cracked pavement. At around mile 5 I looked away from the road and my right foot hit a divit in the pavement. My ankle twisted and I fell on my knees and hands and actually skid a bit because I was running downhill at the time (oh how I love you gravity). #1) I'm so glad I was wearing gloves & long pants and #2) I am also glad I didn't sprain or break anything. I jumped up as a van stopped to see if I was okay. I just started walking (and limping) quickly forward and they drove off. But at this point both palms of my hands were killing me (left more than the right) and my right knee was banged up pretty bad. I tried to run again and it hurt.
I was really upset and emotional so I started to cry a bit. This was a "no van support" leg which means my van-mates weren't there to support me at all. So I was lonely, really needed someone to cheer me on to give me energy and in pain. I tell you -- none of my legs were van supported and I felt that. It is really hard to run without people there ringing the cow bells and cheering for you. When I got to an aid-station I stopped and drank some Powerade. They asked if I was okay...well gee, I was limping and crying! haha I just nodded my head, stopped crying and finished my leg. I actually did run some of the last part. The Powerade kicked in and my head cleared a bit. So I ran into the finish line with as much energy (and no limping) as I could! After that, I lifted my pant leg to see the damage and told my wonderful nurse, Mina who took great care of me!
Now for the best part of Van 2. Oh and of course Mina. One of her students lives in Heber. And well, Heber just happened to be where our next set of legs would be starting! So Cam (I think that's how she spells it) let us go to her house for a few hours! I took a shower and cleaned off my knee. Mina bandaged me up. I then tried to take a nap but just couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking about when we needed to be at the next exchange and was too wired. Plus I was really hungry and feeling yucky.
I ended up getting up and Cam let me have a couple of bowls of cereal for breakfast. Oh yummy! I am a cereal fan. Happy happy! This all gave me much more energy and positive brain power. Then we found out that our schedule was off by almost three hours. Van 2 had a couple of injuries. It was late handing off to them by about 1.5 hours but it was lengthened a bit. When I heard that my body finally allowed me to sleep. Kinda. haha I dozed off and on but mostly just laid there and relaxed. It was so refreshing.
So THANK YOU CAM! Really....she is a jewel and a savior.
Back on the road for our final set of legs. Van 1 was completely finished so all they had to do was wait for us at Park City High School. That couldn't have been fun! All I had to do was be supportive to my van-mates and do my final leg. But I was really stressed and car sick! I didn't get it at first...all morning I'd been feeling sick in the van. But I thought it was just sleep deprivation and lack of proper fuel. But no, motion sickness! I felt great out of the van. Oh and guess what else I did to myself!?? I was so nervous about running on my knee that I got ANOTHER migraine! Gah! This was visual and sensory. Which means I got the aura, then the numbness. My left hand and side of my face went numb. Then the pain. But thankfully neither migraine I got this weekend was too bad. I took more pain pills and just sat in the back of the van, miserable. I didn't mention it until Leah saw me playing with my hand so I told her.
I honestly didn't want to complain the whole damn time! I had my asthma, lung congestion, migraines, exhaustion, car sickness, knee injury, etc. I mean really!! I was a mess! I hate being a whiner and a downer. *sigh* I did my best to be positive and cheerful the whole race but I didn't succeed Oh well, the only thing I can hope for is that I stayed mostly good. Which I think I did.
Anyway, migraine #2 went away. But car sickness didn't. lol But that last set of legs were actually really fun! And beautiful. Leah was sick too but did her leg anyway (and did a great job!) Honestly I already knew she was awesome. So my opinion of her didn't have room to go up. What happened was my opinion was solidified and re-enforced. I'm so glad I talked her into coming with us.
Oh the beautiful is that we went through Heber, Midway and then up Wasatch Mountain State Park - aka Ragnar Hill. Then down to Park City. And wow....the view on the mountain was spectacular! Kelvin & Mina split Ragnar Hill and did a great job! They were both so positive and really pushed through it. We called Mina our little billy goat. haha Carrie took us down that mountain and then I picked up my third, and last leg. #36.
6.9 miles down and up rocky, uneven and gravelly trails through the hills of Park City. When I saw my first "drop" I about cried. There was no running through that part! It was a rutted trail that was very steep that lasted about 1 to 1.5 miles. I slid, cursed and laughed the whole way down. Then I was on a fairly level trail for another two miles. But after that it was up up up a trail until I had about 1.25 miles to go. I was actually impressed with myself. I ran up quite a bit of it. But my knee hurt on the up-hill. I felt fine going down. It didn't hurt the whole time though - just would get a sharp pain every little bit which would make me walk. It was getting cloudy and looked like rain but it didn't. It was, however, very windy. It's hard to go up a steep hill with a headwind. Did I mention that? Oh but that last 1.25 miles was awesome! haha Downhill and fast. ;O) And right after the "Only One Mile To go" marker, Mina showed up and ran with me. That was great of her! Did I also mention she's awesome? I was so alone the whole time. (And damn, I didn't take my mace....I was on this path by myself for a big chunk of it....) The whole thing took me 1 hour 47 minutes, but was wonderful. I'm so glad I did it.
Then at the very end, at Park City High School, my fellow runners (minus two who went home...hmph!) were there. We all ran around the track together....albeit a little slow because poor Terra hurt her foot. :( Plus I was quite done. But we did it together! Terra said to a person who handed us our window stickers "Where's the medals?" hahaha We had our picture taken and they gave us pizza. lol I was pretty bitchy at this point and it was pepperoni. Yuck. So I picked that crap off and ate my cheese pizza. haha It was delicious.
38 hours...yes we were slow. No we didn't win. But damn it! We finished. And that's all that matters. So in a way, we did win.
Terra gave us our shirts, we all hugged and then that was it! Took the long drive to Syracuse to pick up Kelvin's car and then Kelvin drove me home. I dropped all of my crap off near the door, ate some pancakes (haha Josh had some leftovers) and crashed! I slept for 11 hours. 11 beautiful hours.
So today I'm sore. My legs hurt because of the running - especially my right knee. My back hurts from the van. My hands hurt because I fell on them and bruised them. But my arms? Ya, explain that one to me.
Why do I want to do it again???? hahahaha To know that I can push my body to its limit and succeed. I didn't give up even though I had reasons to. I finished. It is a huge accomplishment. I learned a lot too! Now I want to do Vegas Ragnar in October. And I'm going to be an early sign up for Wasatch Back next year too!
RUN PIGGIES RUN!!!
What I want to know is why are my arms sore? I get why my legs, back and even my hands hurt (story below) but my arms?
What I need to remember for next time (yes you read me right):
Dramamine (I had no idea I could get that car sick)
Pepto (remember the car sick?)
Bring my salt pills & other fueling items such as my shot blocks
Get good sleep the week BEFORE the race (no need to start in a deficit)
AND don't stress!!!
So let's start at the beginning...
Ragnar is a relay race series covering about 200 miles. It is broken up into 36 "legs" and 12 people run it in a team - taking turns on the legs. (Or 6 if you're really really really crazy). You split up into two vans so you really only get to spend "quality" time with 5 of them. Plus if you're really lucky, a 7th person who is your dedicated (and much loved) driver.
Here's the official explanation from their website: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/about
The one I participated in is the Wasatch Back Relay. 191.7 miles. (I think it was a few miles longer because they made some last minute course changes.) Starts in Logan, UT and ends in Park City, UT. I was runner #12 so that means I ran legs 12, 24 & 36. Yup, I finished it! I was in Van 2.
My adventure started on Friday morning while 6 of my friends (and THEIR amazing driver) started the race off in Logan at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, 6/17. I woke up in my own bed that morning which was the main perk of being Van 2 (haha). After a terrible and anticipatory night of "sleep" of course. I was picked up at my house by Kelvin at 8:30 a.m. (Along with Mina who was dropped off at my house.) And then we drove up to Syracuse to meet our van (which was aaaamazing by the way....so much room! Thank you!!), our driver (Trent) and two more team mates (Nancy & Carrie). After that we sped on up to Eden to pick up our last (but not least!) teammate, Leah.
Then after that it was a quick trip to our first exhange in Eden - #6 - to wait for Van 1 to show. Of course, based off of my bad reading comprehension skills, we went to the wrong park (exhange #7) which was on one end of Eden. When we finally found exchange #6 (thanks to the better navigation & reading skills of Kelvin & Trent), we started the "Hurry up and Wait" part of Ragnar. Which should be the official name.
Something terrible I did to myself - somewhere around leg 7 or 8 I came down with a migraine - the visual aura part & head pain. Seriously. No, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to worry anybody or give them stress. I took some ibuprofen & acetaminophen and closed my eyes. This is why I said above "don't stress!". I know that stress (and don't forget just THINKING I'm going to get a migraine) is my biggest trigger. It all went away by leg 10 which is a good thing seeing as I was running soon!
My first leg -- #12. I can't figure out which leg was hardest for me. But I'm pretty sure this was the one. 4.7 miles. I "ran" up the very steep road to Snow Basin. It also had a terrible headwind. It's hard to run up a steep hill with the wind pushing you backwards. It was gorgeous though! I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to mess with that, but I really did have time to look at the view. I had to walk quite a bit of the first three miles. Nothing wrong with that! I'd run for a few minutes, then walk, etc. My asthma was horrible and completely unimpressed with the steep hill. There was one little part that Mina showed up and walked up with me. It was too steep to run. She's awesome!
And, omg, I think I had a cold the whole race. I was thinking it was just allergies but my lungs had (and still have) so much crap in them. After my first leg I was downing Robitussin the rest of the race (and cough drops). I'm soooo glad I thought to bring some with me as a "just in case" measure. And I'm really sorry to my van-mates for the hacking and possible germ spreading I did.
When I was running through the finish line, both Van 1 and 2 were there to cheer me on. And of course the wonderfully sarcastic Clint Luft (van 1) yelled at me "only 1 more mile!" I promptly gave him the bird and continued to run (with laughter from the crowd in the background) to pass the slap bracelet off to Terra Luft. :) Clint is lucky I love his wife. Otherwise I'd be kicking him.... hahaha ;O)
After that we had a few hours to break at a high school where we ate a great dinner of chicken, pasta salad (I made it and it was the yum), bagels and PB&J sandwiches. It started to get dark & really cold which made us all a little apprehensive of our night time runs. Yup, van 2 gets the wonderful opportunity of running all night long. Van 1 had to attempt to sleep and be bored all night in a van. Not sure which was worse.
But thankfully even though it was cold, it wasn't bad. The weather was nice! In fact it was nice the entire race. Unlike right now as I type this where it is windy, raining & hailing outside my window. Wow we were lucky. My tomato & basil plants are not.
My next leg started at about 6:30 in the morning. #24. At this point I was feeling really sleep deprived and sick. When I am really tired I get sick to my stomach. I was weak and not fully with it. A big part of this was most likely because I was not fueling correctly and I wasn't getting enough electrolytes. It was 6.9 miles. I was doing really well the first part of it but then at about mile 4 I hit a wall. Or bonked. Whatever you want to call it, I did it. But first, at about mile 3 I got a rock in my shoe so I was moving over to the left to take it out. I was concentrating on what was directly in front of me so I didn't notice until just before it was too late that there was a rotting deer carcass. I had to do a little leap over one of the legs. It was stinky but not too bad. It had been there a while. That woke me up!!! haha But not for long.
After I hit that wall, I started to get a little side tracked and had a hard time concentrating on where I was and what I was doing. Then the bad happened. The road I was running on in Oakley wasn't well taken care of. Lots of rocks and cracked pavement. At around mile 5 I looked away from the road and my right foot hit a divit in the pavement. My ankle twisted and I fell on my knees and hands and actually skid a bit because I was running downhill at the time (oh how I love you gravity). #1) I'm so glad I was wearing gloves & long pants and #2) I am also glad I didn't sprain or break anything. I jumped up as a van stopped to see if I was okay. I just started walking (and limping) quickly forward and they drove off. But at this point both palms of my hands were killing me (left more than the right) and my right knee was banged up pretty bad. I tried to run again and it hurt.
I was really upset and emotional so I started to cry a bit. This was a "no van support" leg which means my van-mates weren't there to support me at all. So I was lonely, really needed someone to cheer me on to give me energy and in pain. I tell you -- none of my legs were van supported and I felt that. It is really hard to run without people there ringing the cow bells and cheering for you. When I got to an aid-station I stopped and drank some Powerade. They asked if I was okay...well gee, I was limping and crying! haha I just nodded my head, stopped crying and finished my leg. I actually did run some of the last part. The Powerade kicked in and my head cleared a bit. So I ran into the finish line with as much energy (and no limping) as I could! After that, I lifted my pant leg to see the damage and told my wonderful nurse, Mina who took great care of me!
Now for the best part of Van 2. Oh and of course Mina. One of her students lives in Heber. And well, Heber just happened to be where our next set of legs would be starting! So Cam (I think that's how she spells it) let us go to her house for a few hours! I took a shower and cleaned off my knee. Mina bandaged me up. I then tried to take a nap but just couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking about when we needed to be at the next exchange and was too wired. Plus I was really hungry and feeling yucky.
I ended up getting up and Cam let me have a couple of bowls of cereal for breakfast. Oh yummy! I am a cereal fan. Happy happy! This all gave me much more energy and positive brain power. Then we found out that our schedule was off by almost three hours. Van 2 had a couple of injuries. It was late handing off to them by about 1.5 hours but it was lengthened a bit. When I heard that my body finally allowed me to sleep. Kinda. haha I dozed off and on but mostly just laid there and relaxed. It was so refreshing.
So THANK YOU CAM! Really....she is a jewel and a savior.
Back on the road for our final set of legs. Van 1 was completely finished so all they had to do was wait for us at Park City High School. That couldn't have been fun! All I had to do was be supportive to my van-mates and do my final leg. But I was really stressed and car sick! I didn't get it at first...all morning I'd been feeling sick in the van. But I thought it was just sleep deprivation and lack of proper fuel. But no, motion sickness! I felt great out of the van. Oh and guess what else I did to myself!?? I was so nervous about running on my knee that I got ANOTHER migraine! Gah! This was visual and sensory. Which means I got the aura, then the numbness. My left hand and side of my face went numb. Then the pain. But thankfully neither migraine I got this weekend was too bad. I took more pain pills and just sat in the back of the van, miserable. I didn't mention it until Leah saw me playing with my hand so I told her.
I honestly didn't want to complain the whole damn time! I had my asthma, lung congestion, migraines, exhaustion, car sickness, knee injury, etc. I mean really!! I was a mess! I hate being a whiner and a downer. *sigh* I did my best to be positive and cheerful the whole race but I didn't succeed Oh well, the only thing I can hope for is that I stayed mostly good. Which I think I did.
Anyway, migraine #2 went away. But car sickness didn't. lol But that last set of legs were actually really fun! And beautiful. Leah was sick too but did her leg anyway (and did a great job!) Honestly I already knew she was awesome. So my opinion of her didn't have room to go up. What happened was my opinion was solidified and re-enforced. I'm so glad I talked her into coming with us.
Oh the beautiful is that we went through Heber, Midway and then up Wasatch Mountain State Park - aka Ragnar Hill. Then down to Park City. And wow....the view on the mountain was spectacular! Kelvin & Mina split Ragnar Hill and did a great job! They were both so positive and really pushed through it. We called Mina our little billy goat. haha Carrie took us down that mountain and then I picked up my third, and last leg. #36.
6.9 miles down and up rocky, uneven and gravelly trails through the hills of Park City. When I saw my first "drop" I about cried. There was no running through that part! It was a rutted trail that was very steep that lasted about 1 to 1.5 miles. I slid, cursed and laughed the whole way down. Then I was on a fairly level trail for another two miles. But after that it was up up up a trail until I had about 1.25 miles to go. I was actually impressed with myself. I ran up quite a bit of it. But my knee hurt on the up-hill. I felt fine going down. It didn't hurt the whole time though - just would get a sharp pain every little bit which would make me walk. It was getting cloudy and looked like rain but it didn't. It was, however, very windy. It's hard to go up a steep hill with a headwind. Did I mention that? Oh but that last 1.25 miles was awesome! haha Downhill and fast. ;O) And right after the "Only One Mile To go" marker, Mina showed up and ran with me. That was great of her! Did I also mention she's awesome? I was so alone the whole time. (And damn, I didn't take my mace....I was on this path by myself for a big chunk of it....) The whole thing took me 1 hour 47 minutes, but was wonderful. I'm so glad I did it.
Then at the very end, at Park City High School, my fellow runners (minus two who went home...hmph!) were there. We all ran around the track together....albeit a little slow because poor Terra hurt her foot. :( Plus I was quite done. But we did it together! Terra said to a person who handed us our window stickers "Where's the medals?" hahaha We had our picture taken and they gave us pizza. lol I was pretty bitchy at this point and it was pepperoni. Yuck. So I picked that crap off and ate my cheese pizza. haha It was delicious.
38 hours...yes we were slow. No we didn't win. But damn it! We finished. And that's all that matters. So in a way, we did win.
Terra gave us our shirts, we all hugged and then that was it! Took the long drive to Syracuse to pick up Kelvin's car and then Kelvin drove me home. I dropped all of my crap off near the door, ate some pancakes (haha Josh had some leftovers) and crashed! I slept for 11 hours. 11 beautiful hours.
So today I'm sore. My legs hurt because of the running - especially my right knee. My back hurts from the van. My hands hurt because I fell on them and bruised them. But my arms? Ya, explain that one to me.
Why do I want to do it again???? hahahaha To know that I can push my body to its limit and succeed. I didn't give up even though I had reasons to. I finished. It is a huge accomplishment. I learned a lot too! Now I want to do Vegas Ragnar in October. And I'm going to be an early sign up for Wasatch Back next year too!
RUN PIGGIES RUN!!!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Put the gun down Melissa...it will be fine....
I'm trying really hard not to panic for Ragnar. Because of the snow levels they had to change the routes. The problem I have? My first and last legs changed drastically. The first one is now steeper and a mile longer. The last one is 2 miles longer and mostly trail, which I've never liked. The only good thing is the last leg is mostly flat or downhill which is slightly encouraging (oh except for that 11% downill stint ha! It's short though). But trail...I hate trail running. And due to personal issues I've been dealing with, I haven't even trained well the past two weeks. I think I've run three or four times in the last two weeks. Ragnar is in three weeks! Three weeks. I think I'm going to die.
So the plan is just to do the best I can. Without hurting myself. Especially since I won't be able to rest if I do...
Well I guess I better go run. You know it's harder to run when you HAVE to. I reaaaaally need consistently good weather so I can run outside and have fun! I hate treadmills. But I hate running when it's crappy outside more. According to weather.com, Mother Nature will give that to me for my birthday (starting Tuesday that is). Beautiful and clear - high in the 70s. Absolutely perfect. (Don't ruin my optimism by telling me to never trust the weather in Utah...it will be perfect!)
So the plan is just to do the best I can. Without hurting myself. Especially since I won't be able to rest if I do...
Well I guess I better go run. You know it's harder to run when you HAVE to. I reaaaaally need consistently good weather so I can run outside and have fun! I hate treadmills. But I hate running when it's crappy outside more. According to weather.com, Mother Nature will give that to me for my birthday (starting Tuesday that is). Beautiful and clear - high in the 70s. Absolutely perfect. (Don't ruin my optimism by telling me to never trust the weather in Utah...it will be perfect!)
Friday, May 13, 2011
Weekend is for resting...right?
This weekend is going to be super busy for me. I have tons of yard work to do. I've already started with pulling weeds and cleaning up my different garden areas. Two down, three to go. I'm exhausted even thinking about all the work I have to do.
Then tomorrow...tomorrow! I have three runs scheduled. My goal is to get through two of them at the very least. A 6 mile in the morning and then a 4 in the afternoon followed by a 4 in the evening. I might just do the 6 mile in the morning, a 4 in the evening and then Sunday morning I'll try another 4 mile. I think that's a lot closer to what the Ragnar race will be like. With about a 12 hour break in between runs. And lots of ice.
I also need to take my bird to the vet for a yearly checkup. I'm also going to get her a hormone shot. She's been extremely tempermental and angry with me all the time. Then the few, rare, moments she is sweet to me, she tries to mate with me. Oh ya...my bird is horny. Brings new meaning to the Birds and the Bees. With a hormone shot she'll definitely calm down. I just feel bad making her go through that. An alternative is to get her a male bird. No way. One Quaker is loud enough!
Then tomorrow...tomorrow! I have three runs scheduled. My goal is to get through two of them at the very least. A 6 mile in the morning and then a 4 in the afternoon followed by a 4 in the evening. I might just do the 6 mile in the morning, a 4 in the evening and then Sunday morning I'll try another 4 mile. I think that's a lot closer to what the Ragnar race will be like. With about a 12 hour break in between runs. And lots of ice.
I also need to take my bird to the vet for a yearly checkup. I'm also going to get her a hormone shot. She's been extremely tempermental and angry with me all the time. Then the few, rare, moments she is sweet to me, she tries to mate with me. Oh ya...my bird is horny. Brings new meaning to the Birds and the Bees. With a hormone shot she'll definitely calm down. I just feel bad making her go through that. An alternative is to get her a male bird. No way. One Quaker is loud enough!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Slow and steady wins the race
Progress!!! I have lost 6 lbs in the last month (and that includes going up a few lbs the first two weeks and then being good again). I also have lost inches (crap, I forget the exacts) and gotten stronger. I can lift higher weights and do more core exercises and have a bit more stamina. (Not much...I need to work on that...haha) Oh and I tell ya...my core is so much stronger. I'm still much weaker than I want to be, but I can see how far I've come. So everything is great! I really like doing the Personal Trainer sessions, but unfortunately today was my last one for a bit. I can't afford it right now. But I'll go back, I'm sure.
So my plan is I'll just keep going every Wednesday at the very least and having it be my weight day. While I'm doing Ragnar training I think I'll go in on Sundays since Saturday is my long (or multiple) run day for my 2nd weight day of the week. I know the exercises well enough that I can do them. The only drawback is I'm positive I won't be as....motivated to do the weight and reps I know I should. It's also really helpful to have someone there watching you to make sure you don't get lazy. And to mix it up. But it will do for the meantime.
Now onto running! And Ragnar training.
Last night I did a hill program for 4 miles on the treadmill which is the first time I've done that. It went better than I expected it to. I was quite happy about it. I just ran a little slower and it was fine. My first leg of the Ragnar is an AVERAGE 5.3% incline for about 2.5 miles of it. Ya. And actually it ranges from 4 to 7%. Last night my max was 1.5%. I have a long ways to go in the next 7 weeks. But I am positive I can do it. Run, walk, crawl.
Today is my first day in the training where I run 3 times total. So this morning I went to the gym before my PT appointment. And of course, all of the treadmills were full. I waited around for a few minutes and after I felt stupid enough for just standing there I did 15 minutes on the stair climber at a higher level than I had last week. (Progress!) When I was done with that, most of the treadmills were open. Go figure. haha I was supposed to do a 5 mile run but I didn't really have time so I did a 5k instead. Which is fine - I'm sorry, the stair climber totally counts.
My plan is actually in three weeks I'm going to simulate my first leg of Ragnar on the treadmill by changing the incline when I reach the same mile. I mapped my Ragnar legs on mapmyrun.com. I just want to see how I do. I know it won't be great...but I will finish it even if I have to walk.
So for instance the first .5 miles I'll do 4% incline, the next .5 miles will be 0%, then for the rest of it I'll do about 5% for most of it, but will throw in a couple of big hills of 7% and 6%. Holy shit.
Until then I'm going to gradually raise my hill training - at least one day a week at the gym on the treadmill (which totally sucks...) but it's the best place for me to get the slow increase in hills I want. And I'm also going to try to tackle the outrageous hill that's by my house in the next month. It also is a 7% incline at the very end. It goes 2% for most of it and then the last 7% bump. Which scares me even more because I know how incredible that hill is at the end... haha
God, this was boring. This is like when people talk about Poker. "I had a 2 and 5 of hearts, then a blah blah" STFU. But now I have the plan written out! This will work! This is insane! Wait, even more insane is that I PAID to do this... But it's gonna be fun! I'm getting excited.
Edit: Wow...I read through this again and realized that just LAST MAY is when I started running. Seriously...one year. One freaking crazy roller coaster year! How far I've come from the girl who couldn't run for 30 seconds without crying. Think of how great I'll be a year from now! Not bad for a soon-to-be 37 year old, huh? ha!
So my plan is I'll just keep going every Wednesday at the very least and having it be my weight day. While I'm doing Ragnar training I think I'll go in on Sundays since Saturday is my long (or multiple) run day for my 2nd weight day of the week. I know the exercises well enough that I can do them. The only drawback is I'm positive I won't be as....motivated to do the weight and reps I know I should. It's also really helpful to have someone there watching you to make sure you don't get lazy. And to mix it up. But it will do for the meantime.
Now onto running! And Ragnar training.
Last night I did a hill program for 4 miles on the treadmill which is the first time I've done that. It went better than I expected it to. I was quite happy about it. I just ran a little slower and it was fine. My first leg of the Ragnar is an AVERAGE 5.3% incline for about 2.5 miles of it. Ya. And actually it ranges from 4 to 7%. Last night my max was 1.5%. I have a long ways to go in the next 7 weeks. But I am positive I can do it. Run, walk, crawl.
Today is my first day in the training where I run 3 times total. So this morning I went to the gym before my PT appointment. And of course, all of the treadmills were full. I waited around for a few minutes and after I felt stupid enough for just standing there I did 15 minutes on the stair climber at a higher level than I had last week. (Progress!) When I was done with that, most of the treadmills were open. Go figure. haha I was supposed to do a 5 mile run but I didn't really have time so I did a 5k instead. Which is fine - I'm sorry, the stair climber totally counts.
My plan is actually in three weeks I'm going to simulate my first leg of Ragnar on the treadmill by changing the incline when I reach the same mile. I mapped my Ragnar legs on mapmyrun.com. I just want to see how I do. I know it won't be great...but I will finish it even if I have to walk.
So for instance the first .5 miles I'll do 4% incline, the next .5 miles will be 0%, then for the rest of it I'll do about 5% for most of it, but will throw in a couple of big hills of 7% and 6%. Holy shit.
Until then I'm going to gradually raise my hill training - at least one day a week at the gym on the treadmill (which totally sucks...) but it's the best place for me to get the slow increase in hills I want. And I'm also going to try to tackle the outrageous hill that's by my house in the next month. It also is a 7% incline at the very end. It goes 2% for most of it and then the last 7% bump. Which scares me even more because I know how incredible that hill is at the end... haha
God, this was boring. This is like when people talk about Poker. "I had a 2 and 5 of hearts, then a blah blah" STFU. But now I have the plan written out! This will work! This is insane! Wait, even more insane is that I PAID to do this... But it's gonna be fun! I'm getting excited.
Edit: Wow...I read through this again and realized that just LAST MAY is when I started running. Seriously...one year. One freaking crazy roller coaster year! How far I've come from the girl who couldn't run for 30 seconds without crying. Think of how great I'll be a year from now! Not bad for a soon-to-be 37 year old, huh? ha!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Did that week really happen?
I just completed week 2 of my new job. I have to say that I'm having a lot of fun. I like the people in that office for sure. It's kind of back to what I'm used to. That is my being one of just a few girls surrounded by lots of guys in a totally geeked out environment. The last job was unique for me with mostly girls. It was actually hard for me in the beginning to adapt to hanging out with a bunch of girls versus guys. You really have different types of conversations. Thankfully I get along well with either. I'm a chameleon! Oh no...that song...
This week was filled with quite a bit of stress - but only because I had so much information coming at me all at once and I had to somehow process it quickly and help fix everything that was going wrong. I just happened to show up right when a bunch of things suddenly went very wrong. They don't fuck around in that place! lol
But everything turned out really well and I'm super happy. I thrive off challenging and stressful - to the verge of tears - situations. Because once they're resolved it's a huge feeling of accomplishment. Even if all I did was babysat. I still helped. :)
So the office is by the airport. And the location is great because it's 10 minutes away from so many great places to eat. haha We have downtown SLC, Bountiful and West Valley. My favorite restaurant is downtown. And of course we went there my first day!
Oh ya, did I mention I like the people? Really truly - it's a small group of people and everyone is so nice. I didn't think I'd hate them by any means. I knew a few people before starting there. But they make me happy by being awesome and fun.
And now, I'm going to bed early. I really need it.
This week was filled with quite a bit of stress - but only because I had so much information coming at me all at once and I had to somehow process it quickly and help fix everything that was going wrong. I just happened to show up right when a bunch of things suddenly went very wrong. They don't fuck around in that place! lol
But everything turned out really well and I'm super happy. I thrive off challenging and stressful - to the verge of tears - situations. Because once they're resolved it's a huge feeling of accomplishment. Even if all I did was babysat. I still helped. :)
So the office is by the airport. And the location is great because it's 10 minutes away from so many great places to eat. haha We have downtown SLC, Bountiful and West Valley. My favorite restaurant is downtown. And of course we went there my first day!
Oh ya, did I mention I like the people? Really truly - it's a small group of people and everyone is so nice. I didn't think I'd hate them by any means. I knew a few people before starting there. But they make me happy by being awesome and fun.
And now, I'm going to bed early. I really need it.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Half Marathon Report
Well I made it across the finish line for the SLC Half Marathon. I didn't do it in my goal time but considering I had shin splints AND asthma/allergy issues to contend with the last three weeks, I am just happy to have made it at all. I still beat my previous half marathon time. I won't know for sure my time until tomorrow so I'm not going to say by how much.
Overall it went well. Of course getting to the race was a little slower than anticipated. Thankfully you are timed by when you go across the start line. I was happily standing in line for the porta potty with my friend Brooke when the race started. It was cloudy the whole time except for about 5 seconds of sun that peeked through. And yes, of course, I took my prescription SUNglasses instead of my regular glasses. Right now, outside, it's bright and sunny! It only sprinkled a couple of times during the run as well which was a welcome event anyway.
The first part of the race was fine - I did pause at about .5 miles in to stretch the shins (a very necessary thing for me) but after that, the next 7.5 miles was good. Feeling strong and fine.
At 8 miles though two bad things happened. 1) Stupid me accidentally pulled out my Nike+ connector from the iPod which stopped my run. *sigh* So I had to start that back up again for the last 5 miles. But also my legs started killing me. Mile 8 was okay...but mile 9? Holy. 10, 11 & 12? *cry* Especially since they decided to throw in a nice up-hill stretch for three miles - which did not help my leg pain in the slightest. Mentally and physically from the waist up, I was fine! It was the pain in my legs that didn't let up. So, unfortunately, I had to walk quite a bit. Especially during the three mile up-hill stint because my right achilles and both of my IT bands went totally nuts on me. Oh ya, and my left knee kept getting a sharp pain. Ah ha...typical pain points on me when running.
I was NOT ready for this run. Remember my shin splints & asthma issues that stopped me from training as well as I wanted? Ya...I didn't have the mileage to suddenly push it that much more. But it happened anyway. I don't have the power to stop time. I need to put in a request for that in my next life. I am just happy I crossed the finish line. Run, walk, crawl - Just finish.
Post race consisted of icing my lower legs & achilles, a nap and then a trip to Wasatch Running where I purchased (with the help of a wonderful group of prior co-workers who supplied a nice gift card for me) a strap for the achilles tendon. I have it on now. Hmmmm....support. I also bought some more KT tape, some Body Glide (omg heat rash...in an omg not so nice place...) and two reflective vests for Christine and me to use during Ragnar in 9 weeks!
Overall it went well. Of course getting to the race was a little slower than anticipated. Thankfully you are timed by when you go across the start line. I was happily standing in line for the porta potty with my friend Brooke when the race started. It was cloudy the whole time except for about 5 seconds of sun that peeked through. And yes, of course, I took my prescription SUNglasses instead of my regular glasses. Right now, outside, it's bright and sunny! It only sprinkled a couple of times during the run as well which was a welcome event anyway.
The first part of the race was fine - I did pause at about .5 miles in to stretch the shins (a very necessary thing for me) but after that, the next 7.5 miles was good. Feeling strong and fine.
At 8 miles though two bad things happened. 1) Stupid me accidentally pulled out my Nike+ connector from the iPod which stopped my run. *sigh* So I had to start that back up again for the last 5 miles. But also my legs started killing me. Mile 8 was okay...but mile 9? Holy. 10, 11 & 12? *cry* Especially since they decided to throw in a nice up-hill stretch for three miles - which did not help my leg pain in the slightest. Mentally and physically from the waist up, I was fine! It was the pain in my legs that didn't let up. So, unfortunately, I had to walk quite a bit. Especially during the three mile up-hill stint because my right achilles and both of my IT bands went totally nuts on me. Oh ya, and my left knee kept getting a sharp pain. Ah ha...typical pain points on me when running.
I was NOT ready for this run. Remember my shin splints & asthma issues that stopped me from training as well as I wanted? Ya...I didn't have the mileage to suddenly push it that much more. But it happened anyway. I don't have the power to stop time. I need to put in a request for that in my next life. I am just happy I crossed the finish line. Run, walk, crawl - Just finish.
Post race consisted of icing my lower legs & achilles, a nap and then a trip to Wasatch Running where I purchased (with the help of a wonderful group of prior co-workers who supplied a nice gift card for me) a strap for the achilles tendon. I have it on now. Hmmmm....support. I also bought some more KT tape, some Body Glide (omg heat rash...in an omg not so nice place...) and two reflective vests for Christine and me to use during Ragnar in 9 weeks!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
New! New!
I have finished my third day at the new job. Hmmm.... it's going to be fun. I'm quite impatient however and am chomping at the bit. It's hard not to have direction when you're brand new and not really sure what you NEED to know or work on. And that's the pro and con for this group. You are trusted to make things work on your own, but then you end up in my type of situation.
So I have a plan. I am setting up meetings with people to teach me things. I have a To-Do list as well as a Questions list. Most of the questions list is going to be given to Jason, machine-gun-style, next week. I do hope he's ready for that. I'll try to get rid of some of them before the meeting. But for the rest of this week I kind of want to concentrate on finishing up my online training and going to a few sites to check things out. So I don't think I'll get a chance to ask most of them.
The To-Do list on the other hand....poor Mickey. haha That one is much longer. Not everything will go to him, but most of it will be things he'll have to help me with.
Hmmm, I guess it's good that I am self motivated! haha I think that might be a big reason why I got the job because I can handle it.
Some of the things that I miss from my previous job (other than specific people)... Cafeteria, able to wear jeans any day I want, knowing what I'm doing..., people around me (see below) and ummm...is that it? Maybe! Oh ya, I can't use Facebook at work. lol No big loss there.
The things I love is how welcome everyone makes me feel, that I get an iPhone 4 as my work phone, someone wonderful makes coffee every morning, there's so many new things for me to learn, did I mention someone makes coffee??? and more! It's also quieter...until the guys start talking about geeky things. It's kind of amusing really to go from a group of mostly girls and their girl talk to a group of guys.
But I am lonely. Let's see, in close proximity I have just a few people. It's almost isolating. Plus huge walls around me. I knew this would happen of course. I was well aware of the fact that I was losing my social network. But I didn't know it would be quite this bad with so few people. Not to say there aren't people around. Just not many and they're not viewable...I could stay in my cube all day and only see maybe one other person (Mickey if he's there). But this is a plus too because it seems like we're all a big happy family...even if I only know about half of their names to faces. I got all of the faces...thank goodness they have badges.
But yes, no regrets. I'm happy with this move. I just wish I could install a chip that would teach me everything I need to know so I could get going!
So I have a plan. I am setting up meetings with people to teach me things. I have a To-Do list as well as a Questions list. Most of the questions list is going to be given to Jason, machine-gun-style, next week. I do hope he's ready for that. I'll try to get rid of some of them before the meeting. But for the rest of this week I kind of want to concentrate on finishing up my online training and going to a few sites to check things out. So I don't think I'll get a chance to ask most of them.
The To-Do list on the other hand....poor Mickey. haha That one is much longer. Not everything will go to him, but most of it will be things he'll have to help me with.
Hmmm, I guess it's good that I am self motivated! haha I think that might be a big reason why I got the job because I can handle it.
Some of the things that I miss from my previous job (other than specific people)... Cafeteria, able to wear jeans any day I want, knowing what I'm doing..., people around me (see below) and ummm...is that it? Maybe! Oh ya, I can't use Facebook at work. lol No big loss there.
The things I love is how welcome everyone makes me feel, that I get an iPhone 4 as my work phone, someone wonderful makes coffee every morning, there's so many new things for me to learn, did I mention someone makes coffee??? and more! It's also quieter...until the guys start talking about geeky things. It's kind of amusing really to go from a group of mostly girls and their girl talk to a group of guys.
But I am lonely. Let's see, in close proximity I have just a few people. It's almost isolating. Plus huge walls around me. I knew this would happen of course. I was well aware of the fact that I was losing my social network. But I didn't know it would be quite this bad with so few people. Not to say there aren't people around. Just not many and they're not viewable...I could stay in my cube all day and only see maybe one other person (Mickey if he's there). But this is a plus too because it seems like we're all a big happy family...even if I only know about half of their names to faces. I got all of the faces...thank goodness they have badges.
But yes, no regrets. I'm happy with this move. I just wish I could install a chip that would teach me everything I need to know so I could get going!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
WTF, OMG, ICBINB!!!!
I need to know what the hell I've been thinking this week!!! I have a half marathon in ONE WEEK and I didn't run all week! All I did was stress eat. :( The last run I had was Sunday. I didn't even think about it all week. And I CAN'T run a lot this week because I need to 'taper off'...if you can call it tapering from nothing to less...
So I think I'll try to squish in a 5 mile run this afternoon and then do a 10-11 mile run tomorrow. Then, I'll need to do a 4 mile run on Tuesday or Wednesday and a 2 mile run on Thursday. Then 13.1 on Saturday!
Is there any limit to my procrastination?
The next week is when I need to get serious about hills. Ragnar is in 10 weeks and my first leg is an average of 5.3% INCLINE which well...if you're not strong on hills can be suicide. (3.7 miles of it). The other two runs are nothing compared. ha I can do hills...nice, rolling hills on the Parkway for instance. But that's the extent of it. I'll be fine. Worse case scenario is I walk....as fast as possible.
So I think I'll try to squish in a 5 mile run this afternoon and then do a 10-11 mile run tomorrow. Then, I'll need to do a 4 mile run on Tuesday or Wednesday and a 2 mile run on Thursday. Then 13.1 on Saturday!
Is there any limit to my procrastination?
The next week is when I need to get serious about hills. Ragnar is in 10 weeks and my first leg is an average of 5.3% INCLINE which well...if you're not strong on hills can be suicide. (3.7 miles of it). The other two runs are nothing compared. ha I can do hills...nice, rolling hills on the Parkway for instance. But that's the extent of it. I'll be fine. Worse case scenario is I walk....as fast as possible.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Out with the old, in with the new
Today was the last day of my working at Intermountain. And Monday is my first day of working with a new company. I think my brain hasn't fully accepted that I am not going to the same building Monday morning. It's almost like this is an adventure and a little bit of a field trip.
ha! My supervisor said to me today, "You know, you have 6 months to come back before you have to start over with your seniority". That's good to know!
I realized tonight that I've forgotten to do things like submit my payroll hours, after hours time, etc. And I'm sure more things will come to me as the weekend moves on. I did log in to my email (not disabled yet) and sent an email to the admin & supervisor. So I have a part of that fixed. We'll see how I can handle the rest - hopefully tomorrow.
The hardest part of leaving is the people. I really am a community/people type of person. I need people - even if some of them can drive me crazy. I spent about an hour today walking around, talking to everyone I could. But also, it's the job itself that I love so much. It's mostly because I am so comfortable with it and know what the hell I'm doing.
And here's the best part - after I had turned in my laptop and was just hanging around, I actually helped a co-worker with a couple of her calls. lol Seriously....I just couldn't let it go. Oh Tandem Non-Stop, how I'll miss you. Why can't every company use the same exact program and hardware for their business? "Why yes sir, you can pilot your planes with this program! And yes ma'am, HELP will dig the foundation and build your house in a jiffy!" Jiffy. lol
So here I am - unemployed for ... oh, about 58 more hours. Cool. Wonder what kind of trouble I can get into? But at least I've stopped panicking and am now just really excited.
ha! My supervisor said to me today, "You know, you have 6 months to come back before you have to start over with your seniority". That's good to know!
I realized tonight that I've forgotten to do things like submit my payroll hours, after hours time, etc. And I'm sure more things will come to me as the weekend moves on. I did log in to my email (not disabled yet) and sent an email to the admin & supervisor. So I have a part of that fixed. We'll see how I can handle the rest - hopefully tomorrow.
The hardest part of leaving is the people. I really am a community/people type of person. I need people - even if some of them can drive me crazy. I spent about an hour today walking around, talking to everyone I could. But also, it's the job itself that I love so much. It's mostly because I am so comfortable with it and know what the hell I'm doing.
And here's the best part - after I had turned in my laptop and was just hanging around, I actually helped a co-worker with a couple of her calls. lol Seriously....I just couldn't let it go. Oh Tandem Non-Stop, how I'll miss you. Why can't every company use the same exact program and hardware for their business? "Why yes sir, you can pilot your planes with this program! And yes ma'am, HELP will dig the foundation and build your house in a jiffy!" Jiffy. lol
So here I am - unemployed for ... oh, about 58 more hours. Cool. Wonder what kind of trouble I can get into? But at least I've stopped panicking and am now just really excited.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Okay new plan
Yesterday....love was such an easy game to play... (stop it Beatles, get out of my head!)
Eh hem! Starting over.
Yesterday... I cried. Oh how I cried. The tears started when I was half way home from my failed run and didn't stop for nearly an hour. I was defeated both physically and mentally.
Running isn't fun when I can't do it for more than 3-5 minutes at a time before my tibialis anterior shin muscles cramp up with a burning, sharp pain. Why would I want to run if it hurts so much? I thought perhaps I should take up biking instead. Or swimming! Or any other lower impact "sport".
How would I tell Terra? She'd kill me! haha And Ragnar....I think Kelvin would kill me too. He did say I couldn't get out of it. ;O)
I didn't care how much money I'd spent on the races for 2011 though. Or my equipment. I was finished.
So where does this leave me? Am I a quitter? Yes. :) But not on this.
Today I have a plan! After a terrible night's sleep (blah) but then drinking a bunch of coffee (oh how I love thee Tassimo! First a caramel latte then a triple shot espresso and now a double shot cappuccino...) combined with watching Doctor Who (David Tennant! Four episodes into season 2 and I want to have his babies...) makes my brain start to click with a plan. Oh yes, another ice fix this morning on my legs (shins, calves and achilles, oh my!) and some Doctor Hoy's pain relief gel definitely helped as well.
The plan:
Our bodies were made to run. I just have 35 years of no running (well...pretend the Junior High and High School running years didn't happen) so of course this last year of running will take its course on my body.
Why am I freaking out? Yes my first half is 3 weeks away, but it's not like I can't take a little rest right now. R.I.C.E. Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation. I'm failing at the elevation... But I have the other three down.
I'm thinking of seeing a sports medicine doctor. The issue there is I will only have insurance for two more weeks and then I start a new job with a 30 day waiting period. So I'll look into it now but then if I can't get an appointment soon, I'll just have to wait until May. That's not terrible. As long as I can, hopefully, get this under control before I seriously hurt myself AND before the Ragnar in June.
Any suggestions for a doctor is appreciated. :) If it's pre-new job then I'll want to go to TOSH most likely. If it's after...well, my insurance will change. So, I'll have to evaluate.
I know I need to shorten my gait, relax more when running and well...chill out. There's also barefoot running...but the problem with that is it is a lot harder on your calves and arches in the beginning and well, that's where I'm having pain. So that's for another year to consider.
Where does this leave me? Out of my double shot cappucinno but feeling more confident that this too shall pass. And I'll be fine. Right? RIGHT? Oh please be right.
Eh hem! Starting over.
Yesterday... I cried. Oh how I cried. The tears started when I was half way home from my failed run and didn't stop for nearly an hour. I was defeated both physically and mentally.
Running isn't fun when I can't do it for more than 3-5 minutes at a time before my tibialis anterior shin muscles cramp up with a burning, sharp pain. Why would I want to run if it hurts so much? I thought perhaps I should take up biking instead. Or swimming! Or any other lower impact "sport".
How would I tell Terra? She'd kill me! haha And Ragnar....I think Kelvin would kill me too. He did say I couldn't get out of it. ;O)
I didn't care how much money I'd spent on the races for 2011 though. Or my equipment. I was finished.
So where does this leave me? Am I a quitter? Yes. :) But not on this.
Today I have a plan! After a terrible night's sleep (blah) but then drinking a bunch of coffee (oh how I love thee Tassimo! First a caramel latte then a triple shot espresso and now a double shot cappuccino...) combined with watching Doctor Who (David Tennant! Four episodes into season 2 and I want to have his babies...) makes my brain start to click with a plan. Oh yes, another ice fix this morning on my legs (shins, calves and achilles, oh my!) and some Doctor Hoy's pain relief gel definitely helped as well.
The plan:
Our bodies were made to run. I just have 35 years of no running (well...pretend the Junior High and High School running years didn't happen) so of course this last year of running will take its course on my body.
Why am I freaking out? Yes my first half is 3 weeks away, but it's not like I can't take a little rest right now. R.I.C.E. Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation. I'm failing at the elevation... But I have the other three down.
- Resting = taking a few days off and then will start up again slowly. Worst case scenario is I only get a 10 mile run in before the half. I'm sure I can somehow push myself three more miles and just crawl across the finish line.
- Ice = We covered that. I have lots of Ice Sticks in the freezer!
- Compression = In a little bit I'll wear my compression sleeves but I have the Doctor Hoy's working right now.
- Elevation = Hmmm, I could just put my legs up and make Josh wait on me.... *click click click click*
I'm thinking of seeing a sports medicine doctor. The issue there is I will only have insurance for two more weeks and then I start a new job with a 30 day waiting period. So I'll look into it now but then if I can't get an appointment soon, I'll just have to wait until May. That's not terrible. As long as I can, hopefully, get this under control before I seriously hurt myself AND before the Ragnar in June.
Any suggestions for a doctor is appreciated. :) If it's pre-new job then I'll want to go to TOSH most likely. If it's after...well, my insurance will change. So, I'll have to evaluate.
I know I need to shorten my gait, relax more when running and well...chill out. There's also barefoot running...but the problem with that is it is a lot harder on your calves and arches in the beginning and well, that's where I'm having pain. So that's for another year to consider.
Where does this leave me? Out of my double shot cappucinno but feeling more confident that this too shall pass. And I'll be fine. Right? RIGHT? Oh please be right.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Ow
I'm distraught! The past three days I've tried running and every time both of my shins hurt so so so so so bad! Not just a little discomfort, but a burning, sharp pain. Today I made myself stay on the treadmill for 30 minutes - a combination of running until the pain was unbearable and walking until the pain eased enough to rinse and repeat. But that only got me about 2 miles. How lame is that? Especially considering I am running 10 miles tomorrow! Or I think I am. *cry*
I'm tempted to bundle up and run outside tomorrow. But it's supposed to be rain/snow tomorrow. I can't wait until Sunday because I'm on-call that day. A 10 mile run will take me about 2 hours including drive time. Ya...and I'm also not going to carry my laptop with me for the run. I have enough problems without lugging around that 300 pound rock (okay, no more than 10 but after a few miles I'm sure it will bring me to my knees). I also don't think it's smart to run on a treadmill, seeing as three days in a row I was reduced to running tears. There's no crying in running! (At least where people can see...) This is a tragedy!
Come down from the ledge Melissa....
I am just a little panicky because the half marathon is in THREE WEEKS! Yes, you heard right boys & girls, three weeks. I'm trying to do everything right. I'm stretching, doing strength training, using my foam roller, using my foam roller again, raising my running distance slowly and praying to the FSM for him to raise his noodly appendage and carry me just a little farther. I'm even wearing my compression sleeves.
My only hope is that it's the treadmill's fault. Especially the ones at work that don't have nearly the "cushion" as the one I ran on this last weekend for 9 miles (mostly pain free might I add).
If I survive the next three weeks, it will be a miracle. Tomorrow morning I have my personal trainer appointment. After that? We'll see.
I'm tempted to bundle up and run outside tomorrow. But it's supposed to be rain/snow tomorrow. I can't wait until Sunday because I'm on-call that day. A 10 mile run will take me about 2 hours including drive time. Ya...and I'm also not going to carry my laptop with me for the run. I have enough problems without lugging around that 300 pound rock (okay, no more than 10 but after a few miles I'm sure it will bring me to my knees). I also don't think it's smart to run on a treadmill, seeing as three days in a row I was reduced to running tears. There's no crying in running! (At least where people can see...) This is a tragedy!
Come down from the ledge Melissa....
I am just a little panicky because the half marathon is in THREE WEEKS! Yes, you heard right boys & girls, three weeks. I'm trying to do everything right. I'm stretching, doing strength training, using my foam roller, using my foam roller again, raising my running distance slowly and praying to the FSM for him to raise his noodly appendage and carry me just a little farther. I'm even wearing my compression sleeves.
My only hope is that it's the treadmill's fault. Especially the ones at work that don't have nearly the "cushion" as the one I ran on this last weekend for 9 miles (mostly pain free might I add).
If I survive the next three weeks, it will be a miracle. Tomorrow morning I have my personal trainer appointment. After that? We'll see.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Running, running as fast as we can
There's four weeks to my first half marathon of 2011. I'm a little nervous. As I ramp up my mileage, it's becoming more and more painful. I really hope I can stay healthy.
I'll be running 9 miles tomorrow -- I hope it can be outside. Today was impossible due to the high winds so that's why I did the weight training & 5 mile run instead. I can't stand treadmill running for more than 5 miles. Plus I really didn't have time. Then for the next three weeks I have 10 miles, 11 miles and 12 miles. I'm a little tempted to NOT do 12 miles the weekend before the half and just do the 11 (or 10!) again. I really want to be healthy for the half. But we'll see how I feel.
After my half, there is NO REST! *pray* I switch to training for the Ragnar in June. I'll start throwing in some days where I run three different runs. (e.g. 5 mile run - rest for a few hours - 5 mile run - rest for a few hours - 3 mile run.)
More hills! OMG I need more hills. *sigh* My first leg of the Ragnar is 3.7 miles and steep. I'd rather run a half marathon. Thankfully (did I really say "thankfully"?) the hill by my house is amazingly steep. So I'm going to start run/walking up that thing, turn around and come back down and rinse/repeat. Should be exciting. How did I say that with a straight face?
So that's my plan. Yes, to kill my legs. Oh no, I mean run lots. After Ragnar, I can take a small (very small) break but there's still no rest seeing as I'm contemplating doing the Vegas Ragnar in October. Oh ya, and a half marathon in October too that I've already signed up for.
What is wrong with me?
I'll be running 9 miles tomorrow -- I hope it can be outside. Today was impossible due to the high winds so that's why I did the weight training & 5 mile run instead. I can't stand treadmill running for more than 5 miles. Plus I really didn't have time. Then for the next three weeks I have 10 miles, 11 miles and 12 miles. I'm a little tempted to NOT do 12 miles the weekend before the half and just do the 11 (or 10!) again. I really want to be healthy for the half. But we'll see how I feel.
After my half, there is NO REST! *pray* I switch to training for the Ragnar in June. I'll start throwing in some days where I run three different runs. (e.g. 5 mile run - rest for a few hours - 5 mile run - rest for a few hours - 3 mile run.)
More hills! OMG I need more hills. *sigh* My first leg of the Ragnar is 3.7 miles and steep. I'd rather run a half marathon. Thankfully (did I really say "thankfully"?) the hill by my house is amazingly steep. So I'm going to start run/walking up that thing, turn around and come back down and rinse/repeat. Should be exciting. How did I say that with a straight face?
So that's my plan. Yes, to kill my legs. Oh no, I mean run lots. After Ragnar, I can take a small (very small) break but there's still no rest seeing as I'm contemplating doing the Vegas Ragnar in October. Oh ya, and a half marathon in October too that I've already signed up for.
What is wrong with me?
Friday, March 18, 2011
Changes coming to a Melissa near you
It is currently Saturday morning - March 12. I say this because I won't post this for a few days but wanted to start writing now.
Exactly two weeks ago it was suggested to me that I apply at a new company doing somewhat similar work that I do now, but on a different scale. To be honest, I had casually been thinking about applying for this position for a few weeks before but it was nothing serious. I had no intention of putting in the application. I'm happy at my current job. Yes there are things that are frustrating to me, but my overall job satisfaction is really high. I love the people, the work I do, how good I am at it, etc. And I know no matter where I work, there will always be the same or similar frustrations.
Then how did my life change so much in two weeks? When Frances approached me that Saturday evening and asked about my interest it was like a switch turned on and I went from casual, not ready to do it right now to ya, what a great idea! I talked to Jason (the person who is vacating the position) who said "hell ya" and to my husband, Josh, who also said "hell ya" and well...that was it. I was in.
Sunday I sent in my resume. 1.5 weeks later I had an interview (Wednesday) and two days after that (yesterday) I was setting up the 2nd interview for this coming up Monday. I'm still a little shocked by the whole thing.
I'm very excited about it all! I can't wait to learn more about the different vendors and programs they work with. And I'm excited to go visit the hospitals. It is definitely right up my alley as far as having quite a bit of variety in the day and tons of things to learn.
But I'm also very sad. I really am proud of the hospital organization I currently work for as well as the program I work on. I also will greatly miss quite a few people there. Thankfully I will stay friends with them! There's no way I'm giving that up. Besides, I'll only be about 10 minutes away from my current workplace. I also feel like I'm abandoning them when I am needed. But at the same time, I know they can handle it without me and things will go on. They'll be awesome no matter what and with changes that are being implemented, I hope they'll get even better.
Now I have to think about telling my team. I don't want to give notice or freak everyone out until I've accepted the job from HR. Seriously, you never know. I think telling them is the scariest part. I've already started thinking about how I'm going to transition things away from me. One thing I really hope for is that I can tell everyone before we sign up for shifts in April. I know everyone can split my shifts up and cover them, but I'd rather not have to sign up and deal with any of that. I also feel bad that I'm going to leave them even more short handed. But really that's not my fault. We've had three open positions for months and they haven't been filled. It's ridiculous.
***** Updated Friday, 3/18/11
Monday's interview with the CIO went great! And well this morning I was offered a job with HCA! Woot woot woot! I start April 11 there - with Apr 8 as my last day with Intermountain. The team has been informed. Management has been informed. And well...that's it. Time to publish!
Exactly two weeks ago it was suggested to me that I apply at a new company doing somewhat similar work that I do now, but on a different scale. To be honest, I had casually been thinking about applying for this position for a few weeks before but it was nothing serious. I had no intention of putting in the application. I'm happy at my current job. Yes there are things that are frustrating to me, but my overall job satisfaction is really high. I love the people, the work I do, how good I am at it, etc. And I know no matter where I work, there will always be the same or similar frustrations.
Then how did my life change so much in two weeks? When Frances approached me that Saturday evening and asked about my interest it was like a switch turned on and I went from casual, not ready to do it right now to ya, what a great idea! I talked to Jason (the person who is vacating the position) who said "hell ya" and to my husband, Josh, who also said "hell ya" and well...that was it. I was in.
Sunday I sent in my resume. 1.5 weeks later I had an interview (Wednesday) and two days after that (yesterday) I was setting up the 2nd interview for this coming up Monday. I'm still a little shocked by the whole thing.
I'm very excited about it all! I can't wait to learn more about the different vendors and programs they work with. And I'm excited to go visit the hospitals. It is definitely right up my alley as far as having quite a bit of variety in the day and tons of things to learn.
But I'm also very sad. I really am proud of the hospital organization I currently work for as well as the program I work on. I also will greatly miss quite a few people there. Thankfully I will stay friends with them! There's no way I'm giving that up. Besides, I'll only be about 10 minutes away from my current workplace. I also feel like I'm abandoning them when I am needed. But at the same time, I know they can handle it without me and things will go on. They'll be awesome no matter what and with changes that are being implemented, I hope they'll get even better.
Now I have to think about telling my team. I don't want to give notice or freak everyone out until I've accepted the job from HR. Seriously, you never know. I think telling them is the scariest part. I've already started thinking about how I'm going to transition things away from me. One thing I really hope for is that I can tell everyone before we sign up for shifts in April. I know everyone can split my shifts up and cover them, but I'd rather not have to sign up and deal with any of that. I also feel bad that I'm going to leave them even more short handed. But really that's not my fault. We've had three open positions for months and they haven't been filled. It's ridiculous.
***** Updated Friday, 3/18/11
Monday's interview with the CIO went great! And well this morning I was offered a job with HCA! Woot woot woot! I start April 11 there - with Apr 8 as my last day with Intermountain. The team has been informed. Management has been informed. And well...that's it. Time to publish!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Running is a mental sport
This started off as a Facebook post, but then I realized I wanted to say too much. So we get blogged!
I am sore from neck to arch. The personal trainer worked my back and hamstrings and I worked the rest of my legs. So there's very little on my body that isn't at the very least tight. If not painful.
My IT bands and glutes are hating me for sure. When I walk I waddle. But it's not just my IT bands making me waddle! I had to tape my left ankle and right achilles last night. It helped my achilles but not my ankle. I think that's because it's not quite my ankle that hurts. It's that soft "bump" that is on the inside of the foot. I've done searches online and can figure out what everything is around that ... muscle? Ligament? But not what that in specific is called. But regardless, it's strained. And I don't know how to wrap it. It's in between the arch and heel. I'm sure it's caused by my overpronation. Ice ice baby! Took some ibuprofen already (which I'm NOT supposed to take...).
That was after just 8.5 miles? Can't WAIT for the next 5 weeks! Let's see....
March 19 = 9 miles
March 26 = 10 miles
April 2 = 11 miles
April 9 = 12 miles
Then...April 16, RACE DAY = 13.1 miles.
AND THEN there's no rest for me because I have to start in on my Ragnar training. *sigh* Do I need to graduate to an ice bath? Oh hell no.
Then to make matters worse, I woke up this morning with a gravelly voice. I'm on call and had to call a user and it was all raspy. That's when I disovered my issue. No pain, just lots of congestion I guess. I took some Mucinex. And I REALLY REALLY REALLY need to have my voice tomorrow. No, raspy is not sexy.
Too bad I can't "roll" my vocal cords! Speaking of...why am I sitting here when I can be torturing myself on the ground with my new foam roller? It's twice as long as my old one though....wish me luck on finding room to use it.
p.s. Wow, this blog is super whiney isn't it? haha I'm actually in a great mood regardless of the pain and voice issues. I am so much better than I was last year which is exciting. Think of how kickass I'll be next year!
p.p.s. What is up with the ALLCAPS Melissa?
I am sore from neck to arch. The personal trainer worked my back and hamstrings and I worked the rest of my legs. So there's very little on my body that isn't at the very least tight. If not painful.
My IT bands and glutes are hating me for sure. When I walk I waddle. But it's not just my IT bands making me waddle! I had to tape my left ankle and right achilles last night. It helped my achilles but not my ankle. I think that's because it's not quite my ankle that hurts. It's that soft "bump" that is on the inside of the foot. I've done searches online and can figure out what everything is around that ... muscle? Ligament? But not what that in specific is called. But regardless, it's strained. And I don't know how to wrap it. It's in between the arch and heel. I'm sure it's caused by my overpronation. Ice ice baby! Took some ibuprofen already (which I'm NOT supposed to take...).
That was after just 8.5 miles? Can't WAIT for the next 5 weeks! Let's see....
March 19 = 9 miles
March 26 = 10 miles
April 2 = 11 miles
April 9 = 12 miles
Then...April 16, RACE DAY = 13.1 miles.
AND THEN there's no rest for me because I have to start in on my Ragnar training. *sigh* Do I need to graduate to an ice bath? Oh hell no.
Then to make matters worse, I woke up this morning with a gravelly voice. I'm on call and had to call a user and it was all raspy. That's when I disovered my issue. No pain, just lots of congestion I guess. I took some Mucinex. And I REALLY REALLY REALLY need to have my voice tomorrow. No, raspy is not sexy.
Too bad I can't "roll" my vocal cords! Speaking of...why am I sitting here when I can be torturing myself on the ground with my new foam roller? It's twice as long as my old one though....wish me luck on finding room to use it.
p.s. Wow, this blog is super whiney isn't it? haha I'm actually in a great mood regardless of the pain and voice issues. I am so much better than I was last year which is exciting. Think of how kickass I'll be next year!
p.p.s. What is up with the ALLCAPS Melissa?
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tactile
I believe I'm a rare sort of person who is totally fascinated by touch and the texture of things. I don't know many people who will sit there and get fixated on how something feels. But maybe they don't admit it! Or I think I'm more special than I am. But the only other person I know who is like this is my friend Deb at work.
It's the feeling I get from the palms of my hands. Perhaps I have extra nerves there? I'm very sensitive to touch. But it's so soothing and ... well, ummm...in many cases erotic. Or something. *blush*
Some of the things I get attached to - my hair. The left side and back. I am always playing with my hair. I'm surprised I have hair on the left side considering how much I twirl and pull. It gets worse when I'm tired. But I will do it any time - especially when I'm stressed because it calms me down.
Right now I am drinking a glass of wine and I can't stop lightly rubbing my hand on the top of the glass. It feels so ... perfect. So much so that this is taking me forever to type. (This is what made me think to talk about this...)
My own skin. Everything ... including my lips. Seriously - I'll be laying in bed, for instance, and will .... (oops, just paused to glass touch) ... lightly rub/tickle my arm or stomach which makes me feel totally content and relaxed. Nope, don't need anyone else to do it. Just me. And my calves or thighs? Holy crap, I swear I am addicted to them.
You know those balls? Or catepillars. Or whatever shape they are and they have a whole bunch of individual ... rubber string type things on them? Oh gosh, what are they? A KOOSH BALL! Thank you Google. Man, you give me one of those and I will play with it for hours. I'm all out of them too...I think it's time to get more.
Oh and other people's hair.... I haven't played with a head of hair in such a long time. Unfortunately the hubby doesn't like his hair touched. That's right, I did get an offer to hair play from my friend. But alas, I never did it. Too bad he just moved away. haha (To be honest, someone else's hair is way too sexual to me so I held back from that little experiment. lol)
And if I'm walking around, I just have to touch things. It's almost like I learn more by physically having some kind of contact with that thing. Which might explain why I also do learn faster and better by hands-on doing things myself. Someone lecturing me doesn't work nearly as well as giving me something to do myself.
Honestly, there's no point to this blog. It's just my obsessing, as usual. But really, you give me some soothing music (listening to Switchfoot right now) and a glass of wine and I'll fall in love with everything I touch. Even if it's just my own hands and arms ... as the 5 minute pause just now was dedicated to.
Hopefully this isn't something like OCD or Tourette's. :) And I suppose I'm not alone. But I still bet I'm much more tactile obsessed than most people. I think I'll publish this post now so I can play with my glass more.
It's the feeling I get from the palms of my hands. Perhaps I have extra nerves there? I'm very sensitive to touch. But it's so soothing and ... well, ummm...in many cases erotic. Or something. *blush*
Some of the things I get attached to - my hair. The left side and back. I am always playing with my hair. I'm surprised I have hair on the left side considering how much I twirl and pull. It gets worse when I'm tired. But I will do it any time - especially when I'm stressed because it calms me down.
Right now I am drinking a glass of wine and I can't stop lightly rubbing my hand on the top of the glass. It feels so ... perfect. So much so that this is taking me forever to type. (This is what made me think to talk about this...)
My own skin. Everything ... including my lips. Seriously - I'll be laying in bed, for instance, and will .... (oops, just paused to glass touch) ... lightly rub/tickle my arm or stomach which makes me feel totally content and relaxed. Nope, don't need anyone else to do it. Just me. And my calves or thighs? Holy crap, I swear I am addicted to them.
You know those balls? Or catepillars. Or whatever shape they are and they have a whole bunch of individual ... rubber string type things on them? Oh gosh, what are they? A KOOSH BALL! Thank you Google. Man, you give me one of those and I will play with it for hours. I'm all out of them too...I think it's time to get more.
Oh and other people's hair.... I haven't played with a head of hair in such a long time. Unfortunately the hubby doesn't like his hair touched. That's right, I did get an offer to hair play from my friend. But alas, I never did it. Too bad he just moved away. haha (To be honest, someone else's hair is way too sexual to me so I held back from that little experiment. lol)
And if I'm walking around, I just have to touch things. It's almost like I learn more by physically having some kind of contact with that thing. Which might explain why I also do learn faster and better by hands-on doing things myself. Someone lecturing me doesn't work nearly as well as giving me something to do myself.
Honestly, there's no point to this blog. It's just my obsessing, as usual. But really, you give me some soothing music (listening to Switchfoot right now) and a glass of wine and I'll fall in love with everything I touch. Even if it's just my own hands and arms ... as the 5 minute pause just now was dedicated to.
Hopefully this isn't something like OCD or Tourette's. :) And I suppose I'm not alone. But I still bet I'm much more tactile obsessed than most people. I think I'll publish this post now so I can play with my glass more.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Ebook vs Paper
I have read a few books on an Ebook Reader over the last year. But I've read many more paper books. The thing I find pretty interesting is that in the begining of reading on my Sony E-Reader I kept trying to turn the pages. Now when I read a paper book, I try to rub my finger across the page to make the page turn (you know, touch screen). How quickly one can adapt to something new.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that I find the E-Reader a preferable way to get my read on.
I recently finished reading this month's book club book on my E-Reader. The first one for book club on this device in fact. The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag. By Chol-hwan Kang and Pierre Rigoulot. Excellent book by the way. I was fascinated the entire time and learned so much!
This book made me realize the things I like and don't like about Ebooks vs Paper books.
Pros to Ebooks:
Fewer books on my shelves
I can't lose my bookmark!
I can carry multiple books with me at any time.
It has a stand
No papercuts (yes I can do this...)
Pros to Paper Book:
Just feels right to me. Isn't that what everyone says?
So much easier to "flip back" to find something I've read and want to refer to
I get to use my favorite bookmark... (I have measured my life in coffee spoons - TS Eliot)
There's something great about a book you've read more than once - a "well loved book" is so much nicer to curl up to.
The "So much easier to "flip back" to find something I've read and want to refer to" is really the key pro to the paper book. I was continually irritated in the Pyongyang book that I couldn't go forwards and backwards easily. Like I wanted to go back and read something again that he referred to and I couldn't find it for a while. And there were footnotes but the * and the actual footnote were pages apart so it was harder for me to reference things. Oh and gee...sometimes it is way too sensitive but then not responsive at all. So very annoying.
Plus I'm really good with a paper book at remembering something I read and being able to go find it. Like when I'm sitting in book club and I think "oh yes, I need to find that section and read the quote!" But with the ebook I won't be able to do that.
So yes, I do prefer the experience with the paper book over the ebook. Regardless, I will still buy the ebook versions of books but definitely not with book club books. But that's only to reserve shelf space for the books I really like. Plus I kind of like trying out new things. Makes life more interesting. Next I need a flying car to try out. *snap snap* Make that happen Internet.
Although my question is, why are the ebooks the same price as paper?
But that doesn't necessarily mean that I find the E-Reader a preferable way to get my read on.
I recently finished reading this month's book club book on my E-Reader. The first one for book club on this device in fact. The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag. By Chol-hwan Kang and Pierre Rigoulot. Excellent book by the way. I was fascinated the entire time and learned so much!
This book made me realize the things I like and don't like about Ebooks vs Paper books.
Pros to Ebooks:
Fewer books on my shelves
I can't lose my bookmark!
I can carry multiple books with me at any time.
It has a stand
No papercuts (yes I can do this...)
Pros to Paper Book:
Just feels right to me. Isn't that what everyone says?
So much easier to "flip back" to find something I've read and want to refer to
I get to use my favorite bookmark... (I have measured my life in coffee spoons - TS Eliot)
There's something great about a book you've read more than once - a "well loved book" is so much nicer to curl up to.
The "So much easier to "flip back" to find something I've read and want to refer to" is really the key pro to the paper book. I was continually irritated in the Pyongyang book that I couldn't go forwards and backwards easily. Like I wanted to go back and read something again that he referred to and I couldn't find it for a while. And there were footnotes but the * and the actual footnote were pages apart so it was harder for me to reference things. Oh and gee...sometimes it is way too sensitive but then not responsive at all. So very annoying.
Plus I'm really good with a paper book at remembering something I read and being able to go find it. Like when I'm sitting in book club and I think "oh yes, I need to find that section and read the quote!" But with the ebook I won't be able to do that.
So yes, I do prefer the experience with the paper book over the ebook. Regardless, I will still buy the ebook versions of books but definitely not with book club books. But that's only to reserve shelf space for the books I really like. Plus I kind of like trying out new things. Makes life more interesting. Next I need a flying car to try out. *snap snap* Make that happen Internet.
Although my question is, why are the ebooks the same price as paper?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Success!
Just got back from my Personal Trainer appointment. It was measuring day. Since I started this training with her 5.5 weeks ago I have lost 8 lbs, a total of 6.5 inches and 1.5% body fat. Hell ya. :) And I feel it too!
Of course she's trying to talk me into signing up for another 10+ sessions with her. lol "Just think of how much progress we'll make this month." Even though I know it's her sales line (she gets paid only if she has clients), I'm tempted. I like having someone who MAKES me go through the pain of weight training. And oh my... tonight my lower back and abs are so angry with me that I'm sure they're going to punish me tomorrow. But it's worth it. I know I won't do these things on my own. I'd just keep running and not strengthening anything else or toning up.
Plus I can tell that my endurance and ability to do the exercises she puts me through are so much better than they were when I started. In the beginning it was so painful that it was torture and during the session I'd curse my decision. Now it's still so painful but I love every second of it. Even the ab exercises. *breathe breathe cry*
The goals this month are another 8 lbs lost (wow....I sure hope that's possible), a total of 20 workouts (did 18 for February) and get my running distance up to 10 miles. If I lose the 8 lbs it does put me at my end of March goal which is XXX (can't you see behind the X's? weird.) I guess I'd better be more consistent with my diet if I want to hit it. I didn't think about how close I was until now.
I'm mostly excited to lose weight so that I can run better, faster and longer. Hopefully with less pain on my knees too. And once I get to my end of March goal, I'll only have 9-10 more lbs for my main weight goal before I reassess where I want to go. But I am going to assume they'll drop slower since I'll be closer to my "ideal weight". I haven't been below that number since I was a teenager so I don't want to give myself false expectations until I hit it again. Although it would be rather nice to be able to wear a bikini this summer and not have to worry about getting harpoon scars.
Of course she's trying to talk me into signing up for another 10+ sessions with her. lol "Just think of how much progress we'll make this month." Even though I know it's her sales line (she gets paid only if she has clients), I'm tempted. I like having someone who MAKES me go through the pain of weight training. And oh my... tonight my lower back and abs are so angry with me that I'm sure they're going to punish me tomorrow. But it's worth it. I know I won't do these things on my own. I'd just keep running and not strengthening anything else or toning up.
Plus I can tell that my endurance and ability to do the exercises she puts me through are so much better than they were when I started. In the beginning it was so painful that it was torture and during the session I'd curse my decision. Now it's still so painful but I love every second of it. Even the ab exercises. *breathe breathe cry*
The goals this month are another 8 lbs lost (wow....I sure hope that's possible), a total of 20 workouts (did 18 for February) and get my running distance up to 10 miles. If I lose the 8 lbs it does put me at my end of March goal which is XXX (can't you see behind the X's? weird.) I guess I'd better be more consistent with my diet if I want to hit it. I didn't think about how close I was until now.
I'm mostly excited to lose weight so that I can run better, faster and longer. Hopefully with less pain on my knees too. And once I get to my end of March goal, I'll only have 9-10 more lbs for my main weight goal before I reassess where I want to go. But I am going to assume they'll drop slower since I'll be closer to my "ideal weight". I haven't been below that number since I was a teenager so I don't want to give myself false expectations until I hit it again. Although it would be rather nice to be able to wear a bikini this summer and not have to worry about getting harpoon scars.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Love your body
My good friend, Terra, recently blogged the 10 things she loves about her body. The point? We all can find 10 (or more) things we hate, but it's a lot harder to come up with the things you love. I was feeling rather silly and said "I love many things about me". I guess I'd better test that out.
I get sad when I hear people, especially my friends, obsessing over how they look and saying things like "I'm fat". Really now. Don't you know that you're F*kin' Perfect just the way you are?
- My rack. Hey Terra - I'm not afraid to say it as #1 and sound like "an obsessed porn queen". lol
- My butt - yes I like my butt. lol I admit sometimes I turn around in the mirror to check it out. *sheepish smile*
- Hips - goes along with the butt I suppose but I need to stretch this out....
- My brain - it's a part of my body right? I am glad and relieved that I can think critically, logically and from multiple angles.
- The incredible muscles in my calves & thighs. I mean seriously....just need to get rid of the covering on my thighs and they'll be amazing. I'm obsessed with my calves.
- My face - I think I'm pretty. And look younger than my 36 (almost 37!) years.
- My voice (still a part of the body I hope!) - Even if I was a hag, I know I can melt anyone's heart with my singing.
- Ummm.....this 10 count is getting harder. I'll steal one now... I like my proportions. Everything is in order - top, bottom, hip, waist, etc. I was put together well. Thank you DNA! ;O)
- My eyes - I love their color (green ... slightly hazel). No one ever tells me they love my eyes, but it doesn't matter. I love them.
- How small my wrists and ankles are - makes me look thinner than I really am. I know that's a funny one.
I get sad when I hear people, especially my friends, obsessing over how they look and saying things like "I'm fat". Really now. Don't you know that you're F*kin' Perfect just the way you are?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)