Run Santa! RUN!

Lexi and I took part in the The Great Santa Run 5K! We are part of the Guinness World Record for Most Santas in one place!

AND achieved my PR!!!! 33:27

It's ALEXA CLAUSE!

Our noses are RED from the cold 40 degree day!
Come on ride that train...ride it!

Will the real Santa please say HO!

At the Start line with our neighbor, Shellie
The sea of 8000 Santas
We had soo much fun. Next year the whole family is going!

Back on THAT Road Again!

I haven't updated anything in so long!!!

I completed the Disney Half Marathon in September in under my goal time by 3 minutes...woohooo. It was awesome! Unfortunately, I lost my momentum after the race.

I don't know if it's the let down from finishing my giant half-marathon goal from the last year or lack of Anna (my running partner was injured) but I can't seem to get up and just go running. AND I GAINED BACK 9 POUNDS! ARGH!

So I signed myself up for the Turkey Trot 10K Thanksgiving weekend and strapped my running shoes back on yesterday, pressed play on my C25K training again (started on Week 4 and it was TOUGH!) and put myself back out on Sparkpeople.com again!

I hope this gets me back on the road!

DISNEY HALF-MARATHON

Half-Marathon. Check.

Time: 3:12:20 (3 minutes ahead of my real goal and 18 minutes ahead of my loser goal)

Getting Darker, Getting Faster

Like the crazy girl I am, I talked Anna into running the E.T. Midnight 10K with me in Rachel, Nevada-A 2 1/2 hour drive away to a race that starts at 1am for the 10k-ers. So we strapped on our glow necklaces, headlamps, and matching alien green running tops and ran under the full moon. Seriously, I watched a group of coyotes cross the highway ahead of me...creeeeepy!

Even though I was recovering from an injury from our 9 miler 2 weeks before, I made a new personal record! Yea me!

Race Stats:
Placed: 24 out of 40
Distance:10K (even though it was really 6.47miles)
Total time: 1:20:45
Pace: 12:47 min/mile

Anna finished 14th! Way to go girl!!!!

Disneyland is only 4 weeks away!!!!

Bike Seat Rant

What sadistic person created the bicycle seat? It still feels like it is crammed up my tush 12 hours later!

Flush

I have decided to give "cleansing" a try. I have heard so many people talk about all the health benefits from cleansing. But man. My head is throbbing right now! And I have only been drinking the "lemonade" for 10 hours. How will I ever last 10 days?

The potion that I am brewing contains: 2 Tb Lemon Juice, 2 Tb Pure Organic Maple syrup, 1/10 tsp cayenne pepper and water.

Hope it is worth it! I have only had to run to the potty twice so far....

10K Completed!!! WooHooo!!!

Today was the day to up my mileage to 6 miles, so feeling very confident I figured, "Why not do a whole 10K and run 1/4 mile more?" So I did it! I feel great. I love running with Anna. Time and distance just fly by while we chat away!

10K Stats (unfortunately, including my 5 minute walking warm up padded it a little on the slow side):

Distance: 6.27 miles (plus 1 mile = 7.o5 total today)
Time: 1:25'49"
Pace: 13'40"
Calories burned:1064 WOW!

E.T. 10K HERE I COME!

Hotter Than HADES!!!

Seriously? Who signs up with for a race in LAS VEGAS. In SUMMER. Called RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL? The INSANE, that's who! Did I mention I have always been sensitive to the heat? Even suffered heat exhaustion a few times before? What was I thinking? I will never ever ever ever never do that again. I did not find heat exhaustion pleasant. It took six full days for the dehydration, fatigue, and just plain nasty feeling to go away.

But regardless, here are my STATS...pretty crummy, but I think they are amazing considering it was 95 DEGREES with NO SHADE, and UPHILL for a mile and a half. Did I mention I am NEVER doing this again?

5k Chip Time 43:45
Placed: tied with Ms. Anna for 2nd in our age group!!!!
Pace time 14:04

Another Record!

I RAN 5 MILES TODAY! I am e.l.a.t.e.d. I feel good, not winded, not wiped. . .like I can do more. I am getting there...

My Run Info
Distance: 5.1 miles
Pace: 13:10 min/mile
Calories Burned: 695

Next week: Run With The Devil 5K in Lake Mead. My goal: Average pace time under 12 min/mile!

Record Distance!!!

Today Anna and I ran 4 miles! That is my longest distance in one run! I was tired but could probably have gone further. I am so excited!

My Run Info
Distance: 4.1 miles
Pace: 13:33 min/mile
Calories Burned: 569

If only I can get my eating habit under control I could have less weight and move faster...

Nike Plus

I am getting totally frustrated with my NikePlus stuff. I was so excited to be able to track my pace with the little shoe sensor and upload it online. I loved watching the graphs track my progress. I even added the cute little widget to my BLog...but it won't even update now. I keep getting these error messages...make sure your network is connected..blah. blah. blah. It is. Technology makes me grumpy sometimes!

Stop the bus!

I made a
12 min/mile
pace today!

Coached on...

I met with Zoe, a running coach, at Starbucks a few weeks ago. She gave me a bunch of pointers and a plan to get me half-marathon ready by September. I scribbled all this on a Starbucks napkin that I have been shlugging around for weeks now. Really!

Hey! I have an idea....why don't I copy it here and then it won't get lost!

Her tips:

• Read Chi Running (I ordered it and have read some) It has some useful advice!
• "Running is just controlled falling" Lean forward at your ankles!
  
• Run with empty toilet paper rolls to keep hands loose. Graduate to potato chips when I feel I've got it and can run without crushing them
• Arms: elbows back, thumbs up, don't cross mid-section, keep low
• Chin: With hand in thumbs up, rest your fist on your chest. Your thumb should be just touching your chin
• Sprint for 100 steps during long intervals
• Hill work once/week: Run up, walk down a few times. Stay on the balls of your feet and use short strides
  
• Check out for a running coach with Tim Kelly at Village Runner (Roadrunners)
• Get good shoe fit from James Johnston @ Athlete's Foot on W. Sahara. He will know more running coaches to get in touch with on my side of town.

My Plan NOW:

• Continue intervals: Run 12 min/walk 2 min, Run 5 min/walk 2 min (sprint 100 steps in middle of some runs) for 30 min 2/week
  
• Long Run on Saturdays! (See long runs below)
  
• Hill work 1/week
• FOCUS ON WEIGHT LOSS!

The Long Runs: (she called this tapering up to a race, but that term doesn't make sense to me me...doesn't tapering mean getting smaller, not bigger?)

• June 7- 3m
  
• June 14-4m
• June 21st-5m
• June 28th-3m (5k weekend MM)
  
• July 5th-6m
• July 12th-3m (MagicMile)
  
• July 19th-7m
• July 26th-4m (MM)
  
• Aug. 2nd-8m
• Aug. 9th-5m (10K weekend MM)
  
• Aug. 16th-10m
  
• Aug. 23rd-12m
• Aug. 30th- 8m
• SEPTEMBER 6TH-HALF-MARATHON-13.1m

*Edited schedule on 6/4/09 to use MM from Jeff Galloways's training site that uses the run/walk approach that often use. Run 2min/walk 1min/repeat :)

WARNING: IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING!

My running coach asked me to take a photo of myself in a tank top & bike shorts every six weeks. To which I replied..."I don't own bike shorts (eewww)". She made me reconsider and take a trip to Ross for the benefit of seeing is believing. Since the weight isn't changing much these days, it feels good to see the difference.

Mar. 29, 2009

May 21, 2009

What do ya think?

I'm shrinking...check that waist compared to my last post!

My Boot Camp tour has ended and I was actually sad to not have to get up at 4:30 am to drag by butt to Southern Highlands. Instead I now put myself up for ridicule and abuse from my fellow teacher friends if I don't show up at the gym. This method was working well until the overindulge myself "Mother's Day (Uh hum...WEEKEND) Bender". Yowsers!

I am on a serious weightloss mission for the rest of May. In June, the "real" training for my Disney Half-Marathon begins.

Has anyone ever done a cleanse while running and working out? It doesn't sound like it would be healthy...What do ya think?

Boot Camp Warrior Challenge

(I'm too sexy for this t-shirt, right?)

So I have been going to Boot Camp for three weeks now. Totally excited that I can do 6 whole push ups (on my toes, touch my nose) when I couldn't even do a single one three weeks ago!

Once a month Boot Campers have these warrior challenges. It was fun! We did a team relay..my part - hitting a tire with a sledge hammer. Way harder than it looks!!!! But now I have mad sledgehammer skills!

Things I WILL Eventually Be Able To Do:

1. Climb a wall (and maybe go over it)

2. Jump a hurtle the real way
Translation: NOT scream and fall on it...oops!

3. Rope climb (BTW hanging doesn't count as climbing)

Ran Away with the Circus!

Today I improved my 5K time by another whole minute! It was hot, I was tired, but I plowed threw at the end to get to that finish line. I am proud of myself. New record time is 38:43.2 minutes!

New pace time: 12.27min/mile! Hooray!

My best running buddy! She can push me!!!

That's me in the middle! I am kicking a*# at the end to beat my time!

I'm an OX!

Alarm set for 4:05, gym clothes layed out in the closet. I was ready to go! Pumped!

I survived my first day at Boot Camp and it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was worse! We started out running around the entire park wearing weight vests, followed by push ups, jumping jacks and then another lap in our vests! Fun.

If that wasn't fun enough, I also carried a log while lunging and squatting up and down a hill. I even got to pull a tire up and down a hill with a partner! WooHoo! I AM AN OX!

I wonder what tomorrow will have in store?

Like a PIG!

Sweating.

Today, I dragged my friend Beth along with me to give Bikram Yoga (AKA "Fire Yoga" according to wikipedia) a try. I should explain that I had walked in to check it out about a year ago and found out that it is yoga in a 105 degree room, no thanks...

Yet here I was, attempting it anyway. I am a desert rat. I can handle the heat, NOT!!!! I was dripping wet after two minutes. I could feel sweat dripping down my scalp, in my ears, and other unmentionable places. It was probably the most uncomfortable 90 minutes (YES, 90 minutes) of my life. The heat was oozing out of the rubber mat floors along with the stench of mildewed sweat from who knows who? What was I thinking?

Updates...Boot Camp & C25K

A few updates since I have been neglecting this blog since the "plateau"

• I am on Week Five of Couch to 5k. Hooray!
• I am "Running Away with Curque du Sleleil" next Saturday at the Spring's Preserve 5K.
• Yesterday I ran 40 minutes and did a body pump class! That chick was killer!
• I signed up for Boot Camp starting on Monday. Yoowwwch!
• Weight still stuck @ the plateau. A week of South Beach didn't even break it. Maybe Boot Camp will!?!

Race For the Cure

BOTH of my grandmothers have suffered from breast cancer. I pray that a cure is found before my daughters have to live with this disease! I am running the Race For The Cure again this year. Every step counts!!!

CLICK HERE to pledge your support for my run.

CLICK HERE to register to run with my family and I in Las Vegas on May 2nd.

In Record Time

I finished today's Fat Boy 5K in 40.01 minutes. Pace time = 13 min/mile. Much improved. Yea me! I didn't have to worry about the slowpoke bus picking up today (even though there actually wasn't one). At the end of the race they handed out donuts, beer, and giant sausages. Hysterical. I grabbed a donut (I'm a diet cheater) and a coke and stretched out, whew!

I have to rant for one small moment though. Tall people should NEVER ever stand in front of the time display. Had that giant bald head not blocked the time, I swear I would have pushed myself to have a 39 second time!!! Argh! Oh well, something to look forward to next time.

CLICK HERE FOR RACE RESULTS and I wasn't even last!

There's a Read & Run 5K next Saturday that I am thinking about doing...

Fat Boy 5K

I registered for The Fat Boy 5K (uhh, BOY? sexist?) just because it made me laugh that my larger sized body can give me an advantage! You weigh in (scary) and they subtract your weight from your race time. Holy cow! I'd have a chance at placing!!! It's this Saturday and I am itching to put that little electronic time keeper on my shoe. That thing makes me run faster, don't know why??? Wish me luck!

P.S. I need to get out my mouse ears! I AM officially registered for the Disneyland Half Marathon!

Put My $$$ Where My Mouth Is

I need to refocus! I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK!

Move more, eat less!

I am putting my money where my mouth is and registering for the race. So I am registering for the Disneyland half-marathon TODAY. That's $120 commitment. K? B? H??? (or maybe the 5k which is only a $40 commitment and minus the fear of being picked up by the "You are too damn slow!" bus)

So that's for the "move more", what about the eat less? I was doing so great and then it was my anniversary, birthday, Valentines, vacation. I am a walking excuse! No more. I am starting today ~ as soon as I go get some groceries ~ as soon as I decided my dieting path. South Beach? Sparkpeople? Or Weight Watchers? Too many decisions! Could someone just make them for me please? Here's the deal.

South Beach

Pros:

• No counting points or calories (or logging food)
  
• I can eat CHEESE galore (I LOVE CHEESE)
  
• I get results fast!
• The "no cheating" allowed or you did-it-for-nothing clause provides for great self-control on my part
• It's free of meetings/ fees

Cons:

• Fast loss= fast gain
• No carbs, frozen meals (Ya'll know I love cake & bread, right?)
  
• No alcohol
  
• Hard to accommodate at parties and eating out (and we all know I like to parTAY)
• Expensive to eat this way (meats, cheese, and veggies only)
  
• 4th Day headaches and low energy make running difficult

Pros:

• It's totally FREE!
• It's a gradual switch to basically a healthier life style ~which is what I want
• No foods are off limits
• Factors my exercise in with how much I am allowed to eat. Move more= Eat more
  
• Tracks other healthy needs besides calories: fat, vitamins, fiber, cholesterol, etc. so I move to balancing my needs. Sounds super healthy, right?
  
• Support from strangers on message boards...a little weird, but if my friends joined wouldn't be so weird.
  

Cons:

• Must log ALL foods
  
• I have been known to cheat, but still lose weight. Oops! I forgot to log that bite, does it count?
  
• No local friend support or accountability
  
• I really need the "buddy system" for anything to work

Weight Watchers

Pros:

• No foods are off limits, just have to eat more "0 point" food (veggies) to compensate for crap food.
  
• Factors my exercise in with how much I am allowed to eat. Move more = Eat more
  
• Weigh in meetings provide somewhat motivational tips but I am with Jen Lancaster (Such A Pretty Fat ~ hysterical memoir, read it!) in that there is entirely too much complaining about cake!
• Accountability at weekly weigh ins
  

Cons:

• Must log ALL foods (No forgetting allowed)
  
• No one I know to do this with me.
  
• Again....I really need the "buddy system" for anything to work
• Again....Super boring meeting in which ladies whine about cake at work!
• Online tools are expensive =$65 for 3months plus $16/month after
  

So scrolling back up again it looks like Sparkpeople is the only one whose pros outweigh the cons but it still has a GIANT CON: no friend accountability. What do you guys think? I NEED FEEDBACK in this one, like immediately, so I can hit the grocery store. My cupboards are bare = I don't want to do fast food again! Oh, and I promised Stephen I'd go shopping today, only I can't until I (you) make up my mind about which diet food to stock....HELP!!!

I'm a LOSER!

Finally under 190 pounds for the first time in I don't know how long! I am leaving 190-ville!


All this hard work is paying off!
(I didn't run yesterday morning b/c of a super early Ortho appt. for Lex. I am going to make it up by killing my calves skiing Saturday. I know...excuses, excuses)

Why Pie is Not the Answer

One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life
Makes Her Ass Look Big
Such a Pretty Fat
Seriously, Another Memoir
or
Why Pie Is Not the Answer

is the title of the book I am currently reading
by Jen Lancaster

Losing My Pants

My foot is healed, my ipod's working, it's a good day for running!

Exciting news: I had to hold up my pants while I ran. I lost 1 1/2 inches from my waist the last two weeks and an inch from my hips. Yea!

Also: I am 20 pounds lighter than I was at this time last year. Hurray!

C25K Week 2 Day 1: DONE!

Life is good.

Freak Accident

No running this week due to a freak accident during a fire drill with a small white board and a pencil??? My foot hurts-it's ugly, bruised, swollen, and incapable of wearing running shoes. So sad. (and that's not sarcasm)

Perseverance

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us

(Hebrews 12:1)

Lessons Learned

In two days running, literally, I have learned a few lessons:

*Testing black ice while running is bad! If it looks like it might be ice - accept that it probably is.
*Take your inhaler with you when you run
*I must have 7 hours sleep the night before
*Morning run = complements from others all day long (must produce a healthy glow?)

C25K Week 1 Day 2 = DONE!

Ouch.

I hurt.

Will she or won't she get up to run her promised Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday schedule?

Experiencing Technical Difficulty

I woke up at 5am, went downstairs to take my "special vitamins", ate a spoonful of peanut butter, and downed a glass of water.

I have to take the "vitamins" first so they can kick in when I leave.

It was a balmy 28 degrees outside so back upstairs I went to dig out the thermals. I was all layered up, complete with beanie and mittens. I think the stairs and hunting was almost exercise enough at 5am!

I grabbed the ipod I had readied this weekend and was set to go - NOT!

I left my ipod at work so I quickly load up aforementioned playlists on Stephen's ipod.

Ready. Set. Go.

Start Chubby Jones Podcast. Warm-up walk 5 1/2 minutes. Where was that count down to run? Crap! I was listening to the wrong podcast. Can't get the menu to work and take a few minutes to discover you have to take mittens off to operate the ipod. (Did you know that?) Where was week 1? Week one wasn't downloaded......aarrgh! So on to week 2.

I am pleased to say I began again with week 2's program, almost. On the last run I pooped out at the 30 second mark. But it's DONE!

Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 1- Completed

ipod ready? Check.

Last time around I used the Podrunner Podcasts to help me get moving into interval training. While it worked all right, since I really truly am not a big fan of techno, I have finally created my own playlists for this time around. I used advice from Dan's Running Blog to get me started. My current playlist consists of dings for running/walking intervals with this music for week 1:

*Let's Dance - Miley Cyrus (it's from my daughter's CD but it really gets me moving)
*When I Grow Up - The Pussycat Dolls
*Behind these Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson
*Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas
*Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
*Smack That - Akron featuring Eminem
*Sexyback - Justin Timberlake
*Boombastic - Shaggy

I am trying to figure out how to get Audacity to work so the dings won't interrupt my music...but I can't seem to get it right. Guess it will give me something else to look forward to figuring out as I advance through each week???

Just in case I also found The Chubby Jones C25K podcast on itunes. If my playlists doesn't cut it, hers are the next best thing!

Tomorrow C25K (or Tuesday anyway)

I always have the "I'll start tomorrow" thing going on. But for reals. I am. Or Tuesday at least. Since my goal is to run the Disney Half Marathon (or 5k maybe?) in September I better get my butt in gear!

So I am committing to following Cool Running's Couch to 5k (aka C25K) plan to get my ass off the sofa (actually the computer chair) and start running away the pounds.