Busy Busy Busy!

Again it has been a long hiatus since my last post, you would think that in the mist of summer I would be full of free time with which to detail every moment of my day! HAHA! Funny! Just when I thought I had settled into a comfortable summer routine my darling husband had to go and throw in a monkey wrench, a big one! I was informed last Thursday that we would be taking a road trip to Texas by way of Baton Rouge this week! What! So I was given less than a week to get all our ducks in a row, find someone to watch Lucy and figure out how to pack for a two year old in our tiny Honda Civic Hybrid! Because traveling in a vehicle other than the Hybrid was not negotiable! In the past four days I have done more loads of laundry than I can count and packed and repacked the suitcase at least four times! I have managed to fit all of our clothes for a 9 day trip into one suitcase (yes all three of us!), I have prepacked most of the toiletry bag and the entertainment bag for Riley, I have packaged up road snacks for us for the 21 hour trip and managed to clean my house from top to bottom. Today after my less than stellar run at the gym I even managed a quick trip to the Hope Mills Library to pick up some reading material for the drive. (On a side note I really wanted to pick up Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, but they were all checked out so I got 3 political thrillers by authors I have never read before. I love political thrillers, but going with a new author is always interesting, lets hope they are good!) All I have left to do today is pack a few PBJs into the cooler and reload the car before we head out at 2am!

I am dreading the drive! If it was just Chris and I, I wouldn't be worried, but 21 hours with a 2 year old! Shoot me! At least I get to see some friends along the way. Tomorrow morning we will be stopping at Ft. Benning to spend a few hours with Megan and the boys so that we can get out of the car for a while and Riley can play. Then Thursday I get to see my KDaddy!!!! I haven't seen KD since Riley was 2 months old, so this will be super sweet! I can't wait for KD to see Riley and see how much he has grown :-)

Thursday night its off to Texas, that should be a relatively short drive from Baton Rouge to Columbus so I won't complain. It a week of catching up with family for Chris and I get to take Riley to see Shamu! :-) Riley loves fish so Sea World will be right up his ally! :-)

So I will sign off for now! Update in a week or so when I get back!

Yay! School is OUT!

This past week has been a crazy mess, but its done! Another year in the books, I have officially survived 4 1/2 years teaching! Woot! Now I get to bask in the glow known as summer! :-) I jumped back into my summer routine yesterday, dropped Riley off at school at 8:00 and was at the gym by 8:10. Did a nice 3 miles on the treadmill then body pump! In the bright light of the morning after I can say that I over-did a bit yesterday! Oops! Oh well! For the next three months my days will be filled with more of the same and I'm very excited about that! I think today is going to be an easy day, just some jogging because oh momma I'm sore. Then its off to the pet store with the Bean to pick out more fish for Daddy's monster aquarium!

I did it!!!!

(Sorry for the delay in my posting. . .we've been busy!)

Saturday was my 5K. Megan and Joe and the boys cam in Friday night and we didn't stay up too late talking and catching up knowing we had to be up early Saturday. I fell asleep Friday night and tossed and turned all night, to be honest I don't know if I actually slept! Before I knew it it was Saturday morning and that meant judgement day had come. We packed up the three boys and all bedecked in our race gear headed for down town. I had already picked up our racepacks so we were able to skip check-in and pick up our chips (official timing thingys). That left us about 10 minutes to mill about and stretch before the race began.

I was sooooo nervous! Literally I kept telling Megan that I thought I was going to vomit and like a good little coach she kept telling me that I would be fine and that before I knew it we would be running and fine. (Dammit I hate it when she is right!) So the race starts and first off is a hill! Thats not nice! But up up up we went and it wasn't bad, I have hills in my hood so its not like I've never run on one. So anyway up we go, then down we went, down a big hill (that we would have revisit later, oh boy did it suck!). Still doing well. I kept running, Megan tried to keep chatting with me as we went, but being that I am not in as good shape as she is, I didn't talk back much. :-) We made it through the first mile in 9:20! I've never run that fast! It was scary!

The second mile went a little slower as we had a few ups and downs to go over and I'm sad to say at one point during the second mile I did have to stop and power walk! Not stopping was on of my biggest goals, too bad I didn't factor in the hills. We made it to the turn around and started back the other direction. I was doing great until we got to the base of the big hill! It was right after a water station, I took a swig of my water, tossed my cup and looked up and for all it mattered I could have been staring at Mount Everest! That damn hill was STEEP!! I made it 3/4 of the way up before I about tossed my cookies in a bush! A bit more walking ensued, oops!

But once we made the turn off the big hill it was all down hill from there and we about sprinted to the finish. 5K in 40:50 seconds. Or so we thought. I had a few guys I work with running the 5K and one doing the 10K. When Matt finished the 10K he came by to talk to us and ask how I did. I told him I was a bit upset that my time was soo slow. Normally it takes me between 33 and 35 minutes to do a 5K, but I figured it was the hills that got me. NOPE! Apparently the 5K course was miss marked! We actually ran 6K! They had put the flag for the 5K turn around where the 10K turn around was, the 5K was supposed to turn around much sooner (so instead we ran 2 bonus hills, nice, right?) So Megan and I figure that our actual 5K time is closer to 32 minutes! :-) That I can live with!

All said and done I feel great! Two months ago I couldn't run more than 2 minutes straight, now I can do 30 minutes! My body is still paying the price in fractured shins, but I'm still moving and that's what matters. Megan thinks that now I'm going to jump on the half marathon bandwagon, I'm not ready for that yet, but I'll do another 5K this summer and I would like to do a 10. One step at a time right!?!

So in closing I just want to thank everyone who has supported me through this first race. There were days I didn't want to do this, days when I really wanted to quit, but you all kept me honest and for that I thank you! :-)

Love you!

DD

Its that time of year. . .

So in addition to my mounting stress about Saturday's 5K (yeah its THIS Saturday people!) its also EOC time. Add to this that I'm playing single mommy again and Riley has been sick, I've had to let something go and its been my blog. I know my 5 faithful readers miss me! Here is a quick running recap. . .two wednesdays ago I had a break through, I ran 20 minutes not stop. It was amazing, liberating, insert more adjectives here! Then last wednesday I was supposed to run 25 minutes, no good! It was hot as hell and I barely made it 20 much less 20. SUCKS! Anyway super busy weekend leads me to Monday. It's hot as hell out so I went to the gym to run on the treadmill. I hate treadmills, I get so bored, but I knew I wouldn't make it outside so I sucked it up and actually did well. Today I had to stay home with the bean because he was sick, hopefully he can go back to school tomorrow because I really need to go back to work. And the race is SATURDAY! Holy crap! I think I'm ready (at least I hope I am!!) Wish me luck!

making lemonade. . .

I had a horrible day! Not just a bad day. I mean sinus pain, bratty kids, though I was going to cry in the middle of my lecture horrible. I barely made it through my workday without tears (or murder) but I made it. I was supposed to go running, during 4th period I definitely considered not going. Boy am I glad I did! Today's Podrunner track was the big one, run for 20 minutes nonstop. I didn't think I was going to make it. I figured about half way through I was going to have to stop and walk for a few minutes. I thought that there is no way that a girl who just 5 weeks ago could barely run for 60 seconds was going to run for 20 minutes, but I DID IT!!!!! I made it through the entire 20 minutes without stopping!!!! That is huge for me! I'm not scared of my 5K anymore thanks to today's run. I know that I can do it! I have 15 more days and that means about 7 more runs and I'm going to rock them out!

I came in and once I finished stretching I called my Megan to tell her my news. I got her voice mail and proceeded to burst into the tears I had been holding back all day and thank her for making me do this. I really didn't think I could do it, in my heart of hearts I never thought I would be able to run one mile not stop, I hadn't done it since high school, but today I ran nearly two!

That's progress people. . .that's lemonade!

Yay for me!

Shhh don't tell, I'm blogging while my 1st period is working! I'm having them make a flipbook of 10 of the biomes and the cycles for matter in the environment. So I figured I would use this time to do something productive too! :-)

I had a great run yesterday! No really it was great! I smiled while I ran and that has never happened before. I really thought yesterday's run was going to be really hard. I'm still using the Podrunner First Day to 5K plan (and honestly I can't stop telling people how awesome it is! Anyone can use it and succeed) so I'm still running on intervals. Well I'm on week 5 (week 5, run 2 to be exact) and the schedule for my run yesterday was a 5 minute warm-up fast walk, a 8 minute jog, a 3 minute fast-walk, a 8 minute jog and a 5 minute cool down. To be honest I was kind of freaked out by the 8 minute sections, really up until this point the longest stretch that I had run was 5 minutes. So to say I had some trepidation wouldn't begin to cover it! But I did it and it was great! I still run at a snails pace, but at least I'm running! Now Wednesday's run will be the true test, I'm scheduled for a 5 minute warm up, 20 minute run, and 5 minute cool down! That's 20 minutes without stopping, without slowing down, without quitting! Say a prayer that I make it because the IDEA of running for 20 straight minutes seems insurmountable!

On another note I got a few new running toys! :-) I bought two running skirts from target and I have to say I am enjoying them a lot! I am not a person who can exercise in pants, I get too blasted hot, but my running shorts make me feel NAKED! Megan suggested a running skirt, she did her Half in one and had no problems. So before I went and spent $60 on the nice Nike version I bought the $20 version from target. A lot of the reviews I read on the target skirts were negative regarding the length of the compression shorts, but given the fact that I am super short I though I would probably be okay (and I was!) So running skirt I give you two thumbs up!

The other new toy I got was a running water belt thing (yes there is probably a technical term for this, but well its me and I don't know it!). I had tried a camelbak waist pack last week and it was just too much, the stupid tubing kept getting in my way and I was having to adjust the pack my entire run. For walking it would probably be okay, but not great for running. So on Saturday I ventured back to Dick's and found a waist belt by Nathan's with just a water bottle. Its great! It also has a zippered pocket that fits my ipod, house key and chapstick (because I cannot run without my chapstick, no really I'm serious!). My only complaint isn't really even about the pack, more about my odd frame. I have to belt the pack around my skinny part (Megan I can hear you laughing from here) so that it doesn't slide up! (Oh for the rest of you the skinny part is my natural waist, its my favorite part for Megan to measure when she does my measurements because compared to the rest of my measurements . . .well its the skinny PART!) The overall look with the pack strapped around my skinny part and the running skirt and the mini pigtails I was rocking yesterday was pretty amusing. I'm sure the people riding by me in their cars were wondering what was wrong with that girl, but oh well! I'm out there, I'm running and for once I don't really care!

So everyone (that is my 5 faithful readers) say a little prayer that I survive Wednesday. If there is no blog by Wednesday night you may want to send an ambulance over to Brightmore to scoop me up off the road, oh and could someone please pick up Riley from daycare too! Thanks! Love you bye!

Phone Fight

This weekend I got into a fight with my cell phone! I love my blackberry! Seriously I don't know how I ever lived without it. I love it so much Chris got one this weekend! Anyway in our excitment over our new twin blackberries (yes Megan, Chris and I are now phone twins like you and Joe, sorry i made fun of you for it!) we found a new program. Blackberry App World, yay, one stop app shopping right from your phone. Well not yay! Apparently Blackberry App World hates my phone because right after I installed it it started being glitchy and my internet started to act up and in my world that is a NO GO! So I tried to uninstall it, no! I tried to hard reset (take the battery out), no. Chris did something to the host tables, no! So finally tonight I resorted to my backup plan, the one thing I did not want to have to do, reseting to a previous save on my harddrive. Knowing I would lose the last 3 months of my blackberry existance I plugged in and restore back to March 5! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Do you know how much information I have added to my phone since March 5?!?!? A whole freaking lot! And now its GONE! So if you got a new phone number or moved since March 5th I need that info again! Pronto people!

Thanks Honey!

Chris came home for a weekend visit from BNOC on Friday! It was so great to see him since he has been gone for a few weeks. After his deployment earlier this year I knew I would be okay and these 7 weeks would streak by, but it was a nice suprise that he was able to come home halfway through. So this morning I asked him to come for a run with me so that he can see how I have progressed since starting my 5K plan. Really if you think about it, when I started this nonsense I was only able to run for 60 seconds at a time, today I ran for 5 minutes at a time. I know I still have a long way to go, but hey I had to start somewhere!

Anyway Chris and I got geared up and got Bean situtated with GoldFish and his own water bottle of juice and took off. We did a nice 3 miles in about 40 minutes. Poor Chris has to run very slowly to keep pace with me, but I really appreciate the effort! I felt a lot better about my run today than I did on wednesday when I started the new route, so hopefully in another two weeks I'll feel great! :-)

Thanks again honey!

My pre-5K 5K

It seems like every day I find new and interesting things that my nike+ kit can do. Today I learned I could use a mapping feature to map running routes on my computer instead of driving around like a nut job watching my digital mileage display. Anyway so I mapped out a new route today that the computer is calling 3.15 miles (more on that later). So after work today I drove my new route, just to check out the terrain and make sure that there were no big hills or other hazards. Finding none I went home and changed and started on my run. Lets just say it seemed a lot more doable on my computer screen than it did to my feet! But I did the entire thing and felt good until I got home. I get very excited when I'm running and can see my house, it gives me a burst of speed and definitely helps make it that last little bit. So I make it to my driveway and go to turn off my ipod and notice that my Ipod only says I went 2.9 miles! WTF!! I had intended to go 3.1, I drove the route it was 3.1, but according to my ipod it was not! Instead of settling for a 2.9mile run I took off down the block, determined to get my last .2miles. I finally finished and this time when I went to turn of the pod it definitely registered 3.1 miles! It took me 40 minutes (13:30 pace), oh well at least I did it right?!?

Because Cory Neil told me too. . .

I had a great run today! :-) I ran 2.7 miles with an average pace of 12:30! That is huge for me! :-) I left Riley at daycare and went for a solo run and it was awesome. I wrote of my awesomeness on facebook and Cory Neil said that I must blog, so here it is. :-) My only issue at this point is I'm getting a little bored with my route. I've been running the same route for almost two months, its convenient and the right length and time, but really I'm bored! I think I may take a drive around the hood (yes that's right I said hood) tomorrow and checkout some new routes.

I also went to Dick's today and got some Body Glide (that sounds way dirtier than it actually is) to prevent chaffing and body stickage issues. I also got a Camelbak because solo running means no jogging stroller and no jogging stroller means no water bottle and a running momma is a thirsty momma. Wednesday is my next running day, we'll see how it goes on my new course! :-)

One step forward, two steps back. . .

Today was Monday so that means today was a running day. I have been getting better and actually kind of enjoying my running lately (a tiny little bit) and I know that not every run will be a great run, but today totally SUCKED!! And honestly I think its my fault, or more to the point my diet's fault. Now this is not to say that I am on a diet, I don't diet, but with Chris gone again I don't cook as much. So that means yesterday I had SpecialK for breakfast and lunch and then a big salad with crab meat for dinner. Whats missing you say. . . well I found out today it was protein in a big way. I'm on Day 3 of Week 3 PodRunner 5K, today should have been the easiest of my Week 3 runs since its the last one, but not so much! I only made it through 4 interval sets before I bonked, oh and I bonked hard! I managed to keep up my walking speed, but there was no way I was going to make it running through the last two interval sets. Oh well. Not every run can be great, but my race is approaching and I'm getting really nervous! Literally its a month away and I can't run one mile without stopping yet! Oh shit son! Wednesday I'll start Week 4 and I'll make sure I increase my protein intake between now and then. :-)

Blog Facelift

Oh and one more thing. . .the blog needed updating, hope I don't confuse anyone! :-)

Still running. . .still sucking at blogging!

The past week has been a blur. I remember Monday, I remember Friday and I remember being very busy in between, but that's about it! Its always this way during this time of year (ramp up to finals) and I am always exhausted. Add to that Chris left on Thursday for BNOC (or as I like to call it E-7 school) and I'm playing single mommy again. At least my running is starting to get a little better. Don't get me wrong its still hard as all get out, but at least I feel like I'm accomplishing something. Hell Tiger Woods came through my speakers at me the past two runs and told me I had just run my fastest mile! Today Riley and I ran 2.74 miles in 37minutes, which is about a 13:42 pace. I am still running intervals, so I'm still concerned that when my run comes I'm not going to be able to run without stopping. Oh well Megan will just have to drag me!

Anyway on to the rest of the day. Time for a shower and going grocery shopping and things. Speaking of things, I've been selling things on eBay! Seriously people by my stuff to the tune of $270 dollars! I'm still shocked! So I'm going to take that money and buy a tiny laptop! :-) Today I'm going to go check them out, I know what I want, just need to find it in town! :-) Yay for me! :-) Love to all my faithful readers! (the 4 of you who read this!)

I am a redneck mom . . .or at least I was for a hot second

On Saturday Chris and I took Riley to the Dogwood Festival along with Tiffany, Cory, Nichole and Finn. We had a great time despite it being Africa HOT outside (seriously it was 92). We walked around for a little while before finding a shady spot to relax in the grass. Of course my boy with all of his boundless energy was in no mood to just sit so we all spent a little time chasing Riley around the park. And that's when it happened! Riley spotted a fountain a little way down the park and took off running. Tiffany and I both chased after him and we figured that we would dip his little feet in the water and that would be good. Oh no, not my son! After a few minutes of splashing his little feet he wiggled his way off of my lap and into the fountain! Holy crap! He was in the fountain up to his waist and happy as a clam! So once he was in there we let him stay for a few minutes (it couldn't hurt, he was already soaked) but everyone was staring. Oh well! We had our redneck swimming pool moment and then got out and Riley was PISSED! He kept trying to get back to the fountain! Well Christopher I guess we have to put the pool up now!

Better or Worse? Not really sure. . .

I can't really tell if the running is getting better or worse. I mean I'm feeling better about the running, but my shins still HURT. Normally my shins don't hurt until the mid to end of my run, but yesterday they started hurting right from the beginning. So yeah I don't know. I came home and iced down, but they are still very sore to the touch this morning. I can feel the knot on both shins where they are fractured. I'm just hoping they stay only stress fractured and not end up full on broken. I keep thinking that I'll be out running, step wrong and a bone will come shooting through my shin. . .eww i know!

Okay this isn't so bad

While I'm still not in love with running its not sooo bad. Mind you I'm still hurting a lot with my shins, and they are sore to the touch I am able to push through as long as I take it easy between runs. So that means I've had to quit aerobics for the time being and quite frankly that sucks! I love aerobics and I'm really got at it, but these race people have my money and I'm determined. So I have finally progressed to week 2 of my podrunner series and I think I'll end up making it through week 8 of 10 before my race June 6, thats not too bad since I had to take two weeks off to let my shins rest. Week 2 kicked my butt yesterday, but I think a lot of that has to do with pushing the jogger, but like I said before I can't just leave Riley at daycare when he is been there all day so I'll deal.

Thanks to my Nike+ kit I am at least able to see that I am getting a little faster with the running. When I'm running I am doing usually between a 9 and 11 minute pace, so that is good since I was shooting for 10. My only problem now is working on my endurance! I am still running intervals (with the intervals getting progressively longer) but its still intervals. I'm hoping by race day I can at least run a pretty good stretch at once and only have to take two or three walk breaks. The path I'm running right now is about 2.5 miles and I do that in 30 minutes and considering how much I'm walking I can probably get that down to 22-25 if I was running more than walking. . . so its good.

I know I won't win the race, I want to finish and not embarrass myself, the not embarrassing myself is key! So here is hoping!

Riley's Easter Videos

Here are Riley's Videos from the Easter Egg Hunt! :-)

Run sans ipod means no nike+ data

Sucks! I left my Ipod in Chris' car so I don't have any data on my wog today. I feel cheated! I mean I know how far I went and all, but I don't have it to log into my nike fit program so I won't get credit for it. BOO! Oh well! I guess the point is I did it and I know it. My shins still hurt pretty bad and I've given up aerobics at least for the time being. I figure with probably fractured shins I can't do everything. So I'm sticking to wogging only for now. Lets all hope the pain doesn't get too much worse so I don't embarrass myself come June 6th.

Running Again

So today was my first run in two weeks. Two weeks of waiting and hoping that whatever was going on in my shins would go away. Well today I got my answer. Pretty sure I have a stress fracture in at least my left shin. After two weeks of no activity I should have been good to go if what I was feeling was just shin splints, but my left shin is still in lots of pain. I made it through my run okay. I did 2.03 miles in 30 minutes on my walk jog walk jog, not too bad. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow for something different so I'm going to ask if they can look at it while I'm there and hopefully I will get some answers. I am still planning on doing my run on June 6th, even if I have to walk it, but it would be nice to cross the finish line running.

Update

Its been over a week since my last workout (running or otherwise), I feel like a total fatass, but at least my shins are feeling better. I'm going to wait til the weekend to test them out, but I think I've healed from my stress fractures or whatever the deuce was wrong with me.

That is all for now.

Pretty Day . . Pretty Pictures

I am no Nichole, but it was a pretty day today so I decided to try to take a few pictures of my Beanie boy. Here are a few of the better ones. Enjoy!

This is my attitude!

Alright bitches here it is . . .

1- I hurt! I hurt a lot! It hurts to walk, it hurts to run, it hurts to climb stairs and it hurts to squat down and play with Riley

2- F-it! I will not let this shit keep me down! I took on this challenged and dammit I'm going to finish it even if I have to walk my 5K I'm going to finish it!

3- The wrapping has not helped, oh well! I'm going to gut it out (but take it easier) until Spring Break (April 10) then I will go see the doc, I don't have time til then and honestly people its only one more week!

Call me Mummy. . .

In a last ditch effort to avoid going to the doctors about my shins I am trying to wrap them for a little extra support. (This in addition to the ice massages and motrin) I'm going to give it a few days and see if it helps, lets all hope it does. I'm fighting karma and irony on this since I finally have the motivation to run and my body is trying to fight me. Well bitches I'm fighting back! I'm going to do this damn 5K even if I have to walk the entire thing! So there!

AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Monday was a running day. Chris actually got off work/class early and could come with me and push the jogger (yay) so i figure this is the start of a great run! And it was for the first 4 intervals on my week 1 track, i was actually running and getting a little out of breath from the running and not the pain in my shin. Then I don't know what the hell happened because when it came time for the 5th interval I was in a stupid amount of pain again! Seriously I was running and crying! So we stopped and Chris has me stretch out and he took a look at my shin. I really think up until this point he thought all this shin pain was in my head, well that ended when he saw how swollen my left shin was, seriously it looked like I had cankles on that side. Anyway I stretched out and we continued, I pushed through the next two intervals (still running and just about crying) and finished the track. We were about 2 1/2 blocks from home so we walked (fast pace) towards home. Problem, the more I walked the more it hurt! Here I was thinking that the walking would feel better, WRONG! We finally make it home and Chris has me do a few stretches in the driveway, no of them really help, but I needed to stretch anyway and then its inside to ice down my shin and pop some motrin.

I'm just getting really really frustrated. How in the world am I going to make it through this 5K that is fast approaching if I can't make it through week 1 of my interval track without being in so much pain? How am I going to let whatever the hell is wrong with me heal without completely giving up my training schedule? They have my money I'm doing the damn 5K if I have to walk the entire thing, but I really want to be able to run it, I just don't know if that is going to happen. . . Stupid shins!

Umm. . .okay I guess

Riley and I finally made it out to our wog this morning. . .it was okay I guess. My shin did not hurt worse (mind you it still hurt like hell) and I did seem to get a better run with the new shoes, I was able to extend my stride and actually run. I ran for 37 minutes and went 2.45miles using the Week 1 Podrunner track. I'm finding that I like the interval training that the podrunner affords me, but I'm thinking that with all my recent injuries and set backs I should probably repeat week 1, today would have been my last week 1 run, but since I had to take so many days off I don't know. . .suggestions M&M? Tomorrow we are having a celebration at church and afterwards I'm going to try to get Chris to walk (just walk, its my off day) with me and the bean at the park so I can stretch out my shins and then Monday I'll run again. I've added my Nike+ thing to my blog so you can see my run information and hopefully give me some tips!

Mwah!

Frustration

So lets review. . .I've lost 25 lbs since summer (yay!) I'm still about 30lbs overweight (BOOOO!) and despite my best efforts I have hit a wall weightloss wise. Thats were all this running stuff comes in. I have never been a runner, but I figure I need to shake it up workout wise so here I am. Anyway about two weeks ago (on Running Day 3) I started feeling shin pain, major shin pain, I brushed it off to simply being out of shape, I figured I could run through it. Then I found out I was wearing the drastically wrong shoes for my running style (severe overpronator) and that that was probably contributing to my pain. So I shelved the new shoes (the Under Armors) in favor of my old Asics and on Wednesday I went out for a wog. I was in pain, but pushing through it until I was about 2/3 of the way through my designated Wog path something happened. I don't know what it was, did I step wrong or something, I don't know, but I ended up in tears because I hurt so bad and barely able to put any weight on my left leg. I hobbled home (about a mile) and tried to stretch and ice and take motrin and nothing has worked. Even walking around my house hurts! So yesterday my new new shoes came. Super motion control Asics Gel-Evolution 4 that are supposed to help with the over pronation. They are comfortable and great, but even walking in them hurts! So I don't know what to do at this point. I can't afford to take time off of my training schedule, but if I don't rest who knows if it will ever feel better and to add to that my dad pointed out yesterday that it may be a stress fracture.

So now here is the point I am at. . .I'm still a fat girl trying to run. Is it the fact that I'm stressing my body by trying to get 175lbs running that has lead me to this or something else. At this point with the way I'm feeling I'm leaning towards its the fattness that has me in so much pain and it SUCKS! I really want to be a person who runs, but now I'm thinking it may be much harder than I thought. I knew that in the beginning this would suck a lot, but I didn't think it would suck this much!

Tuesday's Wog

My new new shoes still have not come, my shins still HURT, but my first 5K is 10weeks away so I have to train and Tuesday I was back on it. After being humbled on the school track by the high school track time (seriously folks they passed me like I was standing stll) I headed back to the safety of my neighborhood (its relatively non-public as far as people I know). So I get Riley all hooked up with Goldfish Crackers and Juice and off we go for our wog. Wog? You ask, well since I'm am walking more than running I have termed what I'm doing as Wogging, not quite running not quite jogging, you get the picture.

This was my first wog with my nike fit kit and I have to say between that and my podrunner track I was pretty impressed! I wogged at a 14minute pace for 30 minutes (not too bad considering I was pushing Riley's heavy ass jogger) and was never really out of breath. I have two more wogs this week on the week 1 track before I start the week 2 track on Sunday. Wish me luck and say a prayer that it doesn't rain too hard this week so I can keep up my wogging!

My first race. . .

Its official! I'm a registered for my first race. I will be running the Airborne & Special Operations Museum 5K June 6, 2009 with my dearling Megan. Okay its exactly 10 weeks away which works well for my podrunner 5K plan. Let all just hope my new shoes get here soon so I can start training again! Anyone else want to run with us?? Meredith I know you are reading this. . . run with us!

My name is Danielle and I am an Overpronator. . .

So in addition the nasty food poisioning I got this week, my shin splints were still a problem. My Dad suggested that I come in and have him perform a gait analysis to see if it my shin pain was a result of something in my running style. So I decided that Chris should come in with me because I didn't want to be the only lab rat. So this morning we packed up the munchkin and headed to Pope for our analysis. Chris went first, Dad got him on the treadmill and got the camera going and within about 5 minutes we were watching Chris run on the screen in slow motion. My husband with his freakishly flat feet apparently has a perfect gait. Now it was my turn. . .yikes. So I get going on the treadmill and I can already feel my shins starting to hurt! No fun. Anyway I finish my filming and Dad starts to analyze my gait. Its not good! Apparently I am a severe overpronator! Even to my untrained eye I can see that there is something wrong once he slowed the film down. Well here I am confused, because I have a high arch and overpronation is generally only an issue if you have flat feet. Color me confused! So I'm basically a freak! Oh and by the way from the back on film it looks like I run like a Duck, so I guess calling myself a penguin was not far off.
Dad looked at the shoes I had been wearing, my pretty Under Armors and said that they are great for a neutral foot, which is what I would be with my high arch, if I wasn't an overpronator. Oh well. Dad gave me some stretches to do which should help to strengthen my hip flexors and help to correct my overpronation. He also gave me a list of approved shoes for my issue. S when I got home I hopped on the computer to see if any of our local stores would have them. . .yeah ofcourse not. They had the men's versions, but no the women's ones! Dammit! So I found them online and ordered them: Asics Gel-Evolution 4

They should be here in 2 to 3 days and I'm really hoping they will help my running pain! I can run through the fatness, but I really can't run through these shin splints!

I DON'T <3 Applebees

On Tuesday night Megan's hubby Joe (who came up from Georgia for work) did the sweetest thing. He offered to watch Riley so Chris and I could go on a dinner date! Yay! So Chris and I decided to go to Applebees, which we both love. So we go and have a great time, good food and a chance to talk to each other without the munchkin. It was so nice! Well by 10:00 that night my belly no longer thought it was so nice. EWW! That was Tuesday, its now Friday I still feel like crap! I've been bloated and crampy and so uncomfortable that I tutored Chemistry yesterday afternoon laying on a lab table. So needless to say I didn't run yesterday. This morning I am feeling a little better (despite haivng to run out to the bathroom every 10 or so minutes) so I'm hoping that the trend continues and that maybe by this afternoon I can make up for yesterday's missed run. I also got my Nike+ kit so I can't wait to try that out! I am still waiting for the clip for my shoe and the arm band, but hopefully they will all come this weekend :-)

I <3 PodRunner

Today was my first run using the podrunner intervals program, i loved it! No longer did I have to continuously check my watch to see if it was time to run or walk, I just jammed out to the music. The tunes are pretty good, no lyrics, but it kind of reminds me of a cross between a gay-club beat and a rave. All in all pretty cool to run to. Now my shin splints on the other hand are no fun to run with! I have stretched and stretched and stretched and they just feel worse! SUCKS! Just when I start to get excited about this running thing! I really don't want to deviate from my program, but at this rate I may have to because they HURT!!

New Toys and Shin-Splints

Today is Monday which means that today is not a running day, its an aerobics day. I LOVE aerobics! There are about 8 teachers who get together after school on Monday and Wednesday for an hour of old school aerobics and it is soo much fun. I joined the Aerobics class about a year ago and now beast the class, I mean barely get out of breath beast it (that does not mean my muscles are not sore, i've just conquered the cardio aspect of it). So anyway today was an aerobics day and despite my still very sore left shin I did aerobics, which of course means that my shin is now more sore. Oh well I will ice it and stretch it and hopefully in a few days I will feel better.

Anyway! On to the exciting part of today's blog. . .the toys! I have an Ipod Nano 3G (for the non-techsavy of you, its the little square one with the video screen). I love my nano, but since I started running, well really walking last summer I have wanted to get one of the Nike+ kits for my ipod that will track how far I am running and calculate my mph and all that cool stuff. Well the problem with that is I have the red headed stepchild of all ipods and to my knowledge a case was not made that would hold both my ipod and the nike+ transmitter without having the transmitter dangle precariously off the end of the ipod. Well yesterday I found a case that will carry it all! So this morning I ordered my Nike+ kit and the case and this little clear thing that puts the shoe chip on your laces since I don't have the Nike shoes with the little hole for it. I'm excited! The other piece of Ipod related running news is I found a great way to keep myself on pace! On itunes there is a free pod cast called "podrunner" its all techno music but it is constructed so that you run with a certain beat to regulate your heart rate and the include little chimes that tell you when to run and walk. There are three programs, one for a 5K, an 8K and a 10K. So I downloaded the one for the 5K, I'll let you know how it goes, its a 10week program so well see :-)

First Run with New Shoes

This morning I went out for my first run in the new shoes. Let me set the stage for you. Its morning, about 7:15, I check the weather on my BlackBerry, its 40 but feels like 34 and raining slightly. But I'm determined, I put on my new running duds and I'm out the door. Yikes! Its f-ing cold!!! I press on. I have to say I like my new shoes, but am having issues with my left shin. About half-way through my route I started feeling some pain, can't tell yet at this point if its from the new shoes or my body reacting to running in general or from the crappy shoes I was wearing. I will keep you posted.

We are off to Carolina Beach and Ft Fisher today with the in-laws. We are going to take everyone to the Aquarium, pray for me!

I GOT shoes!

Check out my new shoes!

They are a nice neutral running shoe (yes that means a Fat Girl shoe) but thats okay because they are super comfy! And just for the record, they are not this pink! Mine are only a little pink and mostly grey. I also got a few pairs of running shoes and tops and at Megan's suggestion two pair of wick-away socks. Now lets all hope its not rainy tomorrow morning so I can try these puppies out!

I need new shoes!

I knew as I began this running adventure that I would need to invest in some good quality shoes. Gone would be the days of "Those are pretty" or "I only like grey addidas trail runners because they look good with jeans" I would have to buy actual running shoes. Well I think I drove this point home yesterday on my "run" (yes I say run in quotes because I'm not really sure if what I'm doing qualifies as running). When I woke up this morning my back and hip were killing me! I mean I had to take motrin killing me. So I sat for an hour on the computer trying to navigate the world of running shoes. According to the nice shoe dog at RoadRunnerSports.com I need a Neutral + Shoe, basicially that codes for Fat Girl Running Shoe. So then I start through their list of shoes for me and find some that fit my previous qualifications for shoes, they were pretty and grey. :-) But I am also a girl who needs to try on shoes, so I attempted to cross-reference the shoes I found with shoes available at my local sporting good store. This is were things became difficult. None of the shoes have the same name on the websites! I'm so confused! I think I just need to go to my dad's office, stand on his computer pad and have that tell me what I need and then go buy them and not try to figure this out on my own. . .okay problem solved. DADDY!! Help me!

Day 2

Yesterday was my rest day, boy did I need it! Between all the yard work I did on Sunday, aerobics with Raylene on Monday and running on Wednesday, my poor body was TIRED!! So yesterday I rested (an my in-laws came into town so I played hostess). So today (Thursday) I was back on it. I ran (with my wonderful sister-in-law) the same route I ran on Monday and I kept with the run 2 walk 3 plan. And I am happy to report that today I did not hyperventilate!! :-) Yay! I felt pretty good, well as good as a fat girl can feel running so I think I'm going to increase my running time tomorrow to 3 minutes with the 3 minute walk. I ofcourse will let you know how that goes.

This weekend I am going shopping for running shoes. I have been wearing the same shoes for all my exercising events since July. . .yes I know thats bad! So I have found some shoes on RoadRunnerSports.com that I like and would like to try them on in person before I order them. My dad told me about RoadRunnerSports and their wonderful 60day return policy so I figure I'll give them a try. I will also be purchasing some running shorts so I don't have to wear my darling husbands that smell like stinky man parts! There is nothing worse then smelling like your husbands balls after he does PT!

Happy friday-eve!
<3 Stein

Day 1

So now that my running friends (Megan and Meredith, M&M I will call them collectivly) have lite a fire under my butt I am going to attempt this craziness they call fun. . yeah fun. :-/ So today was Day 1. After doing a little info gathering on my faithful interweb I decided to try a modified Couch-to-5K plan. This plan is aimed at couch potatoes, I am not a potato (I prefer to think of myself as a penguin because of my short legs) so I'm modifying it slightly. The plan instructed me to warm up for 5 minutes with a brisk walk then run for 90secs and walk for 3 minutes. I decided to warm up and shoot for 2 and 3 (run 2, walk 3). Well it turned into run 2 and walk 4, but I figured that was an okay start. Chris came with me and pushed the little Bean in the jogger (thanks honey!) to lend some moral support. You have all met my husband, he is an amazon! Six-four to my five-four, his legs are over half of my body. You have to see where I'm going with this, we can't run together! I jog, he walks very slowly next to me. But I appreciate the love! My goal was to do a 30 minute walk/jog/thing through my neighborhood, I am not ready to run in the public yet. So we set off from the house, Mommy, Daddy and Beanie in the jogger. We did our 5 minute brisk walk warm up and then I started to run. Yeah that wasn't so bad, but hell its only the first two minutes. Well I make it the first two minutes with out making an ass of myself, yay! I'm not too out of breath and the hyperventilating breathing hasn't started yet. Oh but wait we are only 7 minutes in to our thirty minute adventure. I walk my four minutes and go again and this is where the fun begins. I CANNOT RUN AND BREATH PROPERLY!!! I don't know what the proper way is (the interweb gives me conflicting stories) but I know that whatever my body does is just WRONG! I get about a minute into my next cycle and I start hyperventilating! So I focus! In nose out mouth, in nose out mouth. Yeah that doesn't help! So Deep in through mouth out mouth, nope not that either. Thankfully my two minutes ends and I can stop. My darling Christopher has run beside me and tries to give me tips like breath when you step with your right foot or every other right step. I try to explain to him that I am focusing on not falling and just trying to get air into my lungs any way I can I can't remember which step or foot I'm on, that will not work for me! And well the rest of my run goes this way. Run two minutes, hyperventilate, walk four and repeat. But anyway I made it the entire 30 and I didn't die. . .yet! Hey there is always tomorrow so someone teach me how to breathe and run already!

I am not a Runner!

There are many things I am in my life. I am a woman, a wife, a mother, a teacher, a friend, I am not however, a runner. Okay so now you are asking yourself, Stein, why if you are not a runner do you even bother to bring this up. Good question . . .its all Megan's fault (well and to be honest Meredith's too!)

I started playing soccer when I was 6 years old, soccer is a sport that disguises running by distracting you with a bouncing black and white ball. I LOVED soccer (still do), and why, because its competative and if you know me you know I am competative to the core. I like being good at things (who doesn't) and for 12 years I was very good at soccer. I played three seasons (sometimes four) a year (Rec, indoor, school and travel for those of you keeping track) for 12 years. I have played every position on the field at one point or another and it was good! And then I graduated high school, I went to college and I got busy, I got jobs, I went pre-med and there was no time to play. So without the little bouncing ball to distract me there was no running. I saw no point in pointing off to the horizion and saying, Yes today I will go that way! Ehh no thank you! And running on a treadmill, BORING! So no running! Great, fine, good. So instead I do aerobics, I like aerobics, I beast aerobics. Okay so now how does all of this relate?

I have always wanted to be a person who runs. If you have ever noticed, the women who run are thin! And to be honest its not just the thinness (yeah I don't think that is a word, but whatever this is my blog and I make the rules :-P) issue, but women who run always seem more content than women who don't. I want to be one of those thin content women who can find their zen out on the road. (Also I have a secret dream to do a triathalon, but considering my dread of the running part . . .well yeah) But because I dislike running so much and to be quite honest suck at it, I have never thought it to be more than a pipe dream. I have tried to run before. I can't! I am incapable of getting my lungs to cooperate with me. I cannot both breathe and run at the same time. Its extremely frustrating! Don't believe me? Run with me, you will see. Its bad, hyperventilating bad. . .yeah.

Anyway so I have friends who run and these friends like to run and because they like to run they want me to run. Megan and I have been best friends since we were in the eight grade, she has (like me) never been a person who runs. We both have issues with our knees and to be honest for most of our lives the two of us running has not been a pretty sight. Well my Megan ran a half-marathon last weekend! I am sooooo proud of her its beyond words, but now she thinks these crazy things like I should run too. Yikes! Well in true Megan fashion she has talked me into this craziness and has me thinking I can run a 5K. . .yeah me. . .what?? And my Meredith (Marathon-Meredith) is fueling the flames that I can do this. I love my friends. . .I guess I'll give it a shot. This should be interesting (or at least amusing for you to read about. . .)