A new partner

Last week, I went over to our neighbor's house to talk about something, and the husband mentioned seeing me running one day , apologizing for not waving back because he had no idea what this running blond was doing waving at him! While we were on the topic of running, they mentioned how their relatively newly-adopted dog, Tessa, had tons of energy, so I asked if I could take Tess running with me some time. Lucy's top speed is no match for me anymore (hee hee hee) and Tess was a bit bigger. 

Today I took Tessa out for a test drive :) She's a bit frightened by runners, ahead of or behind her. It wasn't until the 2nd half of what I'd decided was a very quick 1.5 mile route that she calmed down, realized what this "jogging" thing was and that no, I wouldn't run way or mow her down, that we got into a rhythm. After quite a bit of plant, hedge and sign sniffing, that is!

Isn't she adorable?!

The short half run/walk got me my much needed vitamin D, but its time to complete a real workout for the day. Exercise TV on Demand, ho!

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

Easy does it

So I actually went running yesterday morning, but the evening went crazy and so now I have time to tell you about it :) 

Reason #9184 last night went crazy??? I had an appointment to give blood! 

Only, I seem to be cursed when it comes to giving blood in NC. The first time I tried here, the on-site location didn't have my online registration, but they were also running an hour late. I thought it would be easy to do on my lunch hour, but I had class to go to! Fails #1 and 2. I successfully gave blood with this organization in a van in October (then tromped off to the State Fair :D ) but oh, my, everything that could go wrong did yesterday. They sent me away with only 20% of what they needed because the girl facing me had passed out and lost control of some bodily functions while giving blood. My clotting line thanks to an awful stick *shudder* seemed insignificant after that.

BUT! Before all of this, I went running before work and the day warmed up to be 76 and sunny. Yes. In February :) I even ate lunch outside on a blanket!

The run was my 2.5 mile route, running half of my hill. I also cut through to an apartment complex, way off road and sidewalk, trying to avoid the scary no-sidewalk or shoulder portion. New areas always weird me out, so I hesitatntly ran on the streets or from short sidewalk to short sidewalk, knowing about where it should dump me out to where I needed to go back to my sidewalks and happy known path.

No clue how long it took- and that's still fine with me :)

I asked the neighbors to borrow their larger-than-Lucy dog for a walk/run tomorrow. Will probably be keeping it around home since it's my first run with her, so if I need to change the pace, alter the route, no big. Also, you never know how a dog reacts to a car ride!

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

So I did it again

I ran.

I have no clue the pace. I think it was about 2.25 of the 2.5 miles in my route because, quite frankly, I didn't feel like running up the evil hill and feeling "blegh" for the entire route as a result, so I just walked when I felt like it. But then I ran.

I also sort of cried. My Sister's Keeper?! Suh-laaaaayed me! I was listening to the last 20 minute of the audiobook. Twist ending and tearrrss! But I tried to just keep breathing and not let my throat swell up like I wanted it to. 

Oh, and it was the perfect night. Seriously- upper 60's in February with a beautiful sunset. It was still light enough outside when I was done that I took Lucy for a little walk. We ended up at the top of a hill and I literally just stood there, admiring the view for a minute. *Breathe in... breathe out...* My bronchitis is pretty much fading, only cough a few times a day, and the pregnant boss doesn't send me home anymore :)

I did yoga last night after weight circuits, the third time since the evil donut run that I did. It feels so good, and I felt all nice and stretched out today :) Things hurt, but it was a "yay!" hurt!!!! With weather like this, I realize people will start seeing my arms and legs now, so they can be all nice and toned as they emerge :)

More running coming up! Still loving the yoga/cross-training!

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

P.S. And yes, she knew I was writing about her, so Lucy, uncharacteristically, snuggled up to me. Especially weird since her mom aka The roomie, is 4 feet away... She gets a haircut in a week :) No more Teddy Bear, hello naked mole rat!!!

Still Sick :(

As the title says... I am still sick :[ I swear, this evil little bug KNEW I was planning on finally getting active, going for a run either tonight or tomorrow and so it knocked up the intensity of my cough again! I had the runny nose and body aches, but those are gone. Once again, its this darn evil stubborn cough. The general rule of thumb for exercising is that you should take it easy when you have symptoms below the neck. However, a week of doing that was driving me stir-crazy!!! 

"Don't make me go on this walk!!!"

Hearing my mom's voice in my head tonight, I looked at Lucy, apologized, and dragged her out for a nice walk. Yep, just a walk. Earbud in one ear, gloves on to protect from the "cold" and a nice excuse for her to stop sleeping and me to get out of the house. It was quite a nice ego booster- no makeup, hair hastily thrown back and random clothes to keep warm led to me getting honked and waved at by 3 cars. I wonder if they thought I was someone else?!

 It was nice and light when we left, but by the time Lucy started doing her "oh! THIS IS TOTALLY THE WAY HOME!" trot, the sun was down, the mercury went the way of the sun, and I may or may not have been skipping to keep warm and make the door appear sooner as we neared home.

Being sick is seriously bringing all of me down :( I'm ready to be healthy, to get out and keep doing something- anything! With the cough as evil sounding as what I have now, going to group classes doesn't really feel like an option either. People would fear my germs, and rightly so!

Anyway, at least I got out, did something?!

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

running hangover

 Races, and runs in general, should not give you hangovers, especially when there's zero alcohol involved. They should also not make the random cough/body aches you have a million times worse. And yet...

I was up at 6:15, out the door an hour later. Despite knowing what was ahead, I dared to eat breakfast. Sort of. Cinnamon toast and a scoop of pb. The toast was to make my stomach be temporarily happy. PB was to give me protein that would stick, literally!

Its also worth mentioning that it was 35 degrees outside and raining cats and dogs. Gotta love the fact that I was reading a news story about how Raleigh was in drought conditions, down 2 inches. We got it, EVERY LAST FLIPPIN' DROP, today. I'm confident in it. Okay, so maybe I drove away with a lot of it in my hair and clothes, but w/e.

You see, ladies and gentlemen, I signed up for the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Basic premise? Run 2.4 miles, mostly downhill, eat a dozen glazed Kripy Kremes at, conveniently, a Krispy Kreme shop, show off your empty box, then run back up the 2.4 mile hill. You're supposed to do it in under an hour. Oh, and DON'T PUKE!!!

Waiting for the starting line. This was about an hour into my time of standing in the cold rain?

NCSU's Bell Tower. Number of bells in it? 0

At the Krispy Kreme shop. First, and last, time there!

Smushing #s 6-9

Made it seem like I was only eating 1 at a time. Not 3. Maybe. Not really.

 Since we've already talked about how flippin' cold it was, since it was also rainy, my two survival strategies were conflicting. Generally, I like to layer to keep myself warm, but in rain like today's, the more you wear, the more that gets soaking wet and weighs you down and keeps you cold. 

With this in mind, I didn't wear gloves. The race started at 8:30, I finished at 9:47, and it wasn't until about 11- post hot shower, hot tea, and lots of blankets to snuggle under- that I regained total control of my hands. Well, sort of. They're still "creaky."

This is why all the picture of my hands seem a bit "awkward." Plus, the glaze was making the disgusting taste that it does after about donut #2 in my mouth. BLEGh.

There was a lot of biting, chewing, looking up, hoping the bites weren't going to get stuck in the esophagus, etc. It was quite hilarious watching people crying and struggling over the last few bites. One girl was pacing in between bites. Oh, how I sympathized with her!

Oh, and maybe I just grabbed a good box, or they really can crank the suckers out quickly, but the box I grabbed had nice, fresh donuts. I was actually very disappointed when I bit into them and they were light, fluffy, fresh! 

Curses...

I can honestly say, though, that I will never- NEVER- crave another glazed donut, so long as I live. 

I have been sitting here in the world's worst hangover all day. The only time I felt this bad was the morning of my 21st birthday- and yes, you can imagine the zaniness that happened before, especially since I can't remember! But at least after that night, I could drink water, take pain killers, eat the random food my stomach craved (ceaser salad and roast beef sandwich, both from Panera) and feel better. Today? Buh. Food and water were the ENEMY!!!

It took me 75 minutes, which usually is an awful pace for 4.8 miles, but I ATE A DOZEN DONUTS. I think those took me about 20 minutes? I wayyyy underestimated that! 

KB did it too, and she successfully finished in under an hour- 55 minutes, to be precise! Overall, she got 59th in the female "challenger" division. There were lots of "casual runners"- aka "I'll eat a few, then take the rest with me" crowd. I had a moment of smug satisfaction every time I passed those people on the way back. 

Can not! wait to be healthy and de-donut-ified and go for a run in nice weather, or indoor, and just enjoy it. For now?

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

Heels

 I used to not think of myself as a shoe person, but over time, I realize I have a finely cultivated collection of heels. First up?

The ones I wore for Fred and I's first date, exactly 364 days ago. Not that I'm counting. So yes, it was early February, and yes, even though we live in the 70% of the country NOT hit by this week's snowpocalypse, it was still cold. Did I mention the short black skirt I had on, too?? Oh, and clearly the heels (and skirt) worked :D

   

After a night of wearing heels like that, I wore shoes like this A LOT the next few days!  And yes, the heels seem to be torn up. This is on purpose. I have size 10.5 feet, as does KR. Its how we became friends, true story. As a result of this mammoth, and thus, unusual, size, lots of the cheap brands- payless, targay- don't make 10.5. Its 10 or 11. Pick. So I picked smaller for these, clipped out the heel, and thus spared my Achilles tendon many many blisters.

 The next two pairs are my usual go-to during the winter. If I'm going to be walking around a lot, I go for the Sperry's, aka boat shoes, aka most versatile things ever. I wear them with socks in the winter, barefoot in the summer. They go with jeans, dresses, and even khakis if I'm running late for Sunday morning church. According to NC natives, they're the official shoe of the state, and base on how many pairs of them I see on campus, I tend to agree. 

My other go-to shoes are my boots! I bought these on a whim, totally expecting to return them. Instead? Love. Adoration. Worship. I only wear them with jeans, and always under! Well, unless it dumped 6" of Boxing Day snow on you, but that's a rarity.  They're comfy enough to stand in, make little noise, and give me an extra heel to make me feel even more intimidating, if needed :)

 These I talk about often. I log my miles, wear them religiously only for running, hit heel first, pushing off with the ball of my foot. The amazing Mom got me contraptions to basically turn them into slip-ons, but I haven't done it. Yet.

And last, but certainly not least, are the actual heels that slip into all of these. Yes, I have a tattoo. Its easily hidden, obviously, not offensive, recognizes 3 years of my life, and makes the occasional great conversation starter. 

But back to the heels... These things have been dragging recently. The token example came this past Saturday when, about 1/2 mile in, I lost it. Couldn't breathe, broke down crying- well, as much as I had the water/energy to- and could feel any and all mental resolve to keep pounding the pavement slipping away. With 3.5 miles to go. It had nothing to do with running, everything to do with my life off the road, but when you're that stressed out, the mind-body connection takes over. That same drive that tells you "YOU CAN DO THIS!" can also tell you "what's the point?!" It sucks to listen to that, but its like a Patronus charm in Harry Potter- you have to have a stronger positive thought to overcome it. At that moment, I had zero happy.

Runs like that make you dread everything from figuring out a route to lacing up again. Tuesday morning, 2 days of no running, and I couldn't even figure out a route, much less a distance. I ended up walking out the door and running about 1.4 miles- up a long evil hill, then back down it. I'd never run up it, always taking the shorter, more compact hill , so it was a nice mental victory, pounding out the long slow hill. No clue pace, and that's how I wanted it to be. My podcast was weird. Really weird. I changed it at the top of the hill. Seriously, who talks about selection for the perfect astronaut by talking about "flautus" for 10 minutes?!?! 

After runs like this and the general feeling of this quite often, after this Saturday's race (omg so excited to do it, then tell you about it, and most importantly, NOT PUKE!), I'm diversifying. I'll still run, but more yoga, pilates, weights, cardio classes. Less "run x in y miles." Run when you feel like it. Stretch it out often. And as always...

Here's to the next TV timeout :)

-Syd