Chubbette

Going through my Mind

Recently, I received an email from a blog reader (at my other blog). The email was short and kind, it didn't say much, just a few words. In essence, the email asked if I had given up the joys of knitting in exchange for the tortures of exercising. Now this email was not the first of its kind, I have received many of the kind before but most of them I just shrugged them off. I do not know what made this email strike a chord within me, maybe it was that it was raining outside and I was already in a crappy mood but after reading it, I just wanted to punch someone!

I am no one special in the knitting community nor in the looming one so I know that my presence in either one will go unnoticed and unmissed. But...what made this blog reader believe that I wasn't happy with my new choices. What made them believe that I was "torturing" myself with the rigors of my new lifestyle. Today, while I was mowing the lawn this kept eating at me. Why would anyone think that? Is it because I rarely play with my yarn, needles and looms? Or maybe if I showed a bit more of my knitting they wouldn't be bother by my new hobbies. Hobbies, that's what my exercising has become. Three times a week, I look forward to my workouts. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the first thing I do when I wake is turn my head towards the window to see if the day is sunny and then if it is, a smile forms and I get out of bed and put on my running clothes and rush outside.

It is not that I do not love my other hobby, knitting, I still do, I just have realized that I have a truly better day if I get my daily dose of workout. My body needs it. My mind needs it. It is the only time I have without my kiddos chasing me around...it is my time. Mine only.

So to answer the question of the blog reader: no, I haven't given up the joys that knitting brings. I am just postponing it till later...in the meantime, I'll get my highs on my workouts.

During this train of thought, I came to the realization that I am a 100% girl. When I focus on something, I give it my all. I do not go 50, 50, I give it 100 or nothing. In this case, I have chosen to focus my little spare time on me and changing my body. A couple of years ago, I gave a comment to my hubby that I never thought I would make. I was weighing about 145 (I am a shorty thing too--5' 1") and I was in the middle of writing my first book. I was eating crappy, feeling crappy, being a crappy mother and wife all for the sake of the craft. Anyways, I told him, my husband, maybe I am just supposed to be fat! I had given up all hope.  I can't lose weight and I do not have the time nor the determination to do it. With little time to cook, we ate crappy each night and I ate junk all day long. My weight skyrocketed which just made me feel worse about myself. Fast forward a few more months and I was landed with another little job, this one I really wanted so I took it and enjoyed every minute of it. I was able to eat a little better but my weight stayed the same...I was still a chubby round little thing.

My children knew were I was at all times....the couch, sitting, knitting, or downstairs writing. A few more months went by and the third and last book came into my life. At this point, I had made some decisions, I wasn't going to kill myself for it and I wasn't going to get fatter while working on it either...I was on my way to change. Then the major change came about, on October 17th, 2007, I took my driver's test and I passed. I was a "free woman" in a sense. The next day, I drove my little car to the gym and found my "place" in there. I found classes I enjoyed and put on my bathing suit and did what I have always enjoyed: swimming. Granted, I looked like a whale that had jumped in a wetsuit. But, I had made the first step.

It is now about 9 months later and I am still a bit chubby...not as much as I was but I am working to change what I didn't like about myself. I feel a lot better and I am finding out muscles that I never knew I had...even when I was a skinny bean pole.

Now my children do not look for me by the couch, instead they see me and they ask if I am going running or biking!  In my mind, I have made a decision that has benefited me and my family. I am no longer the couch potato...in time, I may even become an inspiration to my children.

Friday Work Out

What a beautiful day for a workout! I am used to getting up and the sky being dark...4:30am is too early for the sun to be up but seeing the sky in darkness just makes me want to go back in bed. Today though, it was different. The sky had a slight tint of light and it just sent my heart a flutter. I so wanted to be up and about and I was glad that I woke up and headed to the gym.

I was the second person at the gym (well, besides the workers, lol). I was the second one at the pool so I had my choice of lanes. The guy next to my lane is in my spinning class so he stopped his first lap to say hello and to tell me that the pool was still cold (Wednesday the temperature of the pool was so cold that a couple of people left...not me!). I stretched a bit and jumped right in...the water was cold...brrr. However, by the second lap I was warmed up and didn't feel the cold water as much. After my 8th lap (I swim 8 laps for warm up), I put on my fins and hand paddles and off I went to swim. The hand paddles provide me with great arm workout and the fins teach me to kick properly. I used to barely kick, now I am kicking a little more and I have seen a huge improvement in my time. In total, I swam 48 laps, for a 1.5 mile distance.

Stats:

Distance: 1.5 miles (48 laps)

Time: 55 minutes

Spinning was a bit fun. As soon as I came in, Rod, the instructor said that just because I had just swam 8 miles that it was no excuse for slacking off. He swims too before the spinning class, so he was just joking around. Fridays is usually a tough work out as we have climbing...and he is brutal with the resistance. A great work out! By the end, I was sweating buckets and I had drank all my water. Note to self: bring extra bottle of water next time.

I headed home after the work out as I wanted to wish my neighbor Nish a good trip. She is going to Florida to visit family for the weekend. We seem to spend quite a bit of time together which I enjoy very much.

Tomorrow is going to be a tough day. The cycling gals have a 60 mile ride planned. I don't know if I can make it that long but I will try.

I am worried about

1)Railroad tracks--I don't want to beef it again!

2)Where are we going to get water to refill our bottles

3)Hunger--I bet I am going to be starving around mile 45

4)My butt getting too sore and then being in pain next week

However, the 60 mile ride is a must as we have the Little Red Tour next weekend...and I may go for the 104 mile ride....or I may just ride 68 and call it a good day. We'll see.

MIA...not really

It is not like I have taken a break and given up, nope, nope. I just haven't had a chance to come in and update the wee blog.

Let's see, a quick wrap up: after the half marathon, I was pretty sore. Really, really sore. The downhill course killed my quads big time! Although I could move around quite well, going down the steps was a bit hard. Our house is a multi-level home so to go anywhere I have to climb steps/go down steps--I was a funny sight that entire week after the half. I am moving much better now.

Despite the soreness though, I only skipped my Monday (5/19) work out. I didn't run on Tuesday as I was too sore but I did drag my sorry butt to the pool and swam about a mile.

Wednesday 5/21, I did my regular spin work out and my swimming workout. I have started swimming about 1.5 miles in a 55 minute time block!

Thursday 5/22: no running. Still a bit sore.

Friday 5/23: a regular workout at the gym plus weights at the end of my spin class. Again, I swam 1.5miles.

Saturday 5/24: went on a short run. 5 miles.

Monday 5/26: swam 1.5 miles

Tuesday 5/27: Ran 9 miles. Biked 22 miles at night time with friends.

Wednesday 5/28: Swam 1.5 miles; Spin 60 minutes; weight lifting 20 minutes

Thursday 5/29: Sat around all day cleaning the house! Horrid day (LOL)

Half Marathon Spill

Pre-Run

The excitement for an event like this is indescribable! The atmosphere can be comparable to the pre-opening of the Rhinebeck Fiber festival. Everyone is eager and enthusiastic and the place is charged with 1000 volts of electricity! As you look around, you see people from different backgrounds come together for one single purpose: to prove to themselves that they can do it. Some faces look a little worried, others have a huge smile from ear to ear, others are quiet and yet others are loud and boisterous. The atmosphere is one that I will never forget!

We boarded the buses at 5:00am (ungodly hour!!!). After being in the bus for what seem an hour (probably 20minutes!) we arrived at the starting line. The sky was still dark and the air had a slight chill that made us all wish for our blankets and beds. We weren't cold for long though, they had provided bonfires for us to stand around and warm our butts up before the race. Sam and I didn't have to walk around long before we found our friends Mo and her friend Sheena gathered around one of the bonfires.

As we gathered around the fire chatting and making new friendships, the excitement just kept rising. Just like when we  knitters get together and chat about differences in needles, you know bamboo versus metal, or crystal palace dpns versus plymouth, I found out what runners talk about when gathered. Can you guess? Shoes! One of the top topics is shoes and the models and why they don't work for someone or why they work for someone else. It felt so great to finally have found someone to talk about my sneakers! It may sound silly to someone who doesn't know about running shoes just like when you talk to a non-knitter about needles but to finally be able to talk about it felt great! It took me a long time to find my perfect shoe match and I finally found some souls that shared the same feeling. Talk also involved previous races and how they had performed in those. One gal in our group has a goal to run a half in every state in the US! Isn't that great...that's 50, 50!! Wow, amazing goal!

At the Starting Line

I knew my pace so I was ready to go to the back of the line. I had trained at 10 or 10:30 minute mile pace and running etiquette tells you not to bug those who are faster than you. So I left my Sam at the beginning of the line and I kept going to the back with Mo, her being a bit faster than me, I was prepared to leave her at her "pace spot" too but she nudged me to stay there with her. We were scheduled to start at 7:00am and I was ready, I had taken one GU ten minutes before and I was all ready, 7:05 and no gun went off! I was antsy and ready to get it done. Finally at 7:06 we started and off we went. I tried to keep a slow pace...it is key to start slow so you don't burn out (words from Jeff Galloway's book). As we started, there were people everywhere! I felt claustrophobic...people everywhere...in my personal bubble! Mo and I were concerned about the number of people around us but soon we saw a little hill and we knew that that was the spot where we could take off and gain some bubble space.

As we climbed up the hill, we wiggled to the left side of the road trying to get ahead and gain some little space. Step by step we gained some space, a few minutes later and we were done with the only hill in the course and we had plenty of space to more around. After this point, we never had a problem with overcrowding. It was so great running alongside Mo but I was a bit slower than her and as such she took off and I stayed behind. I felt a little lonely but then I found that almost everyone was running by themselves so finding comfort in that, I gave it all I had. Next thing, I was already on mile 7! How in heck did that happen?

At mile 8, I took one more GU and sloshed some water on my head and kept going. I was feeling so great that the next two miles flew by. When I reached mile 10, I was giggling with joy, I only had a 5K left and my watch was telling me that I was almost 1 hour ahead of my estimated time! By golly, if I kept the same pace I could finish in 2 hours, I got even more excited and I sloshed more water on my head on the next stops.

The Finish Line

I had no idea where the finish line was, I read in the book that I would be able to see it from far away and sure enough I saw something but despite the big letters on the banner I couldn't see them (I am a little blind when it comes to seeing things far away). I still kept going, I was so excited and happy that I had a huge smile on my face...then when I could actually see the banner from two blocks away and read clearly FINISH, I got butterflies in my stomach and the butterflies got little wings on my feet and I gave it all I had. My little legs went faster and faster and once I saw the clock at the finish line and I was 1 block away and I had just seconds before the clock hit 2:00 hours, I thought of all my training, of my children's faces, of my hubby who was already past the finish line with the finishers and his face when he saw me coming 20 minutes before my estimated time and a surge of energy came over me! I had done it! I crossed the finish line in less than 2 hours! I really wanted to cry but the joy was too much and my smiles couldn't be contained. My wonderful Sam was there trying to take pictures of me coming through the finish line. It was fabulous! A wonderful occasion! Being in the "Finisher's Circle" with my hubby and friends was absolutely amazing! Seeing my hubby's face when I came in and then my friend Mo really brought me almost to tears. I was happy. I was proud. I was contented to have seen my training pay off. 

Hubby and I now have one extra thing that we enjoy together: our love for running. He has been my inspiration in all my training and in yesterday's triumph. Hurray for running!

Post Run

It is a day later and I am still giddy from all the excitement. True, I am sore, really sore. The downhill course killed my quads big time. Then yesterday afternoon as I was walking around with regular clothes I realized that my n!pples felt sensitive and sore and realized that the water sloshing soaked through my top and I guess it irritated me, next time, I'll make sure to put some Vaseline or Glide on before the race. By the way, a huge thank you to Nora for giving me the Glide advice; it worked wonderfully for both hubby and I!  Despite the aches and pains, I had a wonderful time and I am looking forward to my next half!

Actual Time by Milliseconds

1:59:49

Pictures: Only 4...so sad :(. Hubby is making a face in the last picture...he doesn't like pictures and he always sticks his tongue out during pictures.

Tuesday Run

The first run after my slight accident on Saturday, I was afraid, and for good reason.  I have a huge bruise on the back of my right calf--it appears to be the shape of the pedal--sucks!

Mile 1 and mile 2 were grueling. I hurt. My entire right leg was throbbing. My mile 3, I was a little warmed up and I wasn't hurting anymore. By the end of mile 3, I was feeling much, much better. The day was still a little chilly...and I was wearing short sleeves (need to get gloves!)

Stats:

Distance: 4 miles

Time: 43 minutes

Fluid intake: 4 oz

Beefed It!

Pedaling along about 18mph, a railroad crossing coming up ahead. Look both ways, nope, no train it is safe to cross. I have crossed plenty of railroad crossings before so this was no biggy. Sam had gone before me and he had done just fine, my front tire went over and then I saw it and I knew right away that I was in trouble. The tracks were deeper than I was used to and not only that, they were set at an extreme angle. Crap! I felt my entire body tensed up, microseconds passed, and I knew that I was going to beef it. My back tire passed over the track but I was already heading to the side of the road. I tried to stop so I put on the brakes which sent my front tire skidding on the bloody gravel! My front tire falling, I tried to unclip and I couldn't, I braced myself for the worst--ending up in the ravine! I felt the crunch of the gravel as I slid down on my side. Finally the bike stopped...and I stopped...and I was trapped under it. Good thing is an all carbon bike thus light as a feather. I tried to move and I couldn't, my right shoulder hurt like bloody hell. Sam by this time had turned around and was trying to assess the damage. Can you get up? Nope, I can't. Please help me up. He helped me and held me for a few seconds. I could feel the tears swelling and on the border of spilling down my cheeks. Then a car stopped to ask if I was okay, I swallowed my tears and said yep. I was okay, and I truly was. I was in one piece, a little bruised but in one piece. I looked down my leg and blood was dripping from a little spot. Darn it! Our friends that were riding with us had turned back by this time and had joined us to make sure that I was okay. A little shaken but okay. As any other cyclist, I picked my bike up and inspected it closely....my beauty had fallen. How stupid could I had been?!?

Adding salt to the wound, as we were ready to pick up and go I saw that my front tire was a little flat...I touched it and sure enough it felt quite flattened. So we turned it around and there it was: a stinking thorn--I took it out and air just popped out of my tire! Darn it!!! At this point, I was sure pissed at my stupidity. I was holding our ride...we had just barely gone 15 miles and we still had 25 miles to go! They all asked if I wanted to go home. Go home, I answered? Nope, no, definitely not! Let's keep going. We are just 15 miles into our ride...we must continue.

15 minutes later we were on our way...new tube in my tire a little bruised but both of us in one piece. As I shifted, my gears were not working. My triple comp had only two of the gears working, all I could think about is the major hill coming up and how I would have to ride without one of my gears. My bike and I were limping away (but I know she has a heart and like my heart we don't give up easily). We just had to work together and put our chins up.

43 miles from start to finish. 28 miles after the mistake. My right side full of bruises. My bike needs a major tune up (thankfully the frame is not scratched anywhere!).

I am grateful that I was kept safe and that my scratches will heal up. I am grateful that Sam was with me to take care of me and my bike. I am grateful that my bike is okay. But most of all, I am SO grateful that my scratches are superficial enough so that I can still run the half marathon next week, I would hate to have had all my training go to waste!.

Saturday Run

Stats

Distance: 5 miles

Time: 49 minutes

Liquid intake: 10oz

The day was nice and warm, sunny, yet not too hot. The run felt wonderful. I felt very, very good.

The last long run before the half

13.4 miles...about killed me. At mile 11, I felt that I was ready to finish, it was hot, really hot and I didn't have enough water to cool myself off. I threw the last in my bottle on my head just to cool me off. I am grateful that there will be stations during the half and I can slosh as much water as I need on my head to cool me off.

Stats:

Distance: 13.4 miles

Time: 2:30

Effort: High

Temperature: way too hot, around 70 degrees and the sun was baking me alive!

Liquids: 20 oz

Had a potty break and a stretch break at around 7 miles into the run.

Splash!

My legs were too tired to go to my regular workout so I decided to sleep in and go later in the day. Since I ran the 12 miles on Tuesday, I needed an "easy" day to let my legs rest so I decided to not spin nor attend aerobics class, instead I just swam. I have never swam for such a long period of time...I like it! After the first 30 minutes my body started warming up and then the flips became easier and I felt like I was one with the water, just gliding away.

Stats

Swimming

Time: 90minutes

Type: Front Crawl, Backstroke, Breaststroke. A few laps with hand paddles and a couple of laps with fins.

Notes: I weighed myself again today just for kicks and I am down a couple of pounds. Down to 127 lbs! Nope, I am not starving myself, I still eat tacos and pasta and rice and lots, lots of white bread!