April 11, 2013

Shortcut novice

It is SO hard to get a 100% on my ActiveLink on the days that I don't run. Yesterday was my rest day, and it was thunder storming, so I didn't go out for a walk. I did run a few errands and clean around the house, so I was being fairly active.

Then last night, at around 7:00, I saw that I had just barely reached my baseline (the point at which I've accomplished the required amount of activity for the day, when I can start earning PointsPlus for activity beyond that).

I was just going to forget about earning any PointsPlus yesterday, but Jerry said, "Want to do the Wii Fit?" And for some reason, I said sure. When I got on the balance board, it said I had lost 20 pounds since the last time I used it, which was fun to see. I did the marching band game first, which is my favorite.

Then I did the biking game, where you have to "bike" around the island and collect flags. I did the "expert" course, and had to find 20 flags. (If you're not familiar with the biking on the Wii, you just step in place on the balance board, which pedals the bike on the screen). It took much longer than I thought it would to find all the flags, and I wanted to quit, but I hated to leave the game without accomplishing getting all the flags!

Well, 59 minutes and lots of frustrated curses later, I finally got all the flags. And it had the nerve to call me a "Shortcut Novice", hahaha.

Even after that, I'd only earned 3 PP. My calves were a little sore from doing that!

This morning, I planned to run outside, but when I got up, it was pouring rain. I was going to run on the treadmill after getting the kids ready for school, but then the rain stopped, so I was able to run outside after all. As soon as I got outside, I noticed it was really windy, and I almost went back inside to drool over Jax while I ran on the treadmill, but I knew I should stick it out.

My hope was to just get in one good, fairly fast run as a confidence booster for my race on Saturday. I wanted to try and match my "happy" pace on the treadmill (8:20/mi). On the way out (out and back route), I felt great. Other than a few big gusts, the wind wasn't too bad. It didn't occur to me that it felt easy because I had a tail wind the whole way out! Duh.

When I turned around, the wind took my breath away for a minute. I was giving it the same effort as before, but my pace slowed and it was HARD. Mile three was definitely the hardest. Mile four was pretty rough for the first half, but then the last little bit wasn't bad, and I picked up the pace to finish strong.

It's interesting to see the change in pace from mile two to mile three, even though my heart rate stayed exactly the same. When I was running with the wind, my pace was 8:14; when I turned around, my pace was 8:28, but I was using the same amount of effort. Wind resistance definitely plays a big part in my pace!
 

I wish I could say that this was a confidence-booster run, but it felt really tough! Tomorrow is my usual long run day, but since I'm running a half-marathon on Saturday, I'm taking a rest day tomorrow. So this was my last run before my goal race. The weather isn't looking too good for Saturday--I really hope it's not going to rain! The race posted this on Facebook:
Bummer!

I had to go weigh in at Weight Watchers today. I haven't been going to the meetings at all since the issue with the receptionists. Because I'm a Lifetime Member, I only have to weigh in once a month. Anyway, Jerry decided to go with me, and wanted to stay for the meeting. He usually just goes and weighs in, and then leaves--he's never stayed for a meeting before.

It was funny to me, because he was really nervous about it! He was worried about being judged. But he reached his goal weight the last time he weighed in, and he didn't even let the receptionist know that it was his goal--so he didn't get an award or anything. I might be shy about talking about my own accomplishments, but I wanted to tell them all what Jerry has done; so I announced that he'd reached his goal and then I got out my phone and showed off his before and after pictures.

The receptionists were super nice, and made Jerry feel good about his accomplishment. While we were waiting for the meeting to start, we were flipping through the handout booklet that we got, and Jerry started laughing when he saw this:

 If Weight Watchers wants men to get excited about their program, this certainly isn't the way to go about it!  ;)  Jerry spends 5 PP on a beer every night, and that's why he likes the program--he doesn't have to give up beer or drink HALF a beer in a wine glass! Hahaha. I can just picture his "friend's" face when Jerry suggests sharing a beer and drinking it out of wine glasses.

13 comments:

  1. Years ago, the River Bank Run 25K in Grand Rapids had to come up with an alternate course at the last minute because the Grand River had overflowed and the roads that run along side of it were flooded and closed. The alternate course sucked! It was hilly and was just an out and back and totally boring. Of course, I understand that it had to be done but it wasn't the same race and I had a terrible time compared to other years because of those hills. I hope it doesn't rain for your race. I've run a couple of half marathons in pouring rain and it's not fun. I'm sure you will do great when you are there and it's race day; there's just something about a race!

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  2. I was all worried about running in the wind the other night but it was actually just enough of a "breeze" to help cool me off on my way back.

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  3. Inspiration. Thanks for sharing. I'm looking to start running for fitness purposes next week. This post has helped to motivate me!

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  4. I had forgotten about the island bicycling! Now I want to go try it again...the boys and I loved it!

    I have to admit that I've been really wondering about the race course with all the flood warnings. I know how often Hines Drive floods, especially in the spring. I hope it dries out by Saturday!!

    I can't deny I'm getting really sick of the "motivational" emails. ;) Oh well, I will do it next year! :)

    Rest up...can't wait to hear how It goes!!

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  5. Ok, I'm gonna start thinking of a sign!!

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  6. Congratulations to Jerry for reaching goal.....I wanna see the before and after pics:)

    Really happy for you both doing so well and doing this while you are still young! Wished I would have figured this out when I was younger. Now I am 49......BUT....running 5K, 3 times a week and mostly because of you Katie! Thank you for sharing all this for people like me!
    Michelle in Canada

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  7. I love that beer thing! Hilarious!!

    Good luck tomorrow!! I'm sure you will rock it!

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  8. I have to tell you what an inspiration you are to me! I posted my first major accomplishment on your facebook page the other day and was so excited to see my comment on the screenshot for motivational monday! I look forward to reading about your days if only to validate my own journey in my weight loss/healthy living quest. Since August I have gone from not being able to run 50 meters at once to now running a mile. Got to start somewhere right? ;) I do have one question for you - how do I know fast I'm running on the treadmill? I know what level I'm running at (usually 5.6 or 5.7 speed-don't laugh LOL) but what pace is that?

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. 5.6 or 5.7 is great! Here is a cool pace chart that will convert that for you: http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php

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  9. Still excited for Martian Half, but I've thrown any time expectations out the window. Was hoping for better weather but the last week has been disastrous to my plans (I could have done more inside, but that's no fun) and the weather tomorrow may be worse than Rock. I'm just gonna run how I feel. If it leads me to a "good" time, so be it. If not, that's cool. I'll do another half or 2 in the fall...

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  10. Sorry your run was so tough! I hate when it feels so much harder, because it is discouraging. Where I live there are a lot of hills, and it seems every time I run lately it's windy and blowing me back when I try to go up the hills. UGH The only thing good about that is that most of the races I've done are in fairly flat areas, so they seem easier to me than training.

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  11. I hope sunny skies are on their way to MI soon.. I am so sick of this dreary gloomy rain! Good luck on Saturday, my fingers are crossed that you'll stay dry ;)

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  12. Ba! Ha ha ha! It's funny to think of him or any men I know sharing a beer...much less out of wine glasses! Ha! But it's awesome he has done so well. Go Jerry!

    And GOOD LUCK at your race we're all sure you'll reach your goals!

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