The Training Blog of newbierunner

Well, surgery happened Monday, and things went fine. Now for the business of getting better! The doc said no serious exertion for about six weeks…*not* what I wanted to hear! I was hoping to be back in martial arts classes in four weeks, maybe starting to run. Well…maybe not so much in four weeks. One thing positive….the old me, who was 100 pounds heavier, would have said “six weeks without exercise, hallelujah! Can we stretch it to eight?” The new me wants to find a way around restrictions. I know, do what the doc says…at the same time, I need to stay in this headspace, where I’m getting a little tweaky cause I can’t run, swim, jump kick, whatever.
Like so many of us, I have an addictive personality. I was stuck on food for many years, and for a stretch, I was also hooked on nicotine. Scientists have started making claims that using drugs, alcohol and overeating stimulate the same pleasure centers in the brain. Ironically, those pleasure centers can also be roused by the endorphins released during exercise. The trick is to make exercise the addiction. I need to stay in this headspace, where the activity is what I want, even when I can’t have it.

Logbook Activity

• Type: Walk
• Date: 08/14/2008
• Time: 22:24:32
• Distance: 1 miles

Le sigh, le bummer…Today was the last race I’ll be part of for a while, and probably the last of the year for the kids. Monday I go in for surgery, so it will be late september before the doc gives me the ok to power walk, let alone tear up the roads. As someone who used to be very heavy, it’s strange to realize how much I will miss both the running and martial arts. Who’d have thought?
The kids ran too, as I mentioned…my girl did well, as professed by one race volunteer “your daughter flew through here!” I tried not to let my chest puff up too much! As for the boys…sigh, hehe…my older son has begun the struggle with his weight, and with this comes some indifference towards athletic pursuits. He goes along, but just isn’t that into it. How much do you push? I don’t want to make running a chore. My littlest guy poses even more challenges. While his weight isn’t an issue, he is young, and autistic. I’m not sure how much he even understands about being in a race, though I want to keep him involved in family stuff. Getting him through a race has consisted of “Mommy’s gonna getcha!” and chasing him. He wasn’t going for that today, so I carried him for about half the distance! Maybe two miles was a little ambitious. So while my girl rocketed past Daddy’s snapping camera, the boys and I took up the last three places. Ah well…we did what mattered…everyone finished (learn about goals, my dumplings!), no one got hurt, and we all had fun commandeering the playground afterward, woohoo!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Walk
• Date: 08/09/2008
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 00:40:00.00
• Distance: 2 miles
• Average Pace: 20:00/mile

The following contains a fair bit of moaning and feeling sorry for myself. For those who are whine impaired, discretion is advised.
So I went to Tae Kwon Do class, and was looking forward to having it. This would be my last session before surgery, so I’m sure leaves would be falling before I tried any more jump kicks. Class is in the wrestling room at the high school, so the floor is covered with mats. While this usually is an advantage (much nicer to land on), today it backfired. I was just starting a turn kick when my baby toe slipped into a small crevice between the mats. In a fraction of a second, all of my foot turned drastically to the left, while that baby toe stayed behind, much to my regret. I can’t say how far that toe bent, but it felt like a solid ninety degrees, straight sideways. Yeowch! I bluffed through class and am now icing my dainty piggies. Sadly, it was too late to call into work, so now I sit on the hospital unit, still icing. Could be worse, at least it’s not a day shift.
Just to add to the picture a bit, Saturday is the last race that the kids and I will have this summer. It’s a two miler, and I really need to run, because my autistic son is registered. He won’t be clear on what to do, and I don’t feel right asking one of my other kids to babysit him when their focus should be on their own run. This toe has got to shape up! I should mention that come Monday, I’ll be having surgery and will be wallowing in bedrest and pain meds, so at that point my foot won’t matter much.
All this had made for a funny-stupid kind of day, but the last bit is what really bites. I just got an email from my husband. He’d had the sweetest cat, a little ball of white fuzz named Snowball. Snowball had been our baby for years, but didn’t like it when actual babies came along, so he went to my husband’s mother’s house to live. This email now tells me that Snowball had developed cancer, and was put to sleep a couple days ago. I keep thinking about how he would come up and “headbutt” you when he wanted a snuggle, and how crazy he would get when he got hold of a drinking straw (the best toy in the world!) I feel like crying. Hopefully my co workers will think it’s my foot and just roll their eyes. I don’t think I’ll be able to talk about it just yet.
So this has been my sucko day. For anyone who read it through, thanks for listening!

RIP Snowball
10-31-90 8-5-08

Logbook Activity

• Type: Other
• Date: 08/07/2008
• Time: 19:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00

Tempo run today. I have to research more about what my max pulse should be. Turns out I’m not 18 anymore (oh crap, when did that happen?)
:0)

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/06/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 00:35:05.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 8:46.32/mile

Woohoo! This was the last big thing I wanted to do before my surgery date (which is Monday). I got through the test and earned my first belt. This was really exciting for me…even though the instructors and other students are very welcoming and encouraging, I now feel like some kind of initiation is ended. I have a belt, I’m in the club now!
I’m still percolating with nervous energy over the whole thing, so I’ve been sewing a bag to keep my uniform in. Martial arts is so cool!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Other
• Date: 08/06/2008
• Time: 19:00:00
• Total Time: 1:30:00.00

Ran into Amy at the pool. Actually spent about 30 minutes just bobbing in the water and yakking! So, our jaws got a good workout. Eventually I did get 35 laps in, so that’s not too shabby. Running and maybe some weights tomorrow!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Swim
• Date: 08/03/2008
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 00:25:00.00
• Distance: 880 yd
• Average Pace: 2:50.45/100yd

How the mind dictates what the body can do…as I’ve slowly gone further and further distance running, I find that getting into the right headspace is as important as warming up the legs. If I set out to run three miles, then I gasp and huff across the three mile mark. If I run twelve miles, then that’s when I huff and moan (so I’m a drama queen, sue me!), and I barely notice the three mile mark. But there is another facet to the mental part of endurance sports, something my kids have taught me.
I love the little things dearly. We feed and clothe them, read to them, spend the day at the fair with them, and get them involved in running. We do our best by them, but dangit…when Mommy is on the treadmill, Mommy needs to pay attention to what she’s doing! Bless their little hearts, we usually spend the first 30 minutes or so of a run with little squirts walking right by Daddy to bring Mom such emergencies as fort building, crayons, and fighting over the remote. Augh! Most of the time it’s not a big deal, but there are days when there is no peace to be had! After three or four interruptions, I find that it’s hard to get my head back where it belongs.
I know…one day I’ll miss all this. They are interrupting because they are sweet, busy little things, and they forget that running time is Mom time. I just keep reminding them, and try to keep my mind on my run.

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/02/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 1:37:25.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 9:44.42/mile

Tempo run….hope I’m doing this right! I keep picking up the speed and looking for the upper limit. Don’t want to increase too much too fast.
The kids are training for the two mile run in a couple weeks. So cute!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/30/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 00:30:00.00
• Distance: 3.41 miles
• Average Pace: 8:47.86/mile

America is a country that is eating itself to death. I just read an article that predicts that almost 90% of Americans will be obese by the year 2030. Why does this happen? Some of the answers are pretty obvious…food is readily available, with little effort required on our part to get it. Foods with high sodium and saturated fat have longer shelf life than healthier alternatives, adding to their broad appeal. Many highly processed foods are cheaper to manufacture. More jobs involve sitting in an office or cubicle all day. Driving is easier and more comfortable than walking or riding a bicycle. As I mull it over, there are more factors that contribute to the overeating issue, factors that affect us on a more personal level.
I’m working another night shift (yes, on my fanny much of the time….sigh) in the midst of a busy time for myself and co-workers. One of my colleagues took me aside…she wanted to bring in some kind of food for us, as we’ve been working so hard lately, and asked me to choose something for her to bring. This is not a comfortable topic for me. I have had issues with junk food addiction, so I really try to avoid rewards and comforts that are edible. While I tried to decline my friend’s offer, she insisted, to the point where the conversation was becoming awkward. While she was offering things like ice cream bars or trays of cookies, I finally caved and suggested a veggie tray or melon salad that we could all pick at. My friend meant well…it’s been busy here, and she wanted to provide a comfort to all of us. What do we do when we have guests to our homes? We see to their physical comforts first, making sure our guest has a seat, something to eat/drink..then we can relax and enjoy the visit. The intent is to be thoughtful and generous to people in our home, just like my friend is looking to provide for her co-workers. We want to be seen as kind and able to do for others. We become uncomfortable when our generosity is declined, and sometimes even take it as a personal rejection. I think of the holidays…my husband and I would visit his mom, his dad, then my grandmother, all on Thanksgiving day. If we didn’t eat at every visit, things would get awkward, even unpleasant! “Why did you eat supper at your father’s, when I baked this pie just for you?” Relatives would work for hours preparing outlandish feasts, only to feel unappreciated, as though their very worth was undermined. The pressure to overeat can be a difficult hurdle. I know…we should politely decline, or take something “for later”. I’ve even accepted food on occasion, only to discreetly dispose of it (a desperate move to be used with utmost caution). Our holiday dilemma was further eased when my husband and I moved to another state (because of new jobs, not the food issue!)
I don’t know of an easy answer. Our need to provide for friends and family is deep seated, and we can’t “cure” everyone who feels compelled to force feed us. As for tonight, my generous co-worker brought in a meat and cheese tray. I enjoyed a reasonable amount at my normal mealtime, checked the nutrient label, and made sure to compliment the turkey. Hopefully she feels appreciated, and I am happy to have ducked an ice cream attack!

Well, Jen  and I met up this morning and ran the park!  It wasn’t a showstopper by any stretch, as she was getting back into running, and I had done my long run yesterday, so neither of us was 100%.  It was fun to get out, though…we took a route that I had run on a couple 5K races, but went a bit further.  Good times!

Logbook Activity

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/27/2008
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 00:37:00.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 9:14.7/mile