January 12, 2014

The big jump

Noah spent the night at a friend's house last night, and Jerry was working, so it was just Eli and me. I can't think of a better person to spend a Saturday night with! ;)  We went out to dinner, and then came home, laid in my bed, and watched Free Willy together.

In the morning, I got in my three miles on the treadmill (I was sure I was scheduled for four, and then was pleasantly surprised when I saw it was only three this morning). My heart rate was still much higher than normal while running. I wish I knew what was going on! I started out at an 8:30-ish pace, because that should have been a piece of cake for just 3 miles. But my heart rate jumped up to the top of Zone 4, which normally doesn't happen unless I'm running a 7:45-ish pace. 

I slowed the pace to 9:13, and left it there for the rest of the run, but my heart rate was still in the middle of Zone 4, which is technically a tempo run (it should have been mid-Zone 3). I'm hoping this is just from my body being fatigued now that I'm doing strength training, but I don't know. My diet has been really good lately, and my weight has been steady, so that's not the problem. It's just strange. I'm really curious to see what happens when I run outside again--hopefully tomorrow! There is still way too much ice and slush in my neighborhood, but I'm hoping that the path at the State Park is clear.

After my run, I took a quick shower, ate breakfast, and then Jerry, Eli, and I went to visit Mark. I was just there yesterday, but I wanted to go again today. In one of his cards, Mark had gotten a McDonald's gift card, so we stopped at McD's on the way to the nursing home to get him a treat. Since he loves milkshakes, and he loves coffee, I ended up choosing the most decadent coffee drink on the menu... a large chocolate chip frappe. Complete with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, caramel drizzle, and chocolate chips, it's 760 calories of creamy, sugary, goodness. Mark has always been very thin, and has lost some weight since his diagnosis, so he definitely needs the extra calories right now. And if I were sick with terminal cancer, this is totally what I would want someone to bring me from McDonald's.


He was grateful, as usual, and told us (well, he actually whispered, because he didn't want to hurt any feelings) that the food in the nursing home wasn't very good. 

Mark was very tired and slow today, which makes me think that they probably gave him his pain pill right before we got there. He was actually sleeping when we walked in, and when he woke up, I said, "Mark, if you're tired, we can come back another time. Do you want us to leave?" and he responded, "Helllllll no!" Hahaha.

We took him in the wheelchair to the cafeteria, which is actually a really nice room with comfy chairs and some windows, and we sat there to talk. We stayed about 45 minutes, and he started to nod off a few times, so we asked if he was ready for a nap and he finally admitted defeat. We took him back to his room, got him comfortable, and then left.

We picked up Noah and his friend on the way home, and we went straight to the rec center. Noah had been asking me about racquetball for a while, and for Christmas, we bought him a couple of racquets and balls. I told him that I'd take him to the rec center and teach him to play. I actually took a racquetball class in high school, and I was really good at it. I loved playing, but I hadn't played since.

Jerry and I went first, to show the kids how to play, and it was so much fun!


When the kids were playing, Jerry was just outside of the racquetball court, stacking these wooden boxes on each other, and jumping on them. I've seen contestants on The Biggest Loser do this, and they always make it seem like it's so challenging and scary. When I watch, I just think, "Come on already! Jump!" because it doesn't look that hard.

Ha! That's because I'd never tried it. Jumping on one box was easy, but then Jerry stacked a smaller box on top of it, and I stood in front of it for the longest time, trying to work up the nerve to jump. I would squat down, and then chicken out... over and over.


I finally jumped, and made it! For some reason, Blogger will not let me upload the seven-second video, so if you want to see, you can see it on Instagram. But it's very anticlimactic, trust me.

I did it a few more times after that. I think I could probably even add another small box and make the jump, but I was too chicken to try that. Maybe next time. I was blown away at how high Jerry could jump, though. He ended up being able to jump half of his height and land on the box! I think he would even impress Bob. ;)

Playing racquetball was super fun, and Jerry and I thought it would make a good date night. The next time we have some time to ourselves, we're going to head to the rec center and play. It's been a long (but nice) day, and I'm ready to go to bed!


Tomorrow is Motivational Monday, so if you have a photo of a health/fitness accomplishment that you want to share, you can email it to me at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, with subject "Motivational Monday", and a short description. I may include it on tomorrow's post!

15 comments:

  1. Lake Erie metro park is clear, except for some pretty decent sized puddles! I was there yesterday but luckily I was only planning on a walk and had on rain boots ;)

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    1. I should have gone there instead of Sterling. There were lots of ice patches all over the trail at Sterling, which made for a terrible interval run today!

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  2. That's cool you have a place to play racquetball! My rec center in college had courts, but none of the community rec centers around here have it (only expensive clubs, at least that I know of). It was so much fun!

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    1. The rec center is at my old high school, so it brought back lots of memories when we played there yesterday!

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  3. Fantastic job on those jumps! I've never been a good jumper so watching people do them always scares me! :)
    My husband and I used to do a Friday night racquetball date night but then he got an infection in his leg and wasn't able to do much at all. That was over the summer and now that he's better we've just never gotten back into the habit. Maybe I'll make plans on Friday for us to have a little date on the racquetball court! Thanks for the inspiration! For the record, we're not very good but we get a workout out in and we have fun, so that counts for something, right? :)

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    1. Jerry and I were terrible at it yesterday! I remember being pretty good in high school, but that was a LONG time ago... way longer than I'd like to think ;)

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  4. Katie - you may want to ask your doctor for a blood test.

    I struggle with iron-deficiency anemia and when my levels start to plunge I notice my heart rate rises doing the same activities. Iron plays a vital role in red blood cells which delivers oxygen to muscles/tissue . When anemic, our body system has to work even harder to deliver enough oxygen during exercise (hence the increased heart rate).

    Just something to consider...

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    1. I just got an e-mail from another reader with the same suggestion, so I'm definitely going to make an appointment with my doctor. I'm truly stumped as to what else could be causing it!

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  5. I'm SO glad you were able to use the McD's gift card! It looks like he was able to enjoy the indulgent frappe.
    I agree with the above comment - sometimes when my iron is low I find myself unable to run fast and it's harder to breathe. But then again that also happens to me when I'm not drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, stressed out, I'm getting sick, etc. Take it easy - hopefully you'll be back in no time!

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    1. He loved the gift card, and was really excited about using it! That was so nice of you... thank you so much!

      I'm definitely going to look into my iron levels. I didn't know that that could be the cause of it, but it makes sense!

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  6. haha I would yell at the contestants too!

    But I've never actually tried jumping on one of those boxes... :)

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  7. I haven't played racquetball in years but always enjoy it!! It would definitely be a fun date night!

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  8. I always laugh watching the contestants try to jump, but I think it's because I would feel the exact same way. I don't know why it seems so scary, it just does. Good job!

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  9. I loved the video of you jumping on the boxes :) No way could I do that.. yet!

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  10. Didn't know you had an IG. I'm loving the journey. Following now!

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