You've converted me

First, I will announce the winner of the Garmin Forerunner 210... since I know you're dying of suspense ;)  After I went through and deleted the "replies" to comments (I wanted to make sure that everybody's names were in there a maximum of two times, and since some people wrote two comments AND replied to other comments, I had to filter those out). We were left with 701 comments. I used Random.org to pick a number, and of course they couldn't make it easy with a low number (for some reason I didn't think to count backwards from 701--groan)

I counted (three times, to make sure) number 655, and that would be The Lingo Family:

Congrats!! Please send me an e-mail at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com within 24 hours with your mailing address, so that I can send out your Forerunner :)

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Next, if you haven't already seen it, I posted a book review earlier today. And TLC Book Tours is giving away a copy to one of my readers, so make sure you check it out! I made a Google document form so it's easier on me rather than having to count posts to find a winner (I tried some of your suggestions with copy + paste, but it didn't work for me). I think I will look into the Rafflecopter that some of you mentioned for the future.

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Now, on to my "regular" post...

I had a 9-mile run on the schedule today, and my knee was feeling okay. Jessica and I met at 8:00 this morning to run together. We went to our usual parking spot for two out-and-backs from the car. Normally, we wouldn't have to stop by the car for a 9-miler, but if our knees were hurting, we wanted the option to quit early.

We decided to do a 9:1 ratio of running to walking. I set the Garmin to do intervals of 0.9 miles and 0.1 miles. We started out running 0.9, and then the Garmin beeped (and vibrated!) so we walked for 0.1. And we did that sequence 9 times, for a total of 9 miles.

I have to say, I LOVE doing the walk breaks! I have always been kind of perfectionist when it comes to running, and I thought walking during a run was "cheating" somehow. For that reason, I never, ever took walk breaks until our recent 18-miler. But with my knee issues, and all of you telling me to try out walk breaks (and Jeff Galloway's system), I decided to give it a try. You've totally converted me.

I don't know that I will take walk breaks for shorter runs, but when I'm battling a knee injury or doing an uber-long run, I'm definitely going to do the run/walk combo. And I don't think of it as "cheating" anymore--we actually finished at a faster pace than we normally would when running for 9 miles straight! One-tenth of a mile isn't long, and it gave us just enough time to grab a couple of sips of water (and a Gu at mile 5) before we had to start running again.

During each walk break, I also snapped a picture of the route we were on, so you could see what we see when we run :)

Mile 1

Mile 2

Mile 3 (I love this trail part of the run!)

Mile 4

Mile 5

Mile 6

Mile 7

Mile 8

 My knee started to hurt around mile 3, but just when it was getting bad, it was time for a walk break. Then when we started running again, it felt good. And it went like that for the rest of the run--each time my knee started to hurt, after the walk break it was good to go again. Jessica said the same thing--her knee was feeling okay today!

This kind of renewed our excitement about running. Lately, we've been dreading it and feeling really down about it. But having such a good run today upped our spirits for training. I thought for sure we'd end up having to skip tomorrow's 5-miler because of our knees hurting, but we both felt so good after today's run that we're sure we're going to be able to run tomorrow.

I was very surprised to look at the stats on the Garmin after our run. I didn't want to look at them during the run because I thought the slow pace (from walk breaks) would discourage us. But surprisingly, the walk breaks didn't slow us down one bit, and our training pace was faster than usual, even with the walks factored in!

The page views on the Garmin for each lap is different than the 305, and I really like it. It also includes a little map of what each lap looks like:

In comparison, on the 305, when you are viewing each lap, it looks like this:

We were eager to look at our splits to see how the run/walk thing went:

I have no idea how mileage added up to 8.99 and not an even 9.00...?!

The 19th lap was from me accidentally pushing the start button while sitting down to type--just ignore it ;)

Our running pace was faster than our usual training pace, and our walking pace was pretty fast, too (I'm sure Jessica could have walked much faster, but I certainly couldn't!). So I am definitely converted to a believer in the run/walk method for long runs. The only disappointment in the whole run is that I only burned 736 calories for a nine-miler! Normally I would have counted that as 900 calories burned. This new Garmin is keeping me in check ;)

I'm going dip-netting with my dad and the kids tonight. Anyone else know what that is? ;)  I'll post pictures tomorrow.

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"The Swing" Book Review and Giveaway!

I will have a "regular" post later (and announce the winner of the Garmin), but I wanted to get this review up today as well...

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When I was obese, I spent a LOT of money on diet books. I would try the diet for a couple of days and then quit and pick up a new book. It wasn't until I did my own thing that I lost all the weight!

So when I received an e-mail asking if I would be interested in reading and reviewing a diet/exercise book called "The Swing! Lose the Fat and Get Fit with This Revolutionary Kettlebell Program", I immediately started to write a "Thanks, but no thanks" response. Before I sent it, however, I checked out the book to see what it was all about, and it actually interested me.

The author, Tracy Reifkind, has lost 120 pounds by reducing calories and doing a workout called "The Swing" with a kettlebell. You all know that I don't really do strength training, even though I know that I should, so I had the thought that maybe I would enjoy using a kettlebell. I changed my mind and said I would be happy to read and review the book.

The book is organized into three sections: the first section is made to motivate you and inspire you to change your lifestyle; the second is about The Swing workout; and the third section is about diet.

I did find the first section pretty motivating, and I found myself wanting to buy a kettlebell. The author and I actually have a big commonality--we've each lost 120 pounds through diet and exercise, in about the same amount of time. I found myself agreeing with a lot of points she made. One thing that really stuck out was when she said something like, "To be thin, you have to stop doing what is making you fat."  It sounds so obvious, but it's very true!

One thing I disliked in the first section was that the author definitely seems to discourage using any other aerobic exercise--she negatively mentioned running a few times, which didn't resonate well with me, a runner. I like to stay positive about all exercise. I'm not a huge fan of swimming, but I'm not going to say that it's a bad exercise--it's great exercise for people who enjoy it! So I wish that the author hadn't "put down" other forms of exercise.

In the second section, she talks about the actual workout called The Swing. It looks very simple to learn, and I went through the motions (without the kettlebell, because I don't have one). It wasn't hard to learn, and it felt very natural. She said you can do just the one movement, where you swing the kettlebell with both hands out in front of you and then between your legs. She has variations as well, but said that all you really need to do is that basic move. I can even see how it would be pretty fun. I would like to buy a kettlebell and give the workouts a try after I'm done with my marathon.

The author claims that you only need to do The Swing 2-3 times per week to see results. This is because The Swing is both aerobic and anaerobic (like doing cardio and strength training) all at once. She recommends walking for exercise in-between The Swing days. She also claims you can burn 1,200 calories per hour doing The Swing--I find this very hard to believe because I only burn about 600 calories per hour while running--so burning double that by swinging around a kettlebell?

I think that this may give people unrealistic expectations, and if they don't get those amazing results, they will be disappointed. She talks for a few pages about loose skin, and if you do The Swing, you won't get loose skin from weight loss. Almost anyone who is very heavy and loses a lot of weight is going to have some loose skin, no matter how much strength training they do. I would suggest keeping in mind that any claim that sounds too good to be true, probably is. But I do agree that strength training is very beneficial to your health in many ways, so if the workout is enjoyable, then great!

The third part of the book is about diet. This is where the author lost me a bit. Not because I didn't understand, but because I disagreed with her. She recommends that women eat just 1,200 calories per day--which I think is very low (especially if the claim of burning 1,200 calories per hour of doing The Swing is true!). I tried eating 1,200 calories a day in the beginning of my weight loss, and it made me miserable. I felt like I was starving, and it only lead me to binge. Something I really liked, however, is that she isn't 100% precise with calorie counting. She doesn't count when she take one bite of a food, or something tiny like two almonds. She doesn't count the very low calorie veggies either--but she will estimate (and write in her food journal) 100 calories per day for all those little add-ons that she didn't count.

I like this idea because I tend to get VERY perfectionist about tracking, and that isn't a good idea for the long haul. Since you need to make your diet fit into your life, it helps that you don't have to be 100% precise all the time. That is something I've always had a hard time with; the "all-or-nothing" approach.

I like that the author stresses eating whole foods that you prepare yourself. I am always preaching that you should prepare your own foods rather than eat out, so I agreed with her there. She doesn't believe in highly processed foods, which is great, and she gives a lot of cooking tips for people who may not be used to cooking. The best part is that to follow her program, you don't have to buy much of anything--just a kettlebell. No bars, supplements, vitamins, workout videos, gym memberships, etc. Just real food and a kettlebell.

She suggests having a high-calorie day once a week--but ONLY if you've earned it by meeting your weight loss goal that week. I like that idea (earning a high-calorie day)--it's similar to what I did. On my long-run days, I would treat myself to something special, but only after I did the run.

Do I recommend this book? I really did enjoy it, and with a few tweaks to personalize the program, it sounds great. It's motivating, the exercise is simple (simple is much different from easy, remember), and the diet is based on whole foods. It's written for someone who is looking to lose weight--so I didn't feel that it was written for someone like me, who is looking to maintain weight and start a weight training program.

I didn't get the feel that the book was "gimicky", like many most diet books are. As long as you have realistic expectations going into the diet/exercise program, and tweak it to what works best for YOU, I think it could be a great program.  I'm excited to finish marathon training so that I can start doing The Swing workout and see if I can see results from it. (Starting a strength training program during marathon training is a no-no).

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If this book sounds like something you might enjoy, you're in luck--because TLC Book Tours is offering a copy of the book to one of you! One lucky Runs for Cookies reader will receive a copy of The Swing!. (For readers in the U.S. and Canada only, sorry). To enter, fill out the form below. I will select the winner (by random number generator) on April 21 at 4:00 p.m. EST. Only one entry per person--multiple entries will be deleted.)
*The Swing! book was provided to be by TLC Book Tours, but opinions of the book are entirely my own honest opinions.*

This giveaway has now ended.

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First run with the 910

My head feels like it's going to explode. I expected the giveaway to be popular, but 600+ comments in less than 24 hours?! I should have had it end after 2 hours ;)

I have been trying all day to figure out how to get my comments to be numbered... so that when I use the number generator to pick a winner, I can just match it to the comment number. I've tried every tutorial I could find on the web, and nothing has worked. So it looks like I'll be counting comments all day tomorrow to find out who the winner is! Unless it generates #1 or something... but that's never my luck. But anyway, it's been interesting to see all these people come out of the woodwork for the giveaway... although I wish it didn't take a giveaway to do that!

Today I had a 5-mile easy run on the schedule. I was actually looking forward to it, so that I could try out my new Forerunner 910. I wanted to run slow and easy, so not to bother my knee (which was killing me yesterday). I even brought my iPod with me.

The 910 is very similar to my old 305 as far as features and how to do everything. So I didn't have to figure out what buttons to push or anything like that. It's very light weight and less bulky than the 305, but it still has a big enough screen to see all that I want to see. The heart rate strap is even smaller and more flexible (the old strap was actually just fine too--I didn't even notice it under my sports bra strap at all).

My very FAVORITE feature about it that the 305 doesn't have is that it vibrates. I always have my Garmin set to beep at each mile, so I can glance at my pace. I also use the beeping for interval runs--I set it to beep every 1/4 mile, so that I run fast until I hear the beep and then run slow until I hear the beep. That gets to be a problem when you're wearing headphones, because you don't hear the beep. So Garmin added a vibration to it (which you can choose whether or not to use). Even with my headphones on, I knew when I reached each mile.

About three miles into the run, my knee started to hurt. I kept running, since it was going to take me two miles to get home anyway. It was pretty painful by the time I got home, but it felt better almost immediately after I stopped.

I immediately noticed the calorie count--406 in 5 miles? That's lower than the 305 would have said, so I looked into which was more accurate. Turns out the 305 uses only speed and distance to calculate calories burned--I always assumed it factored in my heart rate too, while wearing the heart rate strap. The 910 uses heart rate for a more accurate calorie count. So, it turns out I am not burning as many calories as I thought I was. Bummer! (However, I want to say that if you have the 305, don't worry too much about the calorie count being off--I used the 305 during my entire weight loss, logging (and eating) the calories it said I burned).

The T.E. feature is also new, and I like it! It stands for Training Effect. On a scale of 1-5, based on your heart rate, how effective your workout was as far as improving/maintaining health.
5-overreaching
4-highly improving
3-improving
2-maintaining
1-minor

At 4.4 today, I think that was pretty good. My heart rate was only 151, though, which isn't very high. I was trying to go nice and easy today. I'll be interested to see the TE number as I do more runs.

Tomorrow, Jessica and I have a 9-mile run scheduled. Since we're trying to go easy on our knees, we're going to run for 0.9 miles and then walk for 0.1 mile, and repeat for 9 miles. It will be a good way to test it out before our 20-miler, and see if our knees do better that way. I'm going to set up the intervals on the Garmin, so I get to play with that feature a little :)

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The BEST giveaway ever!

First, I want to thank ALL of you for your kind comments on yesterday's post. I was feeling really down about the whole 18-mile run and the marathon itself, but I felt a million times better after reading those comments. I've decided that for the 20-miler, I'm going to add some walk breaks as well, probably a 9:1 ratio of running to walking. I think I'll feel better about the walk breaks if I plan them out ahead of time, and that way I don't feel like I'm "giving up" mid-run. 

Now, on to the best giveaway ever...

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Boy, am I ever excited for one of you!

Yesterday, after my crappy 18-miler, my spirits were lifted very high when I saw a brown box on my porch from none other than GARMIN. You all know I am as attached to my Garmin Forerunner as I am to cookies (and peanut butter, and ice cream). When I run, my Garmin is just as important to me as my running shoes.

But I don't have to tell you all this, because it's pretty apparent if you've been reading my blog. I couldn't contain my excitement as I opened the box and saw THIS:

That would be the Garmin Forerunner 910XT with heart rate monitor... *swoon*! If I hadn't just about died running 18 miles, I would have taken that baby out for a spin run right then and there. But my legs could barely hold me up at that point, so I settled for opening the box and checking out every single part that was included. Oh, and I may or may not have worn it on my wrist the whole time I was recovering in the recliner. I will be writing all about it after I've recovered enough to run again.

Now, I know you don't care about all this, because you just want me to get to "the best giveaway EVER!" (read that in an Oprah voice, it's better). Garmin is allowing me to share the love with my readers, because they also sent me THIS:

That would be a shiny new Garmin Forerunner 210 with heart rate monitor. And it's CUTE, with teal accents!

I am SUPER excited to be able to give this 210 away to one (very lucky) Runs for Cookies reader. Since I imagine this will be a pretty popular giveaway, I'm only leaving it open for 36 hours--you can enter until Thursday, April 19th at 5:00 a.m. E.S.T.

The only "rules" are that you must be either a follower of or subscriber to my blog. I'm not saying this in order to get more subscribers, but to narrow down the field, so to speak; and I'm so sorry, but you must be in the U.S. or Canada to enter. And... this is not a requirement, but I'm asking nicely... if you already have a Garmin, I would love it if you would pass over this giveaway to allow someone who doesn't have one the opportunity to get one.

That said, here is how you can enter: first, check out the Forerunner page and leave a comment here, telling me which feature you are most excited about on the 210.

If you like, you can earn a "bonus" entry by using the creative part of your brain... ;)  My Ragnar Relay team needs a name. And we're stumped! We want a name that is fun, creative, and somehow plays on the fact that we all used to be overweight. (An example of this would be "Gut Busters" or "Shrinky Dinks"--except we don't like those names!) So you can leave a second comment with a suggestion for a team name. FYI, there are 10 females and 2 males on the team.

That means you can have two possible ways to enter, with one comment each. Make sure that your name is somewhere on each comment so I know who you are.

GOOD LUCK! I wish everyone could win, I really do!

(FYI--If your comment doesn't show up right away, it could have been flagged as Spam. Don't worry, I will have to manually "okay" it for it to show up, and I will do that. DO NOT post more than 2 comments--1 per entry--please. I am deleting any additional comments to keep the drawing fair.)

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The infamous wall

Do I complain when I have to run 7 or 8 or 9 miles? I think I have. If I do, someone please smack me.

I experienced "the wall" today. I realized that hitting the wall is kind of like having an orgasm (only not as fun)--if you have to wonder if it's happened, then it probably hasn't. I always thought I had experienced it (meaning the wall!) before. But today, I realized I was wrong. Today, I hit that wall, and now I KNOW what it feels like!

But let me start at the beginning. There was this:

Oh, and a 100% chance of rain at 9 a.m. Since we're pretty slow, this 18-miler would take us about 3 1/2 hours. We met at 8:00, and drove the school where we park. I had mapped out two 9-mile out-and-back routes, so that we could stop at the car at mile 9 and refill our water bottles. I packed 3 Gu's, and my bottle had Powerade in it to start.

The second we parked the car, it started to rain. Oh well, no biggie, we'll be wet with sweat anyway. So we started to run, and the rain wasn't hard at all--just a light sprinkle, and it actually felt really good. The temp was already at 60 degrees (which is HOT compared to what I'm used to, and the air felt very humid). I was dripping with sweat by mile 2.

Jessica and I were both worried about our knees. She brought her bike with her in case her knee gave her trouble, she could at least ride the bike and get some cardio in. I was pretty confident my knee would be okay after not having any pain during Saturday's race.

After about two miles, I was feeling really tired and sluggish. Which isn't good when you have 16 miles left ahead of you! I kept trying to think positive. At mile 5, we walked for about 30 seconds and I ate my chocolate Gu. I felt a little better after that. Jessica's knee started acting up at about mile 7 or so? She wanted to walk, so I suggested that we mimic the marathon conditions and walk every two miles as if we are walking through an aid station--just for 30 seconds or so.

So we did that at mile 8, and then we were back to the car at mile 9. Jessica wanted to keep running, instead of switching to the bike. We refilled our water bottles and headed out for the other 9 miles in the Metropark. We walked again at mile 10 for about 30 seconds, and I ate a peanut butter Gu. Then I just focused on getting to the 12-mile mark. I was feeling really run down today! I've done a 12-mile distance lots of times now, but it felt very hard today.

The wind was ridiculous. We were barely moving forward at some points--and of course it was a head wind. At the 12-mile mark, we walked and drank some water, then started running again. Somewhere around 13 miles is where I really wanted to be done. We ran onto a little dirt trail, which actually felt really good on my feet--it was about a mile and a half long. But I was miserable. The sun had come out and it was SO hot. I was also almost out of water.

I was really thirsty, but I was trying to ration what was left of my water. At mile 15, I ate my last Gu (peanut butter) and drank all but a few sips of water. Jessica and I weren't talking at all--we were both just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. When she started walking at 15.5, I said, "I can't walk--if I do, I won't start running again." So I kept running ahead.

source

At mile 16, I felt "the wall" like a ton of bricks just fell on me. It happened in an instant--I just could. not. move. I slowed to a walk and was barely able to put one foot in front of the other. At that moment, I thought, "I'm done. I'm not doing the marathon. I can't do this. Am I going to pass out? What if I die?" --all these thoughts running through my head.

Jessica was running again, and she ran past me. As she passed me, I told her that I'm done, I quit this stupid training. I'm a bit of a drama queen, I guess. When she got a ways ahead of me, I realized that if I fainted, she wouldn't have any idea what happened. That scared me into running again. So at 16.25 miles, I started running again. I noticed my heart rate was high--about 170. Normally on a long run, it's about 145. And I felt out of breath, which I normally don't feel when I'm running that slowly. It scared me! I drank the last of my water at mile 17. And I decided to walk a quarter-mile.

I felt like such a failure at that point. I have NEVER had to take walk breaks during any of my runs. Jessica and I ran from 17.25 to 17.75, and then decided to walk a tenth of a mile, before running to the car. I told her that I feel like I'm letting everyone down. She said she thinks it makes me MORE of an inspiration to people because what I'm going through is "relate-able". It makes me human. Which I guess makes sense. I'm not perfect with my diet, or my weight, so I shouldn't expect to be perfect with my running. All-in-all, I only walked about 1 mile total of our 18. In rain. And strong winds. And heat.

When we got to the car, I refilled my water bottle and drank that while walking around so my heart rate didn't drop too suddenly. Then I tried to stretch, but my legs were SO stiff. I just laid in the grass and caught my breath. That was a TOUGH run. Jessica and I tried to get pictures with the auto-timer. This is what we felt like:

Jessica joked that we should just do two more miles today so that we could skip the 20-miler :) If I had even an ounce of energy left, I would be all over that plan.

After I showered, I popped a couple of Motrin and iced my knee. My knee actually held up really well! It was sore at times, but maybe the walk breaks helped. I really hope that the worst of my knee issues are over. And my knee was actually the least of my problems on this run!

I learned that next time, we will have to do three out-and-back runs from the car so that we stop at the car twice to refill our water. I also think we should start walking every two miles for about 30 seconds to imitate the marathon conditions of aid stations every two miles (we agreed to walk through the aid stations at the race).

I was actually surprised to see that our pace wasn't ridiculously slower than normal. I was expecting about a 13+ minute per mile pace, but we actually averaged 11:36/mi, and that's with our walk breaks figured in.

You can see all our walk breaks on the graph:

Do you still consider it "running a marathon" if you take walk breaks through the aid stations? I used to have it in my head that I HAD to run the whole course. But I'm starting to change my mind about that. Those little walk breaks helped a lot!

We didn't go out to eat today, because we're both trying to get our weight back down to "pre-marathon training" weight. Today I was 139.5, which is 2.5 pounds above my maintenance range. But last week, I saw 147 on the scale!! It scared me straight for sure. I've been eating really well and being back in the 130's today was a relief. I would really like to be 135 before I go to Indy.

I did buy a treat to have today, however. I bought a pint of Moose Tracks frozen yogurt. The whole pint is 600 calories, which isn't bad. And you better believe I'm going to eat it all--and enjoy every well-earned bite. :)

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Reader Questions & Answers #9

On Sundays, I will answer some readers' questions in a post. If you have a question that you would like me to answer here on the blog, just send me an e-mail with the subject "Q&A", and I may include them in a future Q&A post. They don't have to be about weight loss or running--anything is game!  (Remember, I'm not a doctor or dietician, or any sort of medical professional--I can only answer questions from my own experience).

Q. Why don't you and Jerry attend church with the boys and your parents?


A. I've gone to church many times (at many different churches) and almost always, I'm glad that I went. But getting the motivation to go is the hard part--I guess this is kind of like running, in that sense! I believe in God, and I pray daily. But going to church feels strange to me. I don't like any attention on me, and every time I've gone, the pastor or other church members kind of make a big deal about it to make me feel welcome. 

I wish I could just sneak in and sit in the back and leave when it's over. But my parents are very involved in the church, and they make a big ta-da about it when I go. I really like the pastor and his wife, and I got to know them pretty well a few years ago. They had just moved here and they didn't have a house yet. My parents let the new pastor and his wife live with them for a few months until they found a house. 

So the fact that I don't go to church isn't so much about the church itself, or the people there. It's just that I don't like it being a big production when I go. I realize that if I went every week, it wouldn't be such a big deal. And I keep telling myself that I'll go next week. Because of Jerry's work schedule, he is only able to go 2 out of every 6 weeks, so I'll have to go alone or with my parents. But I really do want to try and start going regularly.

Q. How is the debt payback going? Are you making billions on your blog yet?!

A. We're making some progress--slowly but surely. I actually didn't earn a single penny from my blog until February of this year. I finally found an ad company I was happy with (much thanks to Cathy at Fabulessly Frugal). And then I was accepted into the BlogHer advertising program, which has been fantastic. Between the ads and being an Amazon affiliate, I'm not making a TON of money--but I make about the same as I would working a part-time minimum wage job. (Although, if I calculated the amount of hours per week I spend blogging and responding to e-mails, I'm working for MUCH less than minimum wage, haha). 

My plan from the beginning has been to use any money that I make from blogging on debt repayment. I have credit card debt and the debt from my surgery to pay back. I've been continuing to make regular payments from Jerry's checks, but now that I'm earning a little from blogging, that is just extra money to pay toward the principal. Since I LOVE blogging, it works out well :) 

We've already been living pretty frugally, so there isn't much to cut back on. Our credit card debt was acquired a few years ago when the economy crashed--Jerry's job cut hours big time, and we had to pay for a LOT of things with our credit card. I was working from home for a gynecologist up until August 2010, when they let me go (the work I was doing was temporary, and lasted me about 5 years). We were barely getting by, but we managed not to acquire any more debt. Thankfully, Jerry's hours are back to normal now, so we're digging our way out of debt. If all goes well, I'm hoping we'll be debt-free in about five years.

Q. Did you attend college?

A. Yes, I did. I graduated high school in 2000, and I started college that fall. I went to Eastern Michigan University. My original major was psychology, but when I realized I wouldn't be able to do much with a bachelor's degree in psych, I kind of veered off course. I went to EMU for two years, and I lived in a dorm with my long-time best friend Sarah (the Sarah who now lives in Arizona). 

What's not to like about college?

I had SO MUCH FUN those two years, but I had no idea what I wanted to do with my major. So I moved back home and started going to community college--just a one-year medical assistant program. When I was halfway through, they canceled the program. I really felt hopeless then. I applied for a dietetics program, and was accepted to that. However, I got married in August 2003, and about a week after school started, I decided to drop out. I wasn't enthusiastic about any of it, and it was a lot of money to pay for something that I didn't really want to do. 

I don't have any desire to go back to school. It's funny, though. My mom always said (while I was growing up) that I would one day be a writer. I loved to write, and creative writing was always my best subject. She insisted I go to college, so I did. But now I'm home and writing, and I love it! I don't know that I'm considered a "writer" since all I write is this blog; but I do have hopes of a memoir one day :)

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And now a question for all of YOU...

What did you always want to be when you grew up? Did you actually end up doing it?

I always wanted to be a writer, but since that "wasn't realistic", I didn't pursue it.

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Martian Meteor 10K race report

Today was a first for me. I ran a race for "fun" without trying to PR. Jessica even told me beforehand, "I better not see a '5' in front of your time!" (My 10K PR is 55:05, so she was implying that I should run it in over an hour). While I would have loved to try and PR this race, I knew it would be stupid of me because 1) I'm trying to heal a knee injury, and 2) I have to be strong enough to run 18 miles on Monday.

I am SO glad that my friend Stacie decided to do this race with me! We hadn't seen each other in well over a year, and so much has happened in the past year that I was really excited to catch up with her. She came over a little before 6:00 this morning, and we left from my house for the race. The race didn't start until 8:00, but I didn't want to drive all over Dearborn looking for a parking spot.

We picked up our t-shirts and bibs. I was bummed, because Jerry's work registered me, and they signed me up for a men's small instead of a women's small. They told me I could come back at 9:00 and trade it out if I wanted (so I did that, after the race). The shirts are actually pretty cool looking:

And Jessica won't have one of these, since she didn't do the race--so no worry of us dressing alike! ;)

We were there super early, so we just sat in the car and chatted until it was time for the race to start. While I was standing there (freezing), Lindsey came up to me and we got a picture together (with her phone, I didn't have my camera with me). I only know her from her blog, so it was fun to put a face to her name. I also saw my "real life" friend Andrea, who was running the half-marathon today. Then the race started and it took a few minutes to get up to the front because there were tons of people.

Right after we crossed the starting line, we could barely walk, let alone run--it was very crowded. Once we split off from the 5K'ers, however, it was much less congested. I didn't look at my Garmin the entire race. I just ran at what felt like the same pace that I've been running my long runs. It was nice, because we were able to chat and actually enjoy the run without worrying about trying to go faster.

Normally when I race, I barely notice the scenery or people, or anything. I just feel miserable and like I'm going to puke until I finish... doesn't that make you want to race? ;)  About a mile or so in, I heard someone behind me say "Katie!" and I turned to see who I learned then was Shannon, a blog reader. Good thing I wore my sparkle skirt today :) She was running her first 10K today. Shannon, please let me know how you did and how you feel!

My knee felt fine the entire time. I was a little worried, because the course has a few hills. Going downhill REALLY hurts my knee, so I went slow and easy and didn't have any problems. The whole race was really uneventful. I have to say, I really enjoyed running a race for fun instead of time. I just might do it more often. I guess I just always thought that if I'm running a race, I might as well always try to PR--but lots of people do races for other reasons, too. It's okay to run a race for fun!

Right before the finish line, there were a bunch of people cheering, and I heard someone say "cookie" (which of course caught my attention). Stacie said, "Someone just said 'Runs for Cookies'!" I turned to look, but I was right at the finish, so I crossed the finish line and then went back to that spot to look--but couldn't find who it was. So if you recognized me, thank you for cheering! And please let me know who you are :)

Before we left, we got a picture with a couple of martians, of course:

I didn't even check my "official" results, because it didn't really matter to me... but here are my unofficial Garmin results:

I sent Jessica a text of the results, knowing she would be proud that I stuck to my plan of running easy ;)

My favorite part of the race was actually getting to catch up with Stacie. We are certainly not going to wait a year to get together again. It was also a lot of fun to meet a couple of blog readers.

After today's run, I'm feeling pretty confident for the 18-miler on Monday. I am icing my knee right now, and tomorrow is a rest day, so we'll see how it goes.

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Upside-down frown

I was feeling really down this morning, thinking about the marathon and my knee. I was even having thoughts yesterday and today about dropping out of the whole thing. Running the marathon means a LOT to me, but not enough to injure myself permanently. I've been icing my knee, wearing a knee brace at home, elevating it... all the right things to do! I just hope it works.

I spent the whole morning reading up on knee injuries, and running, and injuries during marathon training... enough to make my head spin. While I was reading, I got an e-mail that surprised me--somehow, the nice folks my new best friends at Garmin got word about the issue I was having charging my Forerunner, and they asked me if I was able to get it figured out; and if not, they would do what they could to help.

I was shocked that they took the time to e-mail me and check on my Garmin! And I have no idea how they found out about my issue with it yesterday. I wrote that all was good (for now), but I thanked them for writing. And (only half-jokingly) said that if they need someone to try out the brand new 910xt model, I was the girl they were looking for ;)

A few minutes later, I got an e-mail that turned my frown into a big huge grin and then I started freaking out and woke Jerry up to tell him too! They offered to let me trade my 305 for the 910!! I've been coveting the 910 ever since I saw Adam's HILARIOUS review of it. But I never even considered buying one, because I simply couldn't afford to.

There was also some good news for my readers... :)  They're sending a Forerunner 210 to give away on the blog!! How amazing is that?! Once I get the goods, I'll post the details. Gosh, I feel so blessed because of this blog.

Getting that e-mail changed my whole crappy outlook on marathon training. I'm super excited to try out the 910! About my knee... I'm going to run slowly at the Martian 10K tomorrow. Stacie (my friend who is going with me) said she usually finishes in about 1:04, so I'll run with her--and that will be way more fun than racing anyway! I haven't seen her in over a year and we have tons to catch up on.

Complete rest on Sunday. Then the 18-miler on Monday will give me more of an indication of whether I can actually pull off a full marathon on May 20th. If my knee feels anything like it did yesterday, I don't know if it's wise for me to continue training. Right now, I'm just going to think positively.

For my readers who have run full marathons, did you have any knee injuries during training? How did you deal with it? And most importantly, were you still able to finish the marathon? My marathon is six weeks from tomorrow. I'm hoping that's enough time to get better.

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The kids and I were out the other day, and we decided to get something for the cats that I've been wanting to get them for a long time.

These "cat trees" are expensive, and I could never justify the cost. But since we got new carpet recently, I had a new motivation for buying one. The cats would rather scratch the posts of the cat tree than the floor, so this will help save our carpet.

And they like sleeping on it so much that it will save fur from getting all over the couch, too. I think it's very fitting that Estelle immediately claimed the top of the tree for herself. Chandler was too fat to fit in any of the levels with sides, so he got the second level from the floor by default. Phoebe chose her spot next, and then Paolo was late to the game, so he got stuck with the bottom.

It's funny, this is the same order that they always sleep on the thing, too. They've already gotten our money's worth out of the thing, and we've only had it for a few days. (This was the reason I had no extra money for a Garmin right now! Figures the Garmin would have problems just a couple of days after I bought this tree for the cats. Thankfully, it all worked out well.)

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Nothing a little alcohol can't cure

After the Garmin issue yesterday, I made sure to charge my Garmin for a long time when I got home. Today I was scheduled for a four-mile easy run, but decided to just run three because I'm racing the 10K on Saturday (which is 1.2 miles longer than I'm scheduled for).

I procrastinated all morning. Finally, when Jerry woke up this afternoon, I decided to go run the three miles. I got dressed and put on my Garmin. Turned it on, and immediately saw the "low battery" warning and then it died. I knew that something was really wrong with it, because this has never happened before. Tried to power it on again, and same thing.

I tried doing some sort of reset, where you hold two buttons down for 10 seconds (I'd had to do that once before a long time ago after the screen froze). That didn't do anything. I tried charging it again. Nothing. The Garmin is five years old, so I wasn't hopeful. I read some stuff online, and most people said that they ended up buying a new one.

Despite the fact that I have no extra money right now, I started researching the Forerunners. I really like the 305 version, but it's outdated and they don't make it anymore. It's expensive to buy it on Amazon, so I thought maybe I'd be better off getting a newer model.

After reading about all the others, I really didn't want a different one. I wanted the 305! I don't want a touch screen, I don't want a tiny screen that is hard to see, and I don't want a wireless connection to the computer. The only one that appealed to me was the brand new 910xt--but at $450? No, thanks.

So I cried and pouted instead. Jerry was trying to be helpful, but I was really irritated by him. He has no clue about anything related to the Forerunner, so I didn't want his input about what one to get. He started reading on his computer some tips to hopefully fix it, and I told him to go for it--just to get him out of my hair and let me read reviews in peace. He even drove to my mom's to get some rubbing alcohol to clean the sensors with.

He used a Q-tip to clean the sensors on the back of the Garmin, and then he put it back on the charger. About 20 minutes later, I turned it on to prove that he was wrong--but it worked!! It was charged and good to go! I was SO happy. I really have a great husband, and I feel bad that I was irritated with him. He'll never let me forget this now

So I took the Garmin out for a run, which I was happy to do at this point. The little guy apparently likes alcohol after a long hard run just like I do ;)

My run was NOT good. About a mile and a half in, my knee started hurting really badly. I slowed down my pace, but by 2.5 miles, I was gasping in pain. I got back to my house at three miles, and after I showered, I put on my knee brace and took a couple of Motrin. I'm going to rest it all day tomorrow.

Saturday, I am registered for a 10K race. I've already promised Jessica I won't be "racing" it--I will just run very easy and treat it like an easy training run. We have to run 18 miles on Monday, so I want to be in the best shape possible before then. I don't want to screw up my knee at all during the race. Also, running hard really takes its toll on my energy level (I learned that lesson after the 5K I raced last month).

I'm writing all of this because I don't want to get caught up in the moment and try to PR on Saturday. I ran this same 10K last year in 55:05, so it's tempting to go for 54:xx... but I WON'T. I'm going to try and run 10 minute miles or slower. I will enjoy the scenery and maybe chat with people. My friend Stacie is going with me, and I don't know if she'll want to run together or do her own thing. But either way, I'm going to run SLOWLY.

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Yesterday, Jerry and I took the kids to the Detroit Zoo like we'd planned. I was in a pretty bad mood all day, so we probably should have postponed the zoo. Shortly after we got there, I asked the boys (the kids and Jerry) to pose for a picture, and they refused--well, Eli refused--then Jerry mocked Eli by refusing as well. I got so fed up that I just didn't want to hang around them. I told them to do the zoo on their own, and I could enjoy it by myself. (Immature of me, yes...)

They cooperated for Jerry to get a picture, of course!

 So I did--I walked around the zoo alone for a couple of hours before meeting back up with them to leave. It certainly wasn't the "family day" I envisioned. But the boys were crabby from the start and I just didn't want to listen to it anymore. Please tell me I'm not the only one to overreact the way I did...?

We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. The kids love that place because they like to eat tons of chips and salsa. Jerry and I barely ate half of a bowl when the kids demolished the first bowl. Then they finished ours. Then they ate a third bowl that the server brought out. After three and a half bowls, our food came (much to the relief of our server, I'm sure).

I was very hungry! I had run almost 10 miles that morning, then walked about another 3 miles at the zoo. I got flautas and ate all three of them. But I wasn't even full. I left there feeling comfortable, which is unusual--usually I'm stuffed from eating that much.

Anyway, I'm SO relieved that the Garmin is working. Now if only my knee will quit buggin', I'll be good to go for Monday's 18-miler!

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A blind run

Fitting in runs during my kids' Spring Break is difficult. My mom watched them Monday morning for our long run, so I didn't want to ask her to watch them again today for our "semi-long" run (9 miles). Jerry worked a night shift, so he needed to sleep this morning, but he was insistent that I go do my run and that he would be fine.

I met Jessica earlier than usual so that I could be back home earlier to relieve Jerry. We headed out to the Metropark at 7:20. When we got there, we went into the marina to use the bathroom, and I turned on my Garmin. Immediately, the "low battery" warning came on. I thought I had charged it, but I guess not. Right after that, the watch died and shut off.

I hate running without my Garmin!! I've only done that once, and it was during the 5K race last month. Luckily, I had mapped out a route before I left home, so I knew the distance. We ended up starting our run at a different spot, however, so I just adjusted (in my mind) the point where we had to turn around for our out-and-back run.

Just before we started running, I decided to grab my cell phone and use the stopwatch feature on it (I don't have a "smart" phone, just a regular old cell that apparently comes with a stopwatch in the tools section). I noticed the battery on my cell was low too, but I figured it would make it a couple more hours. So I started the stopwatch and off we went.

It was SO STRANGE to run without my Garmin! I actually paid attention to the in-park mile-marker signs. At a stoplight, I found myself reaching for the "stop" button on my watch, but the watch wasn't there.

Since we started running from a spot that was a little farther away from the spot that I mapped out, we turned around a little sooner than I had mapped. I heard my phone turn off--stupid battery died! So I had no clue what our time was. When we turned, we walked for about 30 seconds to eat a Gu and then kept running. 

Jessica's knee was really starting to bother her about 5 miles into the run. I could hear in her voice how bad it was. And she's usually a champ when it comes to running through pain--she's had all kinds of hip and foot problems that she's run through, but her knee was really bad today. We were pretty quiet after that as we ran through the Metropark

About 2 miles from the car, Jessica said she had to stop and walk the rest of the way. Her knee was killing her. So I took her key and ran ahead (my knee started to hurt every time I slowed to walk, so I preferred to keep running). I checked the time when I got back to the car (I think we started running at 7:45, and it was 9:32 when I got back to the car).

Jessica finished shortly after me, at 9:36. We stretched and then left. When I got home, I mapped out our route and we had actually run 9.57 miles--0.57 miles more than we needed to! Hahaha. So my pace was approximately 11:11/mi, if we started when I thought we did.

I've always loved my Garmin, but I have a whole new appreciation for it now! I'm going to make sure I charge it EVERY time I run. Normally I do, but I don't know--maybe I was distracted or something on Monday.

Jerry's off work today, so we're taking the kids to the zoo and out to dinner for their good report cards.

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