A little bit of snow & a weekend away

So today there has been a little snow(about 2 cm), and yesterday there was a little snow(maybe 1 cm), and both days the snow was gone by about noon, oh well. I know it causes all sorts of problems for people with driving and slipping, but i do like a good snowfall! I haven't been sledding in years. I would just love the opportunity to get a sled out and get out there, altho i may have to wait until i visit home. Either way, if i get to have some snowy fun i don't mind!

I've been busy in the many weeks since i've blogged. I've been to Amsterdam for a weekend and took the opportunity to put some of my newly learnt digital photography skills (another thing i've been kept busy with, an online photography course) into practice.

Here are some of the results with explanatory blurbs.

A beautiful building in Amsterdam which i've given the "aging" process to(sepia, grainy & with a border), i'm proud of the overall aged effect.

Playing with colors and black&white - another Amsterdam building, they've got such great architecture!

A swan in the park. I was so happy to catch this moment when all the ripples appeared, it looked like the swan was having a scratch behind its ear or something. I made it b&w to really show up the ripples.

The same swan pre-scratching, looking all handsome and elegant. I made this one b&w with a slight tint. I really think b&w images have an extra "something" to them that makes them stand out more.

Bikes. There are many, many bikes in Amsterdam. I tried my best to capture that in this photo.

The canals, anyone & everyone who visits Amsterdam gets a photo of the canals!


In gourmet circles, the frites of Amsterdam are known as being superbly exquisite. Served in a swathe of paper with a dallop of mayo plopped on top they are the epitome of a fry experience.......ok, i'm lying but they are damn good, and don't i just WISH the servings were THIS big - woooo!!

So yeah, there ya have it.....a short photographic journey through my Amsterdam weekend.

Now i'm off to find some fries
:)

The Great North Run 2008

Wow.

All I can say is that I'm in awe of people who have been doing the GNR for years now, how come I never knew how much fun it was?

I just have random thoughts to jot down that capture some of the amazing stuff that the GNR entails, it's really hard to put it into a coherent blog entry since i just want to spew all the stuff i saw and experienced onto the page, but here are some amazing points:

• the crowds of people cheering on the participants

• the 52,000 participants who go all out to raise money for their chosen charities(there were more charity t-shirts than not)

• the bands playing along the route every mile or so to motivate everyone along the way(the music REALLY helps to keep you going, as i'm sure you all know)

• the random on-lookers passing out handy-wipes & orange slices to people passing them by

• the St. Johns Ambulance crew members wearing blue plastic gloves smothered in vaseline for runners to swipe and get some much needed chaffage relief(who knew?!?!)

• the 80-something dude playing spoons(apparently he tried out for X-Factor?!) who beat us even AFTER he stopped a few hundred times along the way for his fans

• the 3 people dressed up as telly-tubbies carrying donation buckets

• a plethora of tutu & fairy wing wearing men & women

• the crazy-long queues for nasty non-toilet paper having port-a-loos

• the sneaky(or not so sneaky) people shimmying off the main route to have a wee in the bushes to keep down their race time

• the two guys carrying a (bigger than you expect)replica of the Tyne Bridge between them and running the whole 13.1 miles

• people running in full military gear, including boots and carrying their packs on their backs(can i just say: Ugh!!!!!)

• the kids looking on in amazement as a shark runs past them "hey, cool! it's a shark" was heard many many times

• the wave of momentum when you hear your name(written on your chest for all to see) called out by random on-lookers cheering you on and telling you that you've done great so far(i loved that!)

• Enjoying the overall experience with a special shark by your side helping to motivate you along the way by drip-feeding you jelly babies

I did manage to jog a little bit of it and i was pleased with that, especially since i didn't expect to be able to jog much at all due to injury which made it impossible for me to train properly, etc(see previous entries), but the majority of it was walked and we still finished in 3 hours and 21 minutes! I was very careful and listened to my body when it yelled at me to stop, altho it's still yelling a bit now when i attempt the stairs, altho much less loudly, ha! :)



So all in all, what an amazing feeling to have completed the race and collected my t-shirt and medal at the finish line.

I am pretty proud of myself and so far the tally is close to £850 with a few more donations to collect yet, so wow, i am constantly amazed with everyones generousity - THANK YOU for helping me to raise so much money for such a worthy cause close to our hearts!!!!!

Nervousness sets in....

The race is in 4 days and boy am I nervous!!

Next week at this time I will be able to say proudly that I have participated in the world's largest half-marathon and raised a chunk of change for a very worthy charity by doing so....Yay!

I'm sure if my cats could speak they would be telling everyone(not that they see many people in their day, but you know what i mean) that i have been waking up in the middle of the night from having silly dreams, bordering on silly nightmares, about forgetting to start the race, about getting lost in the sea of people (52,000 participants!!! And that's not including their on-lookers and other assorted hangers-on - Eeeek!), and last but not least... about it raining on my camera for 13.1 miles - this is England ya know! I wouldn't mind getting drenched myself, in fact i used to quite enjoy a nice jog in the rain, there was just something very satisfying about it. I will just be VERY upset if my camera went kaplooey and I lost all the photographic evidence from the day.

Anyway... thinking positively, and avoiding my cats judgements about my nervousness, I am going to eat a hearty but healthy carbo-filled dinner on Saturday and get a good nights rest (I'm crossing my fingers for no nightmarey-dreams!) and have myself a great Great North Run experience! And then i'll tell YOU all about it!

But maybe you'll be watching it yourself on the BBC or maybe catch snippets of it on the websites....here's one of the regional BBC sites that may have some coverage on the day:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/great_north_run/

:)

There be sharks in them there waters...

Well, there just might be a shark plodding along next to me during the Great North Run scaring all the runners and getting the theme tune from Jaws sung at him all along the way, altho it has NOT been confirmed just yet.....but someone very close to the source has verified that a shark suit has been purchased, and that is the first step in the process of having a shark plodding along next to me during the Great North Run.....so, watch this space......

one week and counting.......

Da-dum.........da-dum..........da-dum, da-dum, da-dum
(Jaws theme in case it wasn't clear *wink, wink*)

Race Day Approaches....

As race day approaches (it's only a few short, cold weeks away) i'm starting to have weird dreams about forgetting to show up on race day, and forgetting to line-up to start the race, and all sorts of disturbing dream ideas making me feel like i'm somehow not prepared.

It could be some lingering "let down" feelings since i can't run the race this year due to injury, but as everyone keeps saying to me......it's the participating that counts. Well, yeah in general it is the participating that counts, however it really sucks that i finally decided to attempt a big goal and due to weakness of body i can't do as well as i had hoped i could, and it had seemed like i would be able to do it had i been able to continue on my training path..... so that's me feeling sorry for myself, BUT on the flipside...... through the experience of having an injury i've realized that i was training wrong and that i needed to add in more cross-training, which i did. Through this need for other exercise i found that i really enjoy yoga, so that is definitely a positive thing to come from this negative stuff. So i'm very happy to have found another sport/exercise that i enjoy which is half the battle because if you don't enjoy exercise you just won't do it!

So, the next few weeks will be full of gym sessions which include mainly stationery cycling, some swimming, some yoga, I might attempt the new pilates class that is starting in 2 weeks to see what it's like, and some fierce power walking! Ok, not the super-wiggly kind that someone told me exists in the olympics(would have liked to see that!), but fierce by my standards.

I have been told by the physio that i can slowly(very very beginners stage) start jogging again, but that if my hip starts aching it may mean that i am not meant to be a runner. Grrrr! That's a let down. So i'm worried that if i try to start jogging again now(which would mean i'd only be up to running about 10 mins by race day) it will be too tempting to overdue things on race day, so i'm focussing on the walking aspect and will go with the walkers flow on race day. I will re-start my running in October, but having this huge race looming in front of me is rather scary when you are worried that even walking too briskly can make your injury flare up! Stupid hip!

So this years GNR will be the year that I participate, but not the year that I run it.

A bit deflated & let down about it, but my plan was always to be a long-term runner, not ONLY for race day.

I forgot to say....

I totally forgot to say how great a certain someone did on his Sprint Triathalon in London a couple weekends ago!! Yay! Big Congrats!!!!

He completed it right on schedule(his own proposed schedule) at around 1hr 40min and altho he looked pretty pooped at the end he still had a very calm & collected air about him for having completed a 750m swim in the nasty green watered Thames, a 20km bike ride in the RAIN and 5km run in the RAIN too!

So, now he's decided to do the olympic distance next year - yikes! Which is double the Sprint.......some people just love punishing themselves in the name of sport! Ha!

And now for an update....

It’s been a few weeks now, and I’ve been doing my special little exercises & stretches to strengthen the weakness in my hip area. No jogging, but I’ve been allowed to swim, bike & do some yoga. I’ve visited the Physio a second time in this timeframe, and was told that my efforts were paying off, but still no running was allowed which was upsetting. She did give me further exercises, which strangely seem like I’m not doing much(all these mini leg lifts from various angles) but apparently they DO help in the grand scheme of things?!

I’ve got another follow-up Physio appointment later this month, but even if I am magically allowed to start jogging again from that point on, there isn’t enough time to train properly for the GNR(the recommended minimum time is 10 weeks of training for a half-marathon)

So I’ve come to the disheartening conclusion that I will not be running very much of the Great North Run after all. I may be able to jog a little bit by then and walk a lot in between. On the day of the event, the whole overall atmosphere will be fun to be a part of even if I can’t run it. I will probably find that I have to restrain myself during the event for fear of a super-woman-I-can-run-this-even-though-I-haven’t-trained complex on the day from all the excitement & encouragement.

In conclusion….even though I’m a bit deflated about my inability to train, I still plan to complete it however I can, and I may even have a walk/jog buddy to accompany me on the 13 miles…..and *he* may be wearing PINK too…..watch this space! Hehehe!

*wink,wink*

Physio suggests....

Well, after my 15 minutes of excitement, there's some not so exciting news. I have been to the physio who has told me to stop running completely until i strengthen up my weak and wussy inner pelvic muscles thingies. So i may well be walking the Great North Run - poop!

She didn't give me the muscle names, so not sure exactly what is wrong except that i'm weak in my core muscle area, but i could have told her that without doing the tests! So my pelvic muscles/tummy muscles are the bad guys, and they're not keeping the hips held in place the correct way, so i have hip droppage and wiggle/rocking(but not in the sexy Marilyn Monroe way either!) which cause a repetitive strain thingy, ok.....something like that. I'm not a physio so excuse me for my lack of knowledge, and now i do these little, but quite difficult, exercises for 2 weeks and then go back and see whatever it is we see.

I'm feeling a bit down to be honest, but what can i do? Really, all i can do is get myself strong however she tells me to and do the GNR however i am able to do it, and hope that in the long run i will be an able-bodied runner. I think it's really the fact that i ENJOY running that is so upsetting, i'd love to get my shoes on and get out there and run like the wind, or even like a spring breeze, if i could. Plus this is one of the first times in my life that i have a big goal and feel like i actually CAN achieve it, and in the little steps along the way i've been super pleased with my progress, so i was well on my way to success.......and then BAM! Grrrrrrrr!

But thank you to my special people who have all been nothing but supportive in this whiney and painful trek to figuring out what the heck is going on with my hip/knee, it's nice to have people with positivity oooozing outta their pores surrounding me! So thank you!!!

Jog Attempt - yet again, but yay!

Well, long story short, i went jogging today for 15 minutes painfree!!

Wooooooooo! :)

Not sure if it's just cuz the length of the run was short? Or if the cross-training efforts on my part are actually helping? Or if the phase of the moon coupled with some other hokey-pokey-ness is somehow affecting my ability to jog? Whatever the reason, all i can say is a big loud YAY!

Ok, so 15 minutes ain't gonna get me around the half marathon in October, but considering i thought i may not get to run ever again due to pain/injury issues i'm pretty pleased. It's a little step towards my greater goal. And i definately want to cross the finish line of the Great North Run, but i also want to ensure i have a future of running beyond race day. I like running! So it's all an effort to get back to the bigger picture of becoming a runner(not an injured wanna-be runner).

Plus in line with that theory, i have a physio appointment this week, so hopefully that will help to focus on what i need to be doing to strengthen up or whatever it is that they tell you after their assessment. I'm still going to keep up my cross-training which is fun(loving the yoga!) and obviously a healthy choice no matter what the reason for it.

Anyhoooooo....... i'm off to do my weekend chores now, and also to bask in the glow of my happiness from my little 15 minutes this morning :)

Jog attempt - update

Ok, that didn't go so well. The jog went pretty badly, my knee and hip both hurt and it made me a bit depressed/upset as you can imagine.

I went to the Doctor today to tell him my knee wasn't better (even tho it had been fine for a while and was ok with the gentle stuff) and asked what i can do. So i've got a physiotherapist Appointment later this month for my hip, which is the original problem, and we'll see what they say.

This is just depressing. Why do our bodies not do what we want them to do? Just run legs, stay strong knee, be painfree hip!

Grrrrr!

Hrmph!

Declutteration (Part II)

Hmm..... declutteration, is that even a word? I say so!

So i've spent a good chunk of this morning doing some more de-cluttering, and wow! It is freeing to have less stuff! Granted what i'm getting rid of isn't making too much of a dent in my overall "stuff" count, but i feel better for it. It's the stuff i won't miss, don't need, and shouldn't keep anyway. So out with that stuff!! (makes room for new stuff, haha!)

I've even read a book this past week which i found during last weeks clear-out. It was just a fluffy chick-lit book - ya know one of those books about a girl who shops too much and then falls in love with prince charming who magically asks her out and they live happily ever after....i'm not even kidding that's exctly what happened! Ha! But it was cute, and i enjoyed having a book i couldn't wait to read each day, i like that!

I've also unearthed a whole box of picture frames, in varying sizes, shapes, etc....some unused candles and a collection of scarves i forgot i had! This is all from the original move way back last year when i shoved things in boxes never to be seen again.....until now! It's kinda like Christmas, except i get to decide what i want and don't want, and some things get hoyed out and some get kept, and some get USED even, wow fancy that?! Ha!

Yep, a good clear out is good for the soul.

Speaking of all around "good" things.......i've been keeping up on my gentle training this week. I've been to yoga(still loving it and i was even told i was stretchy - yay me!), been to the gym twice and am about to go for my official first jog/run of the training. My knee feels super(i haven't "noticed" it for over a week now) and i've borrowed a sport knee brace thanks to my pal Lynsey, so i'm going to give it a go! Once i've turned off the computer, i'll be heading outside for my run!!

Wish me luck and i'll report back when i'm thru....

...to be continued.

De-cluttering

It's Saturday, and i've filled my day with going to the gym and doing a good chunk o' spring cleaning(in summer - although to be fair you'd NEVER guess it was summer!).

Ugh!

One full garbage bag and a rather big "to give away pile" later and it still doesn't feel tidy. I'm going through a de-cluttering phase. It is a cleansing event i go through maybe twice a year, and it not only helps to de-clutter my surroundings, but also my brain too. I'm feeling bogged down by "stuff", toooooo much STUFF! So, i'm being pretty ruthless and getting rid of stuff i've collected just for the sake of collecting.

Why do i have the full set of Good Food magazines from 2004, 2005, 2006 AND 2007 - which i've never opened again since i got them?! Why do i insist on keeping books that i hated the first time i read them, and will NEVER read again, just for the sake of filling my bookshelf(which is tiny at the moment anyway due to downsizing, so i don't really NEED to fill it). And why on earth do i insist on keeping clothes that are 4 sizes to small that i fit into for about 7 months back in 1997.....what am i thinking???? There is NO chance that i'm going to be that size again - even if i dieted for months on end and exercised like a crazy person i'd still be bigger than those clothes it just wasn't natural.....i think it was my "i'm young and not going to eat much and i keep really busy and wow i don't gain weight" phase, which ain't going to come around again, (thank god cuz i like my food!!). So i've gotten rid of all the above mentioned hordings, yet i suspect there is much more that i could rid myself of.....but it will have to wait cuz i'm pooped now.

After ranting above about de-cluttering I'm surprised i have energy to talk about the gym, ha! I did go this morning for the first time in ages and it felt good. It wasn't very crowded which is nice - i hate it when it's crowded! Everyone is probably taking advantage of the Semi-summery weather and doing their exercising outside, where as i now have to do the opposite after taking too much advantage of the nice weather by running outdoors all the time instead of being smart and alternating what i did.....hence the gym visit.

So all in all, this week i managed to do 3 sessions and they were all classed as "gentle". Yoga, Swimming and the Gym(stationary bike & crosstrainer). Three gentle-ish ways to get my knee back into the swing of things and not be aggravated......and if this works to plan then maybe next weekend i will throw in a wee lil jog!!

Oooh, one can dream.... ha!

Updates...

Hedgehog update:

It is with heavy heart I update you on the cute, but injured, little hedgehog….. he did not make it – his injuries were far worse then they seemed and he was peacefully put to sleep for his own good by the vet. I had a tear in my eye when I heard that, but then I thought about how it could have been had we not brought him in and I felt comforted. I’d like to think that what we chose to do for him, by taking him to the vet, helped to end what could have been a painful and unpleasant last few moments in his little spikey life. I’m comforted in knowing the little hedgehog passed away peacefully in a warm & safe environment that was free from loud dangerous traffic and other obstacles which would only make his last moments on earth difficult & scary, rather then peaceful. So I hope he now is where ever it is that little hedgehogs dream of going when they leave this world.


Training Update:

It has been a frustrating week, my knee has been twinging up a storm which means I haven’t been able to do much exercise for fear of making it worse. Grrr! It was acting up even just walking around the office, so that wasn’t very promising. I had attempted to go for a lite jog mid-week last week but that was unpleasant and ended pretty quickly.

It’s feeling much better this week so far…..and my plan is to ease back into things. On the list for this week is: a yoga class, swimming and a stretching class, plus the cross training machine and stationary bike at the gym – how much gentler can I get?? Hopefully I’ll enjoy these activities but also get myself active again, heading towards the ability to do a nice jog in a couple of weeks, assuming the knee behaves itself.

I hate feeling like I’m “losing” my ability to run……. After all that hard work it’d be a shame to have to start from scratch when I have my goal looming only a few months away!


ps.....as i post this(i wrote it yesterday pre-yoga) i have actually already attended the yoga class which was great! Wow, it's bizarre how such a seemingly gentle activity can really push your limits....yes it's only the first time i tried it, but sheesh! Tough stuff! Yet, strangely fun!?!

My muscles were like: "Oh my....what are you doing...oooh...yeah.....wait, we like that.....more of that relaxing stuff...goood, good.... and a little more stretching of that please.....hmmm..... yes this is nice...... good stuff lady!"

Hedgehoggy cuteness

So, the BF & I saved(we hope!) a hedgehog last night. We were walking along a busy road and on the sidewalk of this road we found a substantially sized(about softball sized when curled up) hedgehog limping along as if he’d been hit by a passer-by or something. His leg was poking out in a strange angle but there was no blood or open wounds that we could see.

There was a bush right by him, which could have been safe for him if he had managed to get into it and stay there, but he had rolled down a little hilly bit(more like a glorified speed bump – but like Mt Kilamanjaro to him with his little injured leg!) onto the sidewalk and didn’t seem able to get himself into safety, which made us think he’d just be a target for vicious creatures or just die there, terrified and trembling, trying to get up the hill away from traffic.

So we made the decision to take him to my BF’s house and call a 24-hour vet. We put him in a cosy cardboard box with a soft towel and while my BF made arrangements for us to drop him off at the vets, I just watched the hedgehog be cute.

He kept smacking his lips like he was trying to taste something or was thirsty. I felt bad and wished I knew what to do to comfort him - what do hedgehogs need in order to be comforted? Then he wandered, half hobbled, into the corner of the box and kinda managed to curl up. He was super cute even if he was hurt! We took him to the vet by car, and the poor little guy jumped at every noise – he obviously was quite traumatised, if nothing else.

When the vet saw him(not sure if it even was a him, but I seem to have nominated that as his sex), she picked him upside down and he curled up like hedgehogs do, which was good - she said he had good reflexes and that was a good sign. She also said he had a MASSIVE tick on him – gross! He is a wild critter though, so of course they get ticks, lice, fleas and all sorts of fun creepy-crawlies on them, yuck!

According to the vet, the next step would be to sedate the little critter to find out just how badly hurt he was or wasn’t, and they’d know more once they’d had a look. We left him there knowing he was in very good, kind hands, and hoping he’d make a full recovery! So we’ll phone back today to ask how he/she is and hopefully it’ll be good news.

Thumbs up to 24-hour vets who take in wild critters in need!!!

My first 10k COMPLETE!!!

Ok, after a week with a painful knee worrying that i might not get to participate in my first ever race....... we did it!!! My friend Emma(in orange) and I completed the Great Women's 10k Run this morning! It was fantastic!

The weather was nice, breezy & even had sunny patches. Our route was along the coast just outside of Sunderland and there was even a bit of the run on the sand(hard packed sand - HA! Can i just say "Ouch" sand is NO FUN to run on!) and a part of the race was along the pier.

All in all, it was a rather picturesque route and was a pleasant run aside from the painful twinges every now and then in my darn knee. I wore my brace thingy on it and that seemed to firm it up and allowed me to run the majority of the race. Altho i did have to stop twice cuz my knee hurt too much at certain points of the race.

So unfortunately, i didn't complete the race without stopping as i had originally hoped to do, but the fact that I got to complete the race at all made me happy!!

So it's been a great Sunday and it's Father's Day too, so Happy Dad's Day to my dad who has been a runner for as long as i can remember, so it's a nice day for me to complete my first race.
:)


ps... I had a brilliant cheerleading section which helped to keep me motivated (even tho i kept telling him to "go away" when he was taking the hideous photographic evidence - Ha!) So...a huge THANK YOU to the bestest cheerleader/photographer around!!!

Summer, oh my gosh?!

Well, could it be that summer has arrived, if only briefly, up here in Newcastle? Hmmm..... it's 66F and sunny and there's a light breeze and i turned a lovely shade of beet red when i went running this AM - that's a sure sign that it's summer!

I went for a run in my "race clothes" today, i tested out my outfit which i plan to wear next Sunday for the 10k practice run i'm doing. I was very proud of myself, i wore the new sleeveless running top i bought, and I even felt ok about it, ha!

Most people don't mind showing off their upper arms. Wearing sleeveless shirts is no big deal to them, but me, well....i have issues with certain items of clothing(like ones that show off lots of skin or are too snug, that kind of thing). But of course i want to be nice & comfy for race day so i decided to have a go at wearing a sleeveless running top.

It's not so bad! My armpits get to breathe, and my headphone wire didn't get all tangled up in my sleeves, so overall the sleeveless running top gets a thumbs up! I may even get a wee bit of a tan from showing more skin - but don't worry mom i use sunscreen so i probably WON'T get that tan after all - altho i do have a light farmers tan already......... must have been the days i forget to lather up, ooops!

June is here

So June is here, the month of my practice 10k race(looking forward to it!!), the month that you expect the weather to feel summery(ha!) and hopefully the month where i get my first race medal & t-shirt for completing my first race successfully!

And just to clarify, i am running the BUPA Great Womans Race 10k on Father's Day, but not for charity, i'm using it as a practice to get me used to running in an organized race(I've never done one before) and it's a nice halfway distance to what i need to aim for with my traininf for the race in October which i am running for charity, the big monster BUPA Great North Run.

So, after running a nice comfy women-only 3000 participant race in June, the HUGE, co-ed half marathon in October will be a bit scary, but hopefully i'll be much more prepared for it due to this practice run.

That's all from me for now!
:)

May Totals

Since it is 1st of June it is now time to total up my May runs(it's very exciting!!!) and here are the totals:

• Total Minutes Run in May: 505
• Hours: almost 8 1/2
• Estimated Miles(based on an 11 min mile): almost 46

and i'm sure learning a lot about Excel spreadsheets while keeping track of this, it's fun!! I actually wish my job used equations in spreadsheets more - what can i say, i'm a bit of a nerd and proud of it!!

:)

Saturdays & Rice Crispie treats!

I do like Saturdays, it's nice not to have to wake up early & go to work. Instead, i woke up early and went for a run, ha!

The run went well, i did my usual 4 mile run, and i'm really looking forward to the 10k "practice" race which is 2 weeks away(June 15th). I'm even starting to think about my pre-race routine, and my night-before meal, and what to put in my little backpack.

I've got my cheering section consisting of one enthusiastic boyfriend - who would be running it himself probably if it weren't a race JUST for woman, ha! I've got my co-runner who is also the colleague who co-hosted our bake sale, and let's cross our fingers for some good weather! The route is on the seaside and goes up & down the pier, so it'll be a nice scenic route at least.

So yeah, all is well on that front.

I did however, bake some rice crispie treats today because i had some marshmellows leftover from camping and what better way to use them up then to make something that is tasty and easy to make! So yeah, made them and proceeded to chow down on half the pan of them! Ha! They are super tasty! And sorta low-fat-ish?!

I'll be giving the rest of them away, fear not Mom!

:)

The Bake Sale Yummies

Our Bake Sale was awesome! People were so generous, everyone baked, brought or bought!! I was impressed with the amount of help/support we received from our friends in the office, big thanks to everyone!!!

Photos:

The Famous Chocolate Cake

Swirly cinnamon muffins

Banana Cake
End of the day empties

Let's get started - donate here!

Oatmeal Raisin cookies

Corned-beef pie

Coffee Kisses(my new favorite mmmm!)

Muffins!(pink or chocolate!)

So there you have it, there's not much more to say except that thanks to the Bake Sale, we've both had a big helping hand in our fundraising efforts for our charities!!!

Although i'm still working off the calories from that day.....ooops!

Not a 13-minute Mile!

So, i don’t actually run a 13 minute mile after all!!! Woohoo!! How exciting to realize that i run a 10 ½/11 minute mile, and i’ll tell you how i know.....

Using a fascinating webpage, brought to my attention by a friend from work, called mapmyrun.co.uk which actually let’s you MAP & then calculate the distance of your run along your own local streets. By using this website, i found out that what is becoming my “everyday run” is actually a 4-mile route. I was pretty psyched at that fact since it was getting relatively “easy”, but NOT easy as you know it...there is an easiness scale in my mind of course, and if 10 is super-duper easy, then my route was becoming a 4 on the scale. Slowly and steadily getting a bit easier to run each time, and becoming much less intimidating to be out running for such a chunk of time.

After that mileage realization, i stopped paying attention to the fact that i wanted to run for 45 minutes as my goal, and decided to see just how long it takes me to run 4 miles. My time came in under 45 mins(depending on the day anywhere between 40-42 mins . It may seem silly to pay attention to the exact minute but it makes a difference, really!).

So yeah.....Yay me! I’m pretty proud of myself.

:)

Virus gone, hopefully?

Well then, had a little trouble with my computer for a bit there. It all seems to have been sorted now, phew! It is super-frustrating to be without computer access, that's for sure!

I've been out tonight for a run and I feel good! It's 8:30pm and still light out - it's hard to get used to the fact that it will be light until pretty late(at least 9pm) and then get light again at around 4am! We are pretty far north here in Newcastle. And it's even more light when you have rather thin beige curtains - yikes! Ha! That's where a face mask comes in handy(along with my earplugs for my noisy neighbors & my mouth gaurd for my teeth grinding - Oh my! wWhat a cutie I am at night!!!).

So i think it's safe to say that aside from the occasional cool/rainy day, it is as close to summery as we're gonna get over here. We've had a couple of extra warm days and they were lovely - everyone is crossing their fingers that those few days of niceness weren't the whole summer already been & gone, ha!

Overall it's been really nice weather for jogging lately. So nice & warm that I've had to get one of those ipod armbands in order to strap my ipod to me since it's too warm to wear my jacket which had a pocket. So i have my cute pink armband which i like to think of as a sweet little accessory to go with my other pink accents.

So yeah, nothing profound or all that interesting at all to say today - just wanted to write something to explain that my computer was not a happy-bunny and that's why i've been "silent" for a bit, but it seems to be fixed, so all is well - yay!

Oh yeah!! Remind me i need to do an entry on the FABULOUS BAKE SALE!!!!!! I'll need more time than i have right now, so it'll have to wait. But i've got some awesome photos, you WILL BE DROOLING!!!!!!

Toodles 'til next time......

It's like the escalator...

So I went for a run this AM, and it was particularly tough to do even though it was first thing in the morning, which is usually a good time for me to run.

I guess some days will just be like that, but it'd be a heck of a lot easier if stamina/endurance was steady. It's probably one of those things that will come in time as my training goes on, at least I hope! And it is only the second month of my serious training, so I can't expect too much just yet! I should be happy just to be getting out there for a run, and I am, but it's difficult when the results are slow-going. Although, slow & steady does win the race. It's like my morning escalator ride...

Each morning I choose to walk up a very long/high escalator on my way to work. If I wanted to just stand & ride the escalator it'd be way easier and I'd just stand on the right with all the others who don't want to break a sweat before their work day, and up we go!

Instead, I choose to walk up the left side of the escalator and end up huffing & puffing when I reach the top(mainly because i don't have the patience to stand there for 5 mins while it slowly, slowly crawls to the top). I just take it one step at a time, at a nice slow pace and don't look up at the tippy-top cuz then I'd fall over, but I just keep focus on the single step in front of me, one at a time....and then all of a sudden i'm at the top and off to work I go!

So, somehow that relates to my running, yeah.....one day i'll be at the top of my training and off to the race i'll go! (hopefully in time for June 15th's 10k!!)

Or something like that.....ha!

Mileage

I’ve seen some really fancy blogs detailing runs to the minute and pacing for each type of run and heart rates and whatnot……which is all pretty interesting if you are REALLY into your running. I was actually pleased with myself that I managed to set up a basic spreadsheet that adds up my total minutes and sorta does the math for roughly how many hours total that I’ve run and roughly how many miles it would equal based on my pace of a 13min mile(which I THINK is my pace – but I could be wrong and haven’t timed it recently)

So here we go:

Total minutes run in April= 395 minutes
Hours = about 6 ½
Miles= about 30


Yay!

Rhythm to run to.

I think I have found my inner rhythm, well … it’s my inner running rhythm at least. The recent runs that I have done listening to drum n’ bass tunes on my ipod have been extra enjoyable and the throbbing bass has kept my feet moving even when I really, really wanted to stop.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it(Mom!) this genre of music is very bass-heavy(thumpy) and super dance-able in my humble opinion. So it easily can be used to pace a run, or just to give enough “Oomph” to keep going. It just felt like I was “dancing” along to the tunes, bopping to the bass and actually smiling - through the tiredness which was showing on my face, when one of my favourite songs came on. It really does help to urge me to keep on runnin’ and also makes me want to go dancing! Ha!

I’ve downloaded a friends podcast of his online DnB show that he does(Thanks Q!) and this provides 2 hours of tunes to run by which is excellent! So I’ll have a fresh source of pacing regularly from him, and then of course there is my own music library to select the most bassy tunes from and create a selection that will be my back up.

As long as my ipod battery is fully charged - as well as my energy level - I’ll be ready to hit the pavement!!

Peanut butter toast....

Peanut Butter toast, miracle cure for my fatigure?

I dunno, but it happened to be my choice for post-long-run refuelling snack yesterday and i felt pretty decent for the rest of the day..... having run 50mins(non-stop, yay!!) i was ready for a too-tired-to-do-anything day, but nope!

Ok, i'm not sure it was all due to the piece of multi-grain(crunchy with all sorts of seedy goodness)brown bread with a smear of peanut butter(also crunchy) on it, it could have been that i finally managed to re-hydrate correctly or was just having a fabulous day.....OR, it could've been the cold bath(albeit for like 30 seconds) that i had instead of my usual HOT bath.....yeah, yeah, i know, i finally read about it, it's bad for recovery if you have one too soon after running. Ack! Oh well. Out with the hot baths on running days. Pooh.

I'll have my hot bath today instead since it is my rest day after all! And hot baths sure are restful. :)

So perhaps paying closer attention to the particulars of what i eat will help in the long run.....it can't hurt?!

So as i type this i have some quinoa simmering away, and once it's done i'll have it with my lentil/zucchinni/eggplant/tomato saucy stew creation that i made earlier. i think that sounds pretty healthy, and considering it's all i have in the cupboards/fridge i think it will be great!

So anyway, thumbs up to peanut butter toast and i'm going to go eat my quinoa now.....

Toodles!

Thinking about muffins...

Ok, so muffins really have nothing to do with running, except for the fact that muffins which i bake will be used to raise money in a bake sale for the charity that i am running for, so technically it is related to my running!? So there!

Muffins. Ahhhh.....mmmmmm! And of course there is the debate about how a muffin is different from a cupcake. My sister absolutely loves the smell, taste, look and probably the overall "cupcake experience." I, on the other hand, love baking muffins. Of course i do like a good cupcake here & there(more here than there really!). So i was thinking....what the heck is the difference? Is it the icing? The size? The taste? Has anyone got an answer?

I felt the need to research this difference myself. So by combining years of taste-testing muffins & cupcakes, and using my googling skills(they are getting better!)i found the following to be the major difference between the beloved cupcake and the yummy muffin...

Muffin recipes use oil and cupcake recipes use butter.

So apparently that means: muffin = bread and cupcake = cake.

So simple.

Who cares though really.....as long as i get to eat them BOTH!!!

:)

Ouch.

Well, apparently i didn't stretch enough after my Sunday run, ooops.

Ouch!

So yeah... adequate stretching is VERY important, lesson learned.

Ha!

PS......we're planning our first charity bake sale at work to raise money for two of us in the office who are running for charity this year. I have to admit that i'm really excited about the items i'll be contributing to it: My Mom's Recpe for the best ever Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Chocolate Chip Muffins & Pink(in honor of Breast Cancer Care) Almond Crescent Cookies. Well that's my plan at least, but we'll see how the actual baking goes! Cross your fingers for me! And come and buy some yummies from us!!!!!!

Morning best?

I’ve now come to the conclusion that I am best at morning runs. Yep. Best to run in the morning, nice and early before the day steals your energy. Get it out of the way, done & dusted. Tick it off the “To-Do” list.

I am referring to my long runs, not my piddly easy-run days which seem to only ever happen after work so they HAVE to be an evening thing. Mainly that is because I can not realistically see myself getting up at the crack o’ dawn to go running which would then mean I’d be a tired-runner-zombie for my whole work day….. that would not be fun!!!

Not that it’s an impossible task when it comes to an afternoon run, but I must say I perform so much better in the AM, and it’s a good thing that most races are in the morning. I bet they do that on purpose, there’s probably some scientific reasoning behind it too that I’ve just never heard/read about, hmmm….

But, on the flipside… after running on a Sunday morning I am then effectively too tired to do much else, so I don’t know which is worse…..running poorly in the late afternoon but having the first half of my Sunday to do other things, or running first thing Sunday morning and then vegetating for the rest of my Sunday until I crawl into the bed for an early night.

I guess it’s a choice all runners make: when to go on a run? Or maybe the tiredness goes away after a while and you magically can run fabulously at ANY time of day?? I’m crossing my fingers for that option!!



And just a little kitty giggle for ya!!! Too funny!

Dear Team Legs...

Dear Team Legs(aka: my legs)

How are you after our excursion yesterday afternoon? Thirty minutes, without stopping, you did well! You gave it your all when I decided to push it a bit further then the normal “easy-day”, nice one!

So anyway, I thought I would write to say that I appreciate all the hard work you are putting into all this training malarchy. You didn’t even have a choice did you, ha! But you are dealing with it well! You consistently put one foot in front of the other and trundle along with only a few aches and pains as we go, which soon disappear anyway. All part of the sport, I guess? It's all coming together though, and i bet you are reaping some rewards in your own way, more muscle less flab, etc....it's all good!

Thanks also for the support & even encouragement, which you may not have realized you were giving me. The day after I’ve made you push your limits, and you don't ache or hurt, well that’s a big “Whooppeee”! That’s as near to a shout of joy from Team Legs as I could get. That means you & I are doing something right. I bet you enjoy the stretching, probably more then the jogging itself!

Now, Team Feet let’s get on the bandwagon, I want some whooping and cheering from you too!

Love,
The Rest of the Team

The Equipment & friends

So i've now got new shoes which have been road tested for a couple of weeks now, and a funky pink hat to go along with my Breast Cancer Charity theme (pink, pink,pink!!) and a pink boa just to add color - not sure about wearing that during the race tho, it'll be hard enough to complete let alone to run it with sweaty feathers sticking to my neck, ack! Ha!

Ruti was very interested in the feathers of course, and Zoot couldn't help but have a go at wearing the hat! Let's just cross our fingers for some sun so that i need the hat to keep it off my face! (it's currently SNOWING!!!!)

Technically today is a huge milestone in my running career(albeit a very short career, ha!) today we ran/walked the mock-10k(local route mapped out in distance to practice on). I was actually pleased with the amount of jogging i did compared to the amount of walking, thought i would have done more on the walking side of things. But it was surprisingly comfy to do and i feel great now afterwards. Although i did have a nice soak in the tub to soothe my aches & pains. But i'm pleased and i know for a fact that i am "able" to run a 10k, which is the "practice" run i'm doing with a co-worker in June, and then the biggie half-marathon is in October, just one step at a time!

:)

Funny cats...

A friend of mine introduced me to this wacky page which has totally random & hilarious cat images on it....it's to funny not to share! They use silly vocabulary & real photos so it's actually quite creative for what they have. There are tons of these and they just make me laugh!

Here's a few choice ones for you to taste-test, then go check them out on the I Can Has a Cheezburger website




see more crazy cat pics

see more crazy cat pics

Now tell me you didn't laugh????

:)

Running for....

The Breast Cancer Care Charity

Yay!! I've gotten confirmation that i have a place in the Great North Run with the above charity!!!

The Great North Run is the half-marathon that takes place in Newcastle in October every year and it's really huge now! I've known a handful of friends & colleagues who have run it in the past and now it's my turn!!

Here's a little bit about the charity that i'm running for:

Breast Cancer Care is the UK's leading provider of information, practical assistance and emotional support for anyone affected by breast cancer.

Every year we give direct support to over 22,000 people with breast cancer or breast health concerns through our helpline, peer support and other direct services.

In addition, we respond to two million requests for support and information about breast cancer or breast health concerns through our publications, website and outreach work.
All our services are free.

We are committed to campaigning for better treatment and support for people with breast cancer and their families.

I've got my newly purchased snazzy running shoes(same brand/style as the ones i've had for a while but newer version - they work well for me!) and i've got a new good quality sports bra(gotta have one of those or else OUCH!) and so far so good with the training!

I've been given a lot of reading material to go through which will help me to put together my traning strategy as the date of the practice race that i've signed up gets closer. Ok, so June is a long way off but not really when you look at race training! So i've got a 10k in June(my very first ever race!!) and then the GNR in October, eeek!

GO TEAM ME! I can do it! At least i'll give it my best effort!!! And i've got a damn good cheering section on both sides of the pond!! Thanks everyone :)

Stuff

So yeah.... i've decided to start jogging regularly with the goal of doing a big road race for charity later this year if i officially get a place(they can be hard to come by) so as practice, my colleague and I have signed up for this race: BUPA Great Womans Race.

Which really is a big deal for me as well. It's a 10k run along the coast and should be a great experience and comfy since it's all woman - no speedy men to make us feel bad! Ha! So i've been jogging and slowly increasing the length of time i can do. I'm still in the beginner stages but i'm pretty proud of how far i've come. It's getting easier and easier which is something you are told but don't truly believe until it happens. The most difficult part, i'm finding, is making sure i have the TIME to do this jogging.

My runs at the moment are wrapped in a lovely half hour timeslot, but obviously i want to increase that chunk of running which means finding MORE TIME! Can we make the working week shorter, or magically produce some extra hours somehow? How do people do it?!

Also, i'm having some trouble with an ache in my hip joint, so I'm looking into that (Yay for Dr's who run the GNR and understand runners pain is for real!) and hopefully i'll be all clear soon enough, but for now it's ibruprofen and being careful not to overdue it!

So that's my story.....so far!!!

Hibernation?

Perhaps i was hibernating..... i sure put on a few pounds but i haven't had much sleep, ha!

.... it's been a while and now i'm back! Internet access is an important part of blogging for sure, and now that i have it again, let's begin.....

First, some photos from the past few months: good ol' Chicago Style Hotdogs made to perfection, the Chicago bean sculpture thing on a rainy evening, still looking great even on a dreary night - that's fantastic art for ya! A beer had on the 96th floor bar at the Hancock Building, perfect setting for a beer, and some distorted gummi bears, i wish they came in these colors, what flavors would they be.....hmmmm???