Junk

I’ve got a lot of phlegm in my chest.  Like, deep in my chest.  We’re talking diaphragm deep.  It just rattles around in there whenever I do stuff.  Like breathe.

Needless to say, I’ve been resting.  Which apparently, for me, means napping, sitting around watching Olympics, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and eating cheesecake.  Yes, I sit around watching incredibly fit and talented athletes while I consume Oreo Cheesecake.

I was thinking, there are three bricks of cream cheese in that cheesecake.  And I think it cuts into roughly 12 pieces, so that would mean that each piece contains a quarter of a brick of cream cheese.

That can’t be good.

I won’t tell you how many slices I have had since Friday.

Anyway, I am feeling (obviously) terrible, and not just because of the phlegm but also because of all the inactivity.  I contemplated going for a short easy run the other night, but tanked the plan after Berry Guy dragged me outside to do a little tobogganing with the boys.  I had known I was tired, but I hadn’t realized how tired until I tried to trudge up the hill once.  Whatever this is, it’s kicking the crap out of my energy stores.

Since I can’t run, I put on my favourite new running pants to watch TV in.  You know, the running pants that I have yet to run in.  So that I could feel a little *sporty*.  Since I obviously am not.

Also, to help myself feel *sporty*, I registered for the half marathon at the end of May.  Obviously under the assumption that I will at some point be running again.  Otherwise I just wasted $55.  I’m also toying with the idea of a longer race.  The city hosted the first annual Mogathon last year which included a half marathon, 10K and 5K.  I didn’t participate, but I see that this year they have added a 30Km race to the schedule.  I’m intrigued.  It would be a new distance for me – halfway in between the half marathon and the full.  I think it could be doable, and I’m toying with the idea of registering for that too.  Might be fun to have a new goal to work towards, and hey, 30Km has got to make the half marathon feel easy right?  Right??

Book Review “Run Less Run Faster”

I confess I had no intention of actually keeping this book.  I got the “try it free for 20 days” offer in my email inbox and clicked it on a whim, completely planning to check it out and then return it when I was done.  I’ve tried offers like this in the past and I know they’re more trouble than they’re worth, however I’d read a lot on the FIRST training plan in Runner’s World (you can check it out here and here) and it intrigued me.  I was curious how much more detail they would go into in the book, so I ordered it.

So the premise of this training plan is that you run only 3 days per week.  These three days, though, are tough as they have you running probably faster than you normally would.  One run is an interval workout, another is a tempo run, and the third is the long run.  You will also spend two days per week cross training.  The other two days of the week would be rest days, or you could throw in another cross training day if you wanted.

What I like about it:

- you set your paces for each run based on your goal time, and they lay that all out in handy little tables.  So you know that if you want to finish your half marathon in 2hrs, then you can go to their tables and find out exactly how fast you need to run your 400m intervals, or your tempo runs, or your long runs.  This is great for me on the treadmill – I love having a workout to do to hold my attention.  Plus, I can set my speed at whatever my pace is supposed to be and hammer out my repeats.

- they go in to a lot more detail.  They lay out training plans for the 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon.  They also specifically lay out what they consider to be cross training.  This was something I was curious about – would strength training be considered cross training, or would it have to be cardiovascular?  Turns out it has to be cardiovascular, and they are very specific about which cardio activities you can do.

What I don’t like about it:

- you may only run three days per week.  They are quite specific about this, and I get it.  The runs are quite hard and the cross training days are meant to be active recovery days.  However, I like running.  And I like running at least 4 days per week.

- it requires cross training.  I don’t really like cross training.  And it can’t be just anything, they specifically want you to do either biking, rowing, or swimming.  I don’t have access to a pool, I don’t have a rowing machine, and while I like biking it’s winter here 80% of the time and I don’t own a bike trainer (much as I’d like to).  If it could be strength training, or yoga, or pilates, I’d be all over it.  But they’re pretty specific about what you can do, and while I understand the reasoning behind it, it just doesn’t really work for me.

So, I’m torn.  But I’m keeping the book – I think it will be handy to have around.  While I may not experience all the benefits of their program by skimping on the cross training and throwing in an extra easy running day, I still can’t help but think that it will provide at least some benefit.

Eleven

Today, 11 years ago, I got all gorgeous , put on a simple but fabulous white dress, an extra long veil, and walked down a church aisle to marry Berry Guy.

It was an excellent day, even when the side zipper on my dress split from top to bottom during our pictures before our ceremony and I had to be sewn in to the dress with fishing line.  Even with that, it was a fabulous day.

I can’t imagine being married to anyone else.  Quite frankly, I don’t know who else would put up with me.  I love the way he teases me and harasses me, and the ways that he takes care of stuff around the yard and house.  I love it when he washes the cutlery because he knows that I hate it.  I love it when he wrestles with the boys and plays “sleepysaurus”, and I love it that when I make a new, less-than-spectacular meal, he’ll eat it and never flat out say that it sucked (although there may be some mocking later on…)

Our anniversary plans were derailed due to a serious shortage of babysitters, so I’m salvaging the weekend by baking him an Oreo Cheesecake (his favourite) and by making him pick up take-out pizza from the *local* pizza place (my favourite - and I’m still not sure if it’s a good thing that they can recognize my voice right away when I call in…).  I don’t mind a quiet evening at home with the cheesecake one I love, and I’m looking forward to relaxing on the couch in front of the fire with a movie.  And the cheesecake Berry Guy.

Top Ten Tuesdays…

I see by some of the blogs that I read that it is Top Ten Tuesday today.  So here is my list of the Top Ten Things That Frustrate Me Right Now…

1. Berry Boy

2. Berry Boy not eating the bun I made for his lunch.

3. Berry Boy laying on the floor moaning that he is starving, and then not eating the bun that I prepared for him for his lunch.

4. Berry Boy finally eating the bun that I prepared for him for his lunch, but complaining all the way through it because the jam is squishing out the side of the bun.

5. Berry Baby.

6. Berry Baby not peeing in the potty.

7. Berry Baby not peeing in the potty and rather peeing in his pants.

8. Berry Baby not peeing in the potty and rather peeing in his pants and consequently peeing down into his socks and onto the rug.

9. Berry Baby walking around sans pants and leaving pee puddles in my office without so much as a warning.

10. Parenting.

 

Stay tuned for Thankful Thursday.

*sigh*

Because it Feels So Darn Good…

Wednesday was my first run in over 3 weeks.  I got Berry Boy off on the bus, enjoyed a strong latte with a bit of sugar, and then I plunked Berry Baby in front of the TV to watch kid shows and I ran on the treadmill for 3 miles.  3 long miles.  And I was thankful for every opportunity to get off the treadmill in order to get something for Berry Baby.  Usually, this annoys me to death, but Wednesday I was sucking wind so bad that it came as a blessed relief.

I wasn’t disappointed though, because I knew that after so much time off this run was not going to be fabulous in any way, except for the fact that it was a run, which is in itself something fabulous after such a long hiatus.

So I slogged through my 3 miles at a painfully slow nice and easy pace, after which I may or may not have hugged my treadmill in excessive joy for just having been able to run without any complications.

It felt so good having completed that run that I did a second short 2.5 mile run later that evening, which while it was at the same pace as my morning run was blissfully easier simply because it was in the evening.  Why this is, I don’t know.  I rarely fluke out and have a *good* morning run, while my evening runs are always faster and more effortless.

I ran again last night – a nice easy 4 miles, and I’m only a little bit stiff and complainey (if that’s a word – my spell-check is strenuously objecting) which is to be expected after so much time off.

It amazes me though how much better I feel mentally after having run.  I immediately felt like I’d taken off 5lbs (I haven’t), less stressed, and more relaxed.  I handled the early morning frantically-get-ready-for-an-early-meeting-at-work-and-get-both-kids-ready-for-school-and-Grandma’s with much more grace than usual.  It was nice.

Running is nice.

Thankful Thursday (on Tuesday)

ah.  I forgot how good it was to sit down and think about my blessings.  Prairie Chick was right, these posts are therapeutic, and I’m not sure why I stopped doing them.  But it’s definitely time for a comeback, so here we go…

Today, I am thankful:

1. For physiotherapy.  For a wonderful and good-natured physiotherapist who takes it in stride when, after telling me something like “try to stand with your hips spreading apart and your tummy dropping forward”, I look at her with an expression of complete and total “youhavegottobekiddingme”.  Who understands that not running makes me feel like crap, but who reassures me that it will all be ok.  Eventually.

2. For a hip that somehow managed to stay in place for two weeks and does not currently ache to the point that I am taking 3+ Advil every night just so that I can sleep.

3. For my treadmill, which I am gleefully anticipating being able to use later today barring any natural disasters or the rapture.

4. For really good friends, who encourage me even in my pathetic mental apathy.  Who nod and offer consolation and reassure when I declare to them in all of my irrationality that I am getting *fat*.

5. For Berry Guy, who still slaps me on the ass.  Frequently.

6. For Berry Baby, even though he just peed in his underwear and all the way down to his sock, and then reassured me that pee goes in the potty, and then asked for his pull-up instead of his underwear (presumably because he anticipates peeing in his pants yet again sometime today…)

7. For my new laptop.  It’s pretty, and it’s the color of coffee.  Yes.  I know.

8. For Mike, the HP tech guy, who so kindly provided me with the links to download the driver for my printer, and when that didn’t work offered to send me a disk, but also emailed me a different link (which worked), and who responded to all my emails within about 10min of my sending them.  THAT, my friends, is great customer service.

9. For Berry Boy, who’s teeth are starting to outgrow his face.  I love this stage.

10. For my new Lululemon running pants, that I have been wearing just so that I could feel a little bit athletic even though I have not yet run once in them (or at all).  I really really like them.

Now, I know you’re all waiting for me to be thankful for some form of coffee, and I am, but the thing is, now that I actually get to sleep at night (since our successful sleep intervention with Berry Baby), coffee has finally become less of a necessity and more of a pleasure.  So, I’m thankful for that – for being able to drink coffee because I want to, and not because I need to.

argh.

I just really love technology.  When it works for me.

I bought a new laptop (see previous post) which has Windows 7 as an operating system.  I love new things, and I like Windows 7.

A few months ago, I bought a new printer.  It’s wireless, which is awesome.

Would you believe that my new printer is incompatible with my new laptop?  Of course.  My brand new printer has no idea what Windows 7 is, and therefore won’t install.

Now I have *some* techy smarts, and I know enough to know that I have to download a driver for the printer to make it compatible with Windows 7.  Only every time I tried to download the driver I spent an hour getting to 15% downloaded and then it would fail.

Thankfully, HP has some actually helpful tech support that you don’t have to actually talk to, so by emails from my new friend Mike* I was able to install the printer.  In only two days.  And there was great rejoicing.

At least it distracted me temporarily from the fact that I’m not running and am therefore turning into a blob.

Not really, but kind of.

I’m having a complete self-image fail and am avoiding my scale now like the plague. Although, if I were to actually get the plague, I would be pretty much guaranteed to lose weight…. 

On the bright side, I go to physio again tomorrow and if the hip is still where it’s supposed to be, then I will (pleasepleaseplease) attempt running again.  Like probably the second I get back home.

Aren’t you glad that I’m still awake to type all this?  Yep.  Me neither.

*probably not his real name, but who knows.

Things that are going wrong

My name is Berry Girl, and it has been 18 days since my last run.

*sob*

I'm trying to keep a handle on things - I really am. Trying to keep perspective, and not get totally freaked out by the whole not-running-at-all-potentially-losing-my-mind thing.

I always knew that running was great for my mental well-being, but until now I wasn't aware just how good it was. I have been a *little* irritable and crabby, and I'm ashamed to say that my body image has totally crashed. Like my laptop, ironically.

My beloved, precious laptop totally crashed on us the other day. I took it to the city yesterday to get a techy-type guy to check it out, fully expecting him to say "oh, I can totally fix that", hit a few keys and voila - my partially blanked out screen would be put to rights and my computer would suddenly be able to start up again.

Instead, he opened the lid, hit the start button and said, "yeah, you need a new laptop".

Crap.

I *could* send it back to the manufacturer, but as it was no longer under warranty (of course), the problem was such that it would probably cost $700 to fix, and for THAT I might as well just buy new.

Double crap.

Also, last night was supposed to be Bookclub night, which I was totally looking forward to. And, I was hosting. We had just read "Emma" by Jane Austen, and our plan was to kick back and watch the movie. So I cleaned like a maniac, got the basement fireplace clean and ready for a cozy fire, and baked heart-shaped sugar cookies because it is, after all, Valentines month, and "Emma" is, after all, about love...and then about an hour and a half before everyone was supposed to arrive it was cancelled because everyone was sick or otherwise unable to attend. Of course.

So Berry Guy went to get a movie for us to watch together ("The Hurt Locker", which, while it is a good movie, is a far cry from "Emma") and then went downstairs to start a fire in the fireplace and ended up totally smoking the house out. The damper didn't open, or something, and we spent the next hour or so trying to get the horrible smoky smell out of the house. Of course.

Also, Berry Baby keeps crapping in his pants instead of the toilet, which we were sure we were past already. And I keep telling him to tell me that he has to go, to which he enthusiastically agrees, and then proceeds to poop in his pants again.

Also, it has taken one boy and one husband exactly one hour this morning to make the nice clean house look exactly like it does all the rest of the time. Messy.

Also, I'm not convinced that my hip is getting better even though I am being very good and not running and diligently doing my exercises and correcting my posture. Posture correction, incidentally, requires me to "let my hips spread apart" while "allowing my tummy to fall forward". Right. Because those are *totally* two things I want to do - emphasize my Mennonite rear end and my still-jiggly-post-childbirth belly.

To my Physiotherapist's credit however, this does not (I'm sure) look as bad as it sounds, and when I stand the way that she is telling me to stand, my hip hurts considerably less. Which is good.

But really, I miss running. A lot. I miss the sweat, and the good fatigue, and the rock solid sleep it gives me, and the improved mental outlook, and the stress reduction, and the endorphins, and the ability to eat without regard for calories...

I just really really miss it.