Frightening

Mom's cooking, smoke alarm goes off, and nobody leaves the house!!!
OK this time it wasn't an issue, nor last time.

There was a time though when I was cooking and then forgot I was cooking. I went outdoors "just for a sec" and then got distracted...and then.....

Kids streaming out of the house, running really, choking, smoke not far behind them. I was burning potatoes on the stove. (you remember that D & A?)
The smoke was THICK. I'm a horrible kitchen person. I don't like to watch what I'm cooking. I get side tracked.

This known about me it seems kids would check to make sure everything is ok rather than ignoring the smoke alarm. A smoke alarm going off is really a big deal, especially with me cooking!!!!!

wow was I lost

OK I wasn't really lost but I haven't blogged in FOREVER. I didn't have any readers so didn't feel it a priority.
I slip so much on this unprocessed diet. It's such a challenge. So what am I doing about it?????
I'm going MORE STRICT!!!
I'm now in the process of researching raw diet and incorporating many of the philosophies into my own life.

I have finally learned to look at my own body as a sacred temple. Sure I've heard that from many sources before but it's FINALLY starting to hit home. I really don't want to fill this body with toxic junk anymore!!! I've been able to turn away from the processed stuff in the house all week. I did slip up though and had Chinese on Tuesday I believe it was. We went to see Santa for Logan and Nickolas then I took them to get a plate and I felt it was better than fast food. But as I was eating it it tasted soooo sweet, candy sweet. I wondered about my choice being better than fast food. Wouldn't a grilled chicken breast on a wheat bun be more nutritious than deep fried breaded chicken covered with a sweet sauce?? Ah well it's done and hopefully digested and gone now. Yesterday I took the boys to McDonalds and I got a Caesar salad with no meat, a fruit and walnut salad, and a fruit and yogurt parfait then bottled water to drink. A lot of processed yogurt there but that's ok. I'm still working on this eating thing and refuse to beat myself up over it too much.

My fitness is going along well. I haven't slipped on that much. Last week I took 3 days off though!! Not all in a row but still. This week I've been going strong. I did hurt myself doing some lifting two days ago though. I strained my upper back and now am afraid to do my strength training today. I think I'm going to find some lower body strength only and do some stationary bike.

Winding down this first year of what I'll call success as I work on my goals for next.
My resolutions are already in place and I'm already working on them. So silly to wait until Jan 1st to resolve to make good habits!!

1) Track my runs on beewellmiles.com and sparkpeople.com. Why two sites? I don't know. I like how beewellmiles donates to breast cancer for running during part of the year. I like sparkpeoples tracking system and I can track ALL my cardio there. I haven't picked which site I like better yet so I'm using both. If one were to fall to the side it would be sparkpeople.com though because I really want to donate to breast cancer research :) it's a great cause.

2) Continue getting my sleep and water consumption.

3) Eat more raw!! Learn about sprouting, seeds, and nuts. Get to know others who are at least partly raw.

Been Quite Some Time

Time for me to try to catch up a bit.
I went on vacation for 4 days over to Deidre's and missed my 10K race. I didn't mind missing the race as I did run a 10K independently a week before so I knew I could do one. The week after my little vacation Dave went to Florida on his vacation. Between the two vacations I wasn't able to run for 2 weeks. This week was my first week of running for quite a while. I did a 4 mile run, then a 4.5 miler, then a 5.25 miler all barefoot.
I stepped on a little stone again today and now have another bruise on the bottom of my right foot. These bruises are annoying to say the least. I stepped on a very wet clump of clay and was afraid it was goose poop but was relieved to look at my foot and see the innocent clay. I have my first official 5K Nov 14th, the free to breathe run. I'm running it in honor of my mom and not sure if it will be barefoot or not.
Dave's looking for a good treadmill for us. He won't settle for anything mediocre so I'm a bit excited to have that piece of equipment for bad weather days.
I think my speed is pretty evened out at about 10 minute miles. I'm not trying to increase my speed but rather my distance. I have my base runs up to 4 miles now. Next week planning on running two 4.5 milers and a 6 miler. I'm not sure if I'll wear shoes for any of it or not. I noticed that when I run on the wet roads my skin sorta peels off the bottom of my feet. It's probably a form error and that bugs me. I'm going to read up on Pose and Chi running and experiment some with those and see what best suits me. Such a learning experience running is turning out to be. I still enjoy it though and that is what is most important.
Today it felt good to go to mcdonalds and know that my run burned more calories than my lunch was. Yay for getting fit.

Almost October

Well it's time for me to come up with a strict plan for myself.
I weighed in at 116 today after coming home from a 4 day stay at my daughters. 4 days of no formal exercise and not watching diet.
I'm back to watching my diet. Going back to my unprocessed eating plan. I really need to make that my lifestyle. It's so difficult as I really still hate to cook.

Even my running has suffered the past few weeks but I am not distressed. Tomorrow starts a new day for me. I will be trying out a new routine this week.
I'm going to attempt to run every day but only 1.5 miles on the week days and then a long run on sat or sun. not sure if i'll be able to handle it, my body may not be ready for that but i'm going to try and see how it goes.

Sept is here

Already.
I notice the Cindy from New York emerging as I think "cooler weather"
I've been thinking up ways to insulate some of these windows and not feel the cabin fever this year. BUT then I remember I'm in NC and the weather here isn't like in NY lol. Sure we have cold days and maybe even cold weeks, but we DON'T have cold MONTHS.
So I'm trying to get out of the hibernation mode that seems to be signaled by the beginning of Sept.

The weather is perfect for running. I wake up with a chill and the sun isn't up yet which kinda bothers me. I like it being light out at 6am. I woke up to stars in the sky this morning!!!

My run was 3.5 miles. I've upped my base runs during the week this week and I am feeling it. My legs ache for a few hours after my run and today my feet are a little tender. I want to join a local running group but don't want to drive to it. I think I've discussed this before so nothing has changed there.

I plan on manning an aid station on Oct. 3 for an ultra run at Bur Mil. I'm planning on requesting an aid station for the 40 mile runners though maybe the last aid station towards the end of the marathon would be interesting also.

I'm going to miss my 10K I've been training for but that's OK. I'm going to visit Deidre instead which is much more important than a lousy 10K race. I considered entering an 8K in VA Beach that same weekend but that intimidates me. I think it will be super crowded and I'm just not ready to deal with that yet, especially in a town I'm unfamiliar with. I will be running but just not racing.

My goal for this month:
wk 1: 3.5/3.5/5
wk 2: 3.5/3.5/5.5
wk 3: 4/4/6
wk 4: 4/4/6.5

I'm hoping to be able to increase by a whole mile come October rather than in half mile increments. I have my eye on a half marathon on Dec 13th.

Still going strong

Now I'm half way into week #2 of barefoot running. I did 3.5 miles today. I absolutely couldn't make myself put those shoes on my feet after already running for a bit so I didn't. I decided I'm going to stop carrying the darn things and just stick close to home for the next couple of weeks. I worked out a nice figure 8 route that ends with 3.5 miles. A perfect distance for my weekday runs at this time. I'm still going to wear my shoes for my long runs. Last weekend I started barefoot then put my shoes on after 1.5 miles but this just isn't a good strategy for me. I only ran another 1.5 miles before quitting because I just was not enjoying the running with the shoes....soooo I did not get my long run in this past week. I'm back to running every other day rather than just Tues, Thurs, Sat. I just can't stand not running though I know my muscles can't handle every single day at least yet. I'm not a complete idiot, maybe a bit insane but they are completely different poles.

By the end of todays run I was wiping the sweat off my face with my shoes. I found that quite comical, Yep I bring my shoes as sweat rags, they are good for that task. I just might need to make myself some crochet cotton wristlets to be able to wipe the sweat off with.

I came back home and realized the front door was open. That puzzled me because I remember distinctly closing it carefully as to step out quietly and not wake up my son who seems to be so zoned into my doings that he would have surely heard me. I get my drink of water and move the mouse on my pc to map my run and....I hear noggin!!
What on earth!!! Noggin, already??? Go in the living room and sure enough. The little guy is up. He tells me he missed me and gives me a hug so I sit with him for a while and wait for his dad to emerge from upstairs. Apparently he woke up at 6:30ish and was frantically looking around the house for me. Screaming and crying because mommy wasn't here..though he did know daddy was here because we sleep in the same room as him so he did not think he was alone. It makes me feel so loved but OMG this child needs to give me a lil space.

I have a new product I love for my feet. I've had it for at least a year, probably two. I won a free for shipping lottery for some knitters moisturizing balm for my hands. I never used it because I didn't like it for my hands, I felt it was too greasy. It's beeswax based and wonderful on my feet!!! Clearhills Honey I recommend it to anyone needing something to moisturize your running feet, it's great for my heals especially!! so Carmela, If you see this please don't think this is a gross misuse of your product. I love it and thank you for it and am so glad I saved it instead of passing it on to one of my knitting friends.

2nd Barefoot Run

Well today was a new day that's for sure. It's super foggy out and my calves were still tight from Tuesdays run. I tried to massage them and work out the tightness all day yesterday but by evening they were feeling unbelievably tight and I contemplated not running today-- contemplated.
I set my alarm for 5:50 so I could be out the door by 6am today. Look out the window and can't see beyond my front yard...it's very foggy. Didn't get out the door until 6:10 which makes me feel pushed because I have to be back by 7am for Nickolas to get here, today's an early day for him. I am carrying my shoes just as I had on Tuesday for my warm up walk. The concrete of my driveway feels great, the asphalt feels like crap. I decide that I'm going to stay on the concrete as much as possible this run. I'm off and trotting. I feel my calves loosen up relatively quickly and that really excites me, it's going to be a great run!!!! About half a mile into my run mother nature is cruel and my body is wanting to goooooo. OOOh I hate when that happens while running. I turn around and head back home. So I got my barefoot mile in but after .5 miles I was concentrating more on not soiling myself than form. I was uncomfortable. Right at the end of running I stepped wrong on my big toe. I didn't scrape it but think I hit a stone and it shot pain right up my leg. I'm walking now and will check it out while sitting on the toilet.

Heading back out the door with shoes on this time and I complete another 1.5 miles. I'm dripping wet by the time I get home. I think the moisture from the air was mixing with my sweat and I was soaked not only by sweat but by dew. My hair actually had droplets of water on top of my head when I came inside. I'm disappointed that I didn't get my whole 3 miles in again yet today. This is definitely proving to be a slow week for me. Lets see what Saturday brings.

Day 1 Barefoot

Today was my first time going out the door, ready to run, carrying my shoes in hand. I went for my normal warm up walk barefoot. Immediately noticed the texture of the asphalt under my feet. Felt every little stone so moved more into the line of where cars drive. So glad it was EARLY morning and no traffic plus I was in the neighborhood so there's not a lot of traffic anyways. I experimented with lifting my feet, knees, where and how I put down my foot. It was a real eye opener. Finally reached the street corner where I always start my running and pumped up the tempo. Now I'm running, on pavement, in bare feet. Who would have known!!!! My shoes still in hand as I know I can't complete my whole run in bare feet. I have no idea how much of it I can or should do. Barefoot Rick told me to do my first mile barefoot then evaluate. So here I go!!!

The bumpiness of the asphalt is bugging me. I can feel where each stone pops up above the actual asphalt. Then the road changes, it's now the darker, smoother, I'll say higher quality road. It feels so smooth and wonderful on my feet. But that doesn't last very long, back to the bumpy stuff soon after. I had been avoiding the concrete along the side of the street because I was always told that asphalt is easier to run on, but the lure of the smoothness draws me in. I'm in love with my run once again. AHHH so smooth and easy now.
Mile 1 down and I look at my shoes, I'm hot, my feet are always hot when I wear shoes, I don't want to put them on so I continue.

My total barefoot experience was 1.7 miles. I did put on my shoes when I noticed several cars parked on the side of the road making my concrete path undoable and I would have to divert back to the bumpy pavement.

My learning experience didn't end there. Once I put on my shoes of course I immediately felt the heat trapped against my feet. I make a not so happy face but continue trodding along. I pay attention to my footfalls. I really HAVE to heal strike. I never noticed it before but all I've read about shoes making you strike with your heal first was right. I try to land properly and it's like running on tippy toes. I continue to 2.5 miles then just take off my shoes again and cool down walk. I didn't run my entire 3 miles today but I really enjoyed my bare feet.

I now know I need to toughen up the skin on my feet. My next barefoot run will not be any longer, it may be a little shorter. We'll see on Thursday :) I do need to get my 3 miles in on Thursday though as my training for 10K continues as I prepare my feet to be able to handle the surfaces.
I did learn that a bumpy surface is more difficult than a hard smooth surface. So glad I didn't attempt the grass, though the grass is wonderful for my cool down walks :)

Todays Run

Well I'm moving my blog away from weight control towards my running, which anyone who knows me knows it's my latest passion. I'm actually researching on becoming a barefoot runner. I want to get some Vibram Five Finger shoes, they are like gloves for your feet with a protective sole but not restricting. I can't wait to try them out. The only thing that makes me nervous about them is that the toes are separate. Though I think this is good for your foots form and being able to climb and such, I'm just afraid it will feel so foreign for my toes to have that bit of fabric between them. I think I'll be able to get used to them and run in them though.

On to todays run. I went 5.63 miles!!! I set my timer for 1 hour on my phone and just took off running. I was planning on doing my regular route pretty much backwards starting with my mile #3 and then moving beyond after I completed my normal mile #1.
That didn't happen. I started my #3 mile and there was a road which I thought was a cul-de-sac that I always skipped so I went down it. It was an actual road so I turned at the corner and it went out to another fairly unfamiliar road to me. I knew where it was and have walked it before with my little one but I hadn't incorporated it in my runs as of yet. So I ran the streets and loops until I got back into my neighborhood then proceeded to do my normal #1 mile. When I got down to my turn around point I decided to just turn down the street instead. There is an up hill right after my turn around point and I was avoiding it, my motives were completely selfish not really adventure or motivation lol. I went across the highway then turned around and started heading homewards. I knew I had been out for a while and I didn't want to get further from home. I started running up a street parallel to the one I normally run. I usually avoid it because it's a busier street without any side shoulders to run on. But today was my long run and I wanted new scenery.
Finally I saw my street corner ahead....and my 1 hour beeper goes off. I try to continue running but it's like everything shut down once I realized that I had been running for an entire hour. I was afraid to continue because "injury" is always in the back of my mind and I want to avoid it as much as possible. How does one go beyond the fear of injury and really test their ability?? I'm just a beginner and don't want to push too far but I do want to see what I'm made of. Well I got 5.63 miles in 1 hour which turns out to be a pace of 10:50 minute miles...wooo I broke below 11 minutes for my first long run. Those hills that I normally do on mile #2 really do slow me down A LOT.
I took off my shoes for my cool down walk. Now heavenly is being able to walk barefoot in dew covered grass after a long hot run!!!

MyLot

myLot User Profile

If you're interested in earning some pennies for chatter feel free to join me:
www.myLot.com?ref=syndibee
No pressure to anyone though. I have been a member forever, actually forgot about it but went back today due to a google search I did and I wanted to chat so the pennies will come, if I keep chatting.