Busy Life

The Penalty for waking up Grandma at 6:00 am. His first 5k walk!


Yesterday 3 mile run (in the middle of the afternoon no less) granted it was on the treadmill but that I actually followed thru with a missed morning workout was amazing! Then 8 mile bike ride in the evening. As you may or may not know, my daughter in law had open heart surgery a month ago. She has had a rough recovery but hopefully is on the mend. This week I took a vacation week to give her sister a break. Her sister has been absolutely fabulous coming over every day to help take care of Nat and the baby. I have been going over on Tuesday and Friday mornings which means no morning workout...which equals flabby thighs and tummy. Today my plan is to swim after I leave their house today. Tomorrow morning her sister will be coming in the morning so I don't miss my climate run and I need to go get my drivers license reviewed.





Lessons I have learned:





After the mini do not get pumped up and do even more workouts then normal. I did this because I was suffering from the mini high...now I am paying for it with sore knees. I am having to ice, wrap, and stretch because the hog jog is coming up and I don't want to miss it.





Babies do not care if you are tired when they wake up when it is time to get up it is time to get up (you would think I would remember that after 3 children...but the memory fades).....and they do it so cute how can you not get up. I made the BIG error of bringing Adam to bed with me at 3:00 am. At 6:00 am he stuck his little face in mine and when I ignored him he pulled himself up on me....by my hair. Okay so I was awake at that point. He had coffee with Grandma then he did a 5K walk. Matter of fact he took total walks over the weekend of 6 miles....go Adam!



Tyson: Has informed me he wants to do the Mini when he is 12 and he needs to start training. This should be interesting as he hates running. However, I have done and will do the Mini for 2008, his paternal Grandma said she is doing the mini now, and his uncle and brother will be doing it next year...so Ty has the Mini fever. He has asked me to start coming over to take him for little runs...I will keep you posted. I advised him that it is hot, sweaty and hard to run...he says he does not care...so Tyson get ready.....

Oops time to get to Nat's...will post more later...suffice to say...I need to get some hard workouts in because the Hog Jog is right around the corner.

Mini Pictures

A picture of a picture of the mini...don't ask me why.


My after mini ride back to Lafayette. Good thing I wasn't driving.

This is how crappy somebody looks after running 13 miles. Jerry would not let me wear my medal to church despite my pleas.

Look how tired and happy I look. My friend Leo is the tall gentleman in the dark blue running next to the crowd.


Yes, while I am out running the mini...this is what my family is doing.

Long Promised

Adam giggling. He must have a secret. NOTICE the hair growth!

Hanging out the Uncle James and Aunt Tasha

A triathelete in the making. He can swim, he can bike...now he's gotta run.

Adam says, "Come in Carissa spring me from this contraption Grandma keeps putting me in".

Only the real cool grandmas do this.

Grandma and Carissa getting ready for a swing

A Little Light on the Workouts/Ended with a Bang

Last weekend was a grandchildren packed weekend. My little guy spent Friday night and Saturday day with us. He was initiated into the world of garage sales and he did GREAT! He hung out with Grandma and Aunt Tasha all morning! He did not start getting cranky until about 12:30 when we went to the grocery store. So to be out from 8:00 am to 1:00 being carted around without being in the least bit cranky was awesome. I did find that it is very hard to hold a baby and push a full shopping cart...I guess my big honking biceps come in handy.

Monday: 4 miles and power hour....no evening exercise...spent time with grandchildren

Tuesday: Watched my grandchildren in the morning ( my daughter in law had surgery and needs a little help with the children till she is recovered), nothing in the evening due to rain.

Wed. Lifted and Swam.

Thursday: 5 mile climate run...56 minutes, 1 1/2 mile walk in the afternoon

Friday: nothing in the morning (grandchildren), 1 1/2 mile walk in the afternoon, nothing in the evening due to being grouchy.

Saturday: Dejunked my upstairs room because I have been promising my husband I would do it "after the mini". It took all day but you can now walk thru the room and the Goodwill received my unwanted junk

Sunday: I hope to do 5-6 miles this morning and if I don't take my granddaughter to Aunt Hee Hee's picnic will ride my bike there.

I AM BACK....HA did 6.05 miles in 67 minutes...averagepace per calculator 11.4 per mile. whoooo hoooo but no wonder I felt like crap at the end....the end was puke mountain.....thought for sure I wasn't going to make it...but no stopping up the hill....chugged up it like our old Dodge Ram use to then did a slow jog cool down around my block to make my total of 6.05! Finished my run...ate some breakfast and off to church.
Home from church, over to Aunt Hee Hee's for Amanda to tell us all the good news that she is expecting a baby! Congrats Amanda and Roger!
Back to church in the evening...biked there and back for total biking miles on Sunday of 6 miles.
Found that with biking to church I was able to stay away all thru the Sermon...I think I might be on to something...stationary bikes for worship!
Time to go to power hour...I am not slacking on the workouts like I did this last week...since I can't work out Tuesday morning. I am going to drag my tired butt to the Y after work. I'll update you all on the results of THAT!
Have a great day!

My Head Doth Explodeth!

Good day I say!
1: Awesome Climate Run...setting a personal best for Kimmie 5 miles in under an hour! Go Kim Go! Leo said 54.? . I hope he is right and his little gadget is not broken! If so don't tell me!
2: Got Kudos from the Powers that Be at Work!
3: Got told that my pants were getting baggy!
I am now very full of myself and intolerable to be around. By the time I left work my head was so big I could barely make it thru the elevator doors and now my neck hurts because the strain of holding up my big head has been exhausting.
Totals for today: Ran 5, walked 1 1/4, Biked 6 1/2 and did a little lifting.

This weekend is mother's day...so I am ready....Children, Grandchildren....I am ready to be adored and cherished and treated as a queen (something I most certainly deserve on account of my wonderfulness).

I will be posting pictures soon. I have some incredible cute ones to post!

Upcoming events: Amber will be in a show this weekend. You can buy tickets at the door on Saturday night! Grandma Mae arrives June 7 and will stay thru Tuesday! Save some time for Grandma Mae! I will be taking off Friday and 1/2 day on Monday. Aunt Denise will be off 1/2 on Thursday. Hog Jog 10k for Me on June 14? Zoo run 5k in July, and the Kossuth Street 5k in July, Grandma and Grandpa Kaufman in Michigan will be having their 40th anniversary.
Birthdays (May/June/July): Amanda, Amber, Grandma Casey, Grandma Mae, Grandma Sue, Natasha (in alpha order).
July 4th (fireworks at my house, carryin lunch/dinner).

That's all for now folks!
Quote of the day, "I am loser tee hee tee hee" I can't really explain this but it was funny as heck and you just had to be there....spoken by Jill in reference to my self disparaging persona.

Mini Magic

Okay I have determined that either A)I did not work hard enough at the Mini or B) There has been some major mini vodoo magic going on. Other then Saturday of the mini (when I fell asleep in the van on the way home and then got in the door and took a 2 hour nap) I have felt all kinds of energy. Sunday got up at 6:00 am went to the grocery store, returned home by 7:30 am to take a shower, eat breakfast and get ready for church, returned home from church watched not one but two grandchildren (and a great time it was!), then returned one grandchild home, kept one to take to church with me, went to evening service, returned home, played with the remaining grandchild till his mommy and daddy returned home around 9 ish. Monday, started a little sluggish, half heartedly walk/ran 1 mile, half heartedly did ab work, then by the time I got to work the energy kicked in...went for a mile walk on my lunch break, came home ate dinner then went on a 6 mile bike ride. Tuesday got up did a little lifting, ran 3 miles (at my fastest time in quite awhile! and I could have run further!), came home after work took a 6 1/2 mile bike ride (and picked a route with two killer hills), took Baby Adam for about a 3/4 mile walk, came home packed my lunch and got ready for tomorrow...now I am blogging. I thought after the mini I would be worthless for a week but I feel pretty good...the real test will be the climate run on Thursday! If I make it then I know I am stronger! Okay better get to bed...no use pushing the envelope....

I FINISHED WITH A SMILE

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! I would jump up and down but my knees are stiff. It was incredible and painful and I am doing it again next year. Mile 1-5 felt pretty good. I could breathe, nothing really hurt and my 5 mile was like 1:01 which is about average for me now. Suprisingly no real problem controlling my breathing...oh and side note I ran with NO MUSIC. After much encouragement to just enjoy and relish the experience. I left my headphones in the car. Headphones to me are like a pacifer to a baby! So it was a tough call to leave them behind. I did not regret it until the last mile and looking back I think even if I had them it would be unlikely they would have helped. The track miles were horrendously tedious. Nothing to look at but track and other tortured souls. My husband asked if I kissed the brick. I told him there could be no brick kissing because I would have probably laid down and taken a nap. Every once in a while I would glance over to the sidelines at the track to see the perky young teenage cheerleaders cheering for us. The cheer I liked the most was when they said something like "walk it run it we don't care" and then something about just doing it. I was in my "Kim far away zone" at that point... its the same look I get when I am on the treadmill or my Thursday runs. Any way I just walked thru the water breaks up to that point. After the track it started to get rough. That was right in the 8-9 mile part. It was very helpful that Leo marked it for me in Lafayette miles. He would be like okay we're at the 4th Street hill mark on our Thursday run. Then he would say okay were at Teal Road. That really kept me from panicking! The last couple miles I had to walk some because my legs felt like lead. Strange though...the breathing that has been an ongoing problem for me was not a problem today....The last 1/2 miles was very rough then the last 1/4 mile all I remember is I was smiling and thinking "I am gonna finish..I gonna finish", I could see the finish line and they called my name over the loud speaker! I had to ask Leo is that our finish...because I could not believe I was finally there. I felt like bursting into tears when I crossed under. I am so happy that my friends encouraged and encouraged me to do this...because this I was filled with this incredible feeling of joy! Next year my goal is 2:40 and I will not start in Corral V.

Highlights:

Dinner the night before: Hooked up at PF Changs with Leo, Maggie, Jeff, Karen, Glenn and two other couples that I can't remember their names. I think one was Leo's nephew....I am tired right not I can't hardly think....Good food and excellent company!


Stay girl stay: Leo parks me in the corral. Points to a spot tells me to stand right there while he goes to the back to give something to his nephew in a back corral..yes there were just a few corrals behind us. I see Dana, Mike and Cathy they wave and yell. I run over to them all excited to see my friends. I get hugs and well wishes! OH NO I have let my spot. When I look over Leo has returned and is standing in the spot shaking his head! I bid Danna, Mike, Kathy and Russ farewell, asked Danna and Kathy to please drag me to the finish line if I collapse (and to please make sure my shirt stays down to retain my modesty) and high tail it back to my spot with explanation as to why I strayed. Hahahahahaha

I was not looking around at the start of the mini just walking to the start line staring ahead, trying to decide what on earth was the matter with my brain for signing up and I glance over and there was my family! I was so excited to see them.

My shirt: I had several people comment on my fat picture on my shirt and it was most encouraging and made me not want to quit. Thank you to Rebecca for coming up with my logo!

The bands were great on the sidelines! I heard some Guns and Roses, Mellencamp, Poison, Areosmith...all the music that makes a girl of the 80's happy. We did hear one band and ohhhhh they were horrible.

I was advised by Leo at the beginning there would be lots of hooting and hollering and laughter but after the track it would be silent just the slapping of shoes on the pavement. It was true! No laughter, no hooting, no hollering...just slap slap slap...it was very strange.

Silence of the Kim: Few words were spoken by Kim on account of I had to concentrate. But my friends are use to that...they know when I am done I will make up for the running silence. Maybe someday I too will be able to chatter! I think this is the longest stretch I have gone with out talking aside from my dental surgeries.

Big Girls Galore: I found my big girls. I was content.

My family: I love you so very much and am the most blessed woman in the world for having you! Thank you for all your love and support. Especially thank you to my husband who has put up with my training for months and months and listening to me rattle on about my corns and callouses (yes Honey I am gonna get that pedicure). And putting up with my early to bed early to rise schedule. Thank you Kendra for doing dog duty...thank you Tasha and James for sleeping on the fold out so I could sleep in the nice cushy hotel bed and thank you Jerry, James and Tasha for sitting for hours waiting for me to finish!

Proud of all my Y Friends. I am beaming with pride for all my Y friends! I love each and every one of you and you have greatly enriched my life! Thank you for encouraging me to be all that I can be!

Giant Dessert: On the way home from Indy we stopped to eat and I had a giant dessert and then felt sick sick sick. A couple of times I thought I was going to have to ask Jamie to pull the van over but I paid 5.00 for that dessert and I did not want to waste it by throwing it up. FYI: try the blonde brownie from Applebees....

Things I have Gained/Learned from the Mini:
Gross Item: If you are constipated...run a mini!
Thursday climate runs do pay off.
I will not die after doing 13.1 miles
10k's no longer scare me. I might still be last but the distance no longer scares me.
I wanna do another...not anytime soon though...but I am gonna work my butt of this summer and get stronger.

Random Thought while doing the Mini: Every time I saw a pit stop I kept thinking "This is just like in Georgia and Florida when you see all those Stops that sell the Oranges and Pecans" I think this thought might have been oxygen deprivation or dehyrdration induced.

Scary moment: After the finish I went to go to the bathroom (see Gross Item above) and then I started to get dizzy and bleck feeling. My blood sugar went bump so I had to sit down...hoping I could hold off on that bathroom issue...and eat some jelly beans. It took a minute to get my brain wrapped around that I had to get the jelly beans out of my pocket and into my mouth and about 7 minutes to recover and then I was as right as rain! I kept looking around thinking boy I wish my family was here because I really don't feel good and that I should have had someone at the finish have my meter. Next time I will eat some jelly beans at the last 5k mark.
Okay that is all for now cause I am tired. My son has my finish on video and he is putting it on his blog. I will let you all know when it is up so you can see what pain/happiness looks like!
Signed
13.1 miles and happy!

I am gonna make a great looking Corpse

Am I ready for the Mini?

Maps generated
Suitcase mostly packed (spending the night in Indy tomorrow)
Fat Girl Tee Shirt Ready ( made a shirt with my fat picture on it and the logo "One More Reason to Run")
Lucky food packed (peanut butter and honey)
Lucky socks packed
Lucky Sports Bra currently in the washer ready to go in the dryer
Lucky Shorts...packed (are you starting to see the trend....I don't have skill so gotta have luck)
Hair Colored..........why did I need to get my hair colored and cut? cause when I sweat all my gray roots stand out and because I wanna look great in my casket after I keel over dead 20 feet from the finish line. If someone sees me laying on the ground please roll my corpse to the finish line so I do not get a DNF.
So I guess that means I am ready for the mini (that is once I get my lucky bra packed).

Current Mood: Slightly panicked. I did feel a little light headed for a few minutes when I saw the mini coupe but I managed to overcome it by thinking thoughts of non mini things.

Quote of the day: Kathleen my hairdresser, "Color by Kathleen, Body by the YMCA". Said upon my quip that she should put an advertisment on my shirt for the mini.

Mini Meltdown

Every time I think if the mini I feel faint. For that matter every time I hear the word mini I feel faint. Seeing mini things makes me feel faint. I almost sure the stress and fear prior to the mini is going to kill me. I am scared for the following reasons:

I won't be able to keep up with Leo
I will have to walk more then run
2 burly men will exit the slow bus and grab me and forcibly shove me into the "You ain't moving fast enough" bus.
It will be hot
I will have to walk.I will have to walk I will have to walk. I dont wanna walk. I guess after writing this I have my fear narrowed down to fear of failure....I think walking is failure...therefore I will fail because there is no possible way I can run the whole thing. Okay what happened to my I am going to walk/run the mini and be proud of it? Ahhhgggggggggg
Time to go do my 3 mile run.....

11.33 miles

Today, despite being tired and unmotivated and dehydrated I drug my rear out of bed for a run. The first half was very strong only 3 1 minute water breaks and then somewhere around mile 7 I lost it. I ran out of water, I was thirsty so thirsty (my own fault I only took about 8 ounces of water with me). Managed to get in 11.33 miles average pace of 13.3 minutes per mile. The last mile was mostly walking with my tongue hanging out of my mouth but I finished. I really think for long runs I need to have someone with me to help me keep a slow steady pace. So after the mini I will be begging one of the climate run teams to go on longish runs with me 6-8 miles on Saturday or early Sunday morning! It is lonely running that long by myself...its not that I want to talk but I just want someone there. Maybe I should get a dog...no a dog is too fast that would kill me.
During this run: I was thirsty, tired, my music was driving me crazy, I wanted to hear it then I didn't (headphones off, headphones on...over and over and over), my cell phone (in my pocket) banged against my quad and gave me a little bruise, my foot hurt, my knee hurt, my head hurt. I ran past someone's little yard pond, thought about sitting in it, decided they would call the police if they saw a middle aged sweaty woman with headphones sitting in their pond. Ran past burger king, thought the smell would make me puke. People kept staring at me. I wanted to scream at them "Hey can't you see I am striving for health and fitness" "Fat girls need exercise too!" Chanted to myself "I am never doing another mini again" Told the FAST runner that went past me that I was too fat and old to do this. He smiled gave me a thumbs up...I wanted to break his thumb off and slap the smile off of his face, but he was going to fast. At mile 9 thought about calling my daughter to pick me up. Mile 10 started to cry and whine and moan outloud. Mile 11 began to believe I was actually going to make it (by this time my running had become a walking/very little running). However, the "I am never doing another mini chant" became louder and faster in my head. Final.25 mile wondered why on the eath I was doing this and wondered how much I could get off ebay for my mini entry and hotel room, and also wondered why I didn't cut thru VP drive to get home faster. I see my house give one final groan of pain and sprinted toward my steps. Final Destination (home) began to think about how to improve next years training.

GI BABY

Baby Adam is now 7 months old and he is army crawling all over the place. However, he will scream at you if you do the following: continue to move the item he is crawling for over and over and over...he is smart...he knows we are messing with him.

Jerry and I bought new bikes last night...alas they are not nice bikes just a level above the cheap cheap bikes...but it is a bike none the less. We are looking forward to getting some rides in. Hopefully I will find a bike buggy this summer at yard sales so I can take Adam for a ride! I get tired and bored with walking at night so biking will be a nice change. I don't think I have had a new bike since I was a kid.

Running: 5 miles on Thursday, again, I hope not to jinx myself, but I actually enjoyed it more then it hurt (not alot mind you). No stopping and I went so much faster up 4th Street Hill...slow compared to other people but very fast for me! Probably the fastest ever! This summer I am going to work work work so at least I don't hold people up! My mini panic has set in. I think I am nuts and they don't let you WEAR HEADSETS! So this Saturday I am going to try to run without my headset...okay maybe it will be in my pocket but Iam gonna try not to use it.

Scales: Tra LA LA and the scales have been moving in a downward direction....yeah! I am within spitting distance of hitting my first mini goal...matter of fact I may spit and reweigh....perhaps that little bit of saliva will push me back!

Question of the Day: "Do you run naked" No that was NOT a question as to whether I have been running up 4th street hill in all my naked glory but rather a question about whether I eat before I run. Question by Karen. The answers are No and Yes, in no particular order. I will leave you to figure out the order. Hint: There have not been floods of people exiting the town in a panic. The Eye Doctors (yes I can't spell the real term this early in the a.m.) have not been overbooked due to a rise in sudden blindness....hope that helps.

Gnawing My Arm Off

I am making a valiant effort to lose 20 pounds. So far 5 down and not one but two people noticed! Now that is a morale booster. One person mentions in then you think yeah right who can tell, but two people...now that is validation...go Kimmie! However, the side effect of attempting to lose weight is an unending hunger. I am so hungry I could gnaw my arm off...except for I got one big honking bicep and I think it might be a little stringy and tough. I woke up in the middle of the night starving and just had to lay in bed because I HAD enough to eat at dinner and there was no reason for me to eat anything else. So I laid in bed and counted the hours till I could get up and have a cup of carb controlled hot chocolate...very little fat, trace sugar.... but very yummy. These are the following changes I have made to try to shed some of my fatness....keep in mind...small changes...because I am already suffering in my yummy food deprived life: Red Meat once a week...fish, chicken and pork the rest, gave up my whipped cream on my sugar free pudding, make my sugar free pudding with 1 cup of skim milk and 1 cup of water (instead of 2 cups milk), count my pretzels for snacks..I get 25 mini pretzels (20 is a serving but I really love pretzels), not eating my weight in desserts on the weekends, avoiding multiple dining out experiences on the weekend, No bacon at all during the weekdays...Wed is always eggs and bacon night...I have eggs and whole wheat pasta and vegtables, No more graham crackers, resumed afternoon walks at work, and finally I do not go back for mulitple helpings of meat under the "I need protein to make me run faster theory" (this theory has been proven utterly useless but I still insisted on standing by it!)Those are my changes and while they are not much I am grateful that the scales have gone down 5 pounds and am anxious to see the other pounds follow behind it.
Signing off
Food Deprived and Suffering!
SOS: I need a cookie!

Daytime Victory

Yesterday 7.23 mile mostly running and 2.65 walk. Well this weekend I had every intention of doing a long run. However, the IRS stood firmly in the middle of my path. Taxes are due tomorrow (due to today being emancipation day) but my taxes were not completed. In fact they were not started, not my 2007 quarterly or my 2006 personal. I knew that if I waited till after my long run then I would be too tired and worn out. If I did them before it is likely I would bale on my long run...which is exactly what happened. So Sunday morning I got up, realized my check book at 100 + error and I had bills to pay...again long run first then too tired to do my financials or financials then risk not getting my long run in because I will get drowsy in church and be to tired to go later. I had every intention of leaving right after church, took my clothes and everything, but when I got out I was overcome with this almost like hangover type of exhaustion ( I call it my sitting in church syndrome)so I opted for coming home and napping. I napped for an hour and a half then decided I had to get my slacker rear up and if nothing else go for a long walk. Well I got out and started feeling better so I was able to do 7.23 mile run which was mostly running. I even, on my own choice, came up 4th street hill to come home. I MADE IT UP IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! The hill is NOT easier in the daylight! I thought it might be, but it looked just as horribly long in the daylight as it does at 5:30 in the morning. So anyway I got home, took a 15 minute bath, then immediatly hoofed it to church which was how I got my 2.65 mile walk in. I was suppose to walk home too but they had a VBS meeting that went till 8:00 and so by that time I was starving for dinner so did not think I could wait to eat till I walked home. This morning, due to my late afternoon run and walk, I am kinda stiff so I think I will hit the water.
Saturday night: Baby Adam went to his first Miller Carnival. He had a great time. He won the cake walk two times, won two prizes in the kids raffle, I won 15 worth of movie gift certificates and free popcorn and drink coupons, a golf shirt, and a blue ink pin. We were there for around 2 1/2 hours, then we trooped back to my house to have Chili, german chocolate cupcakes, and the turnovers that Baby Adam won in the cake walk.

Accomplished this weekend: 2006 Taxes, 2007 quarterly taxes, Miller School Carnival, a little laundry done, Checkbook Error found and corrected, Bills paid, Filing done, Grocery shopping done, church attended...so I guess I had a pretty good and busy weekend.
Oops once again late to swimming!

Beginning Meltdown

Yesterday I got in the mail: MY MINI CONFIRMATION BOOKLET. I held it in my hand and there was no panic. Until I opened the booklet and begin to read. 13.1 miles what was I thinking? Am I insane? There was information on first aid stations, hydration stations, what to do in case of emergencies both human and weather, how to find you family amid thousands and thousands of people. It also included the dire results of losing your mini confirmation book, starting the mini early, losing your chip AND going slower then the required pace of 18 minutes per mile. By the time I was done reading my booklet I was feeling faint (good thing I was in bed in my pjs), I felt like I was going to puke and I had a desire to flee far far away from Indy. So now I am having some SERIOUS doubts. Not even the lure of free cookies and country music at the end of the route has made my terror abate.

Tax Meltdown: I finished our personal taxes from 2006. They are ready to sign and insert my check for payment because evidently claiming 0 all year long is not adequate to cover my tax liability. Uncle Sam wants me, no demands me, to deplete my meger savings to give him more money so our Congressmen, Senators, and the President can live like kings and dine on exotic foods and expensive wines, while I live in the middle of gang territory and eat generic hotdogs. No..just kidding... I know my money goes for good....like studies of the mating habits of Honey Bees..... So now that the personal taxes our done I have begun our first quarter 2007 taxes. After staring at the Estimated Tax Worksheet I have decided that my brain hurt and I went to a tax site and found tax software that will do all the thinking for me. I just have to data entry.
Runs: 3.25 miles on Tuesday...pretty good..no stopping...last mile was by far the fastest (don't be impressed I don't go that fast in the beginning!) 5 miles on Thursday and it felt...dare I say it...not as painful.... no stopping.....I did not struggle with my breathing as much...wasn't any faster but I could actually breath during portions of this run and was able to occasionally burst furth with a sentence or two. I am mostly a silent on my five miles...I can either breath or talk but am incapable of doing both. I am constantly amazed by those that can chatter way during their runs...oh and really really jealous.

Okay off to the Y for Power Hour. I was gonna swim but I have swam the last couple of weeks and I am starting to feel like sponge bob. I think if someone hugs me I am gonna squirt water out of every pore.
Long Run/Walk this weekend. Wish me luck! There will be no gatorade.....

ANNOYING ISSUES and DAMAGE I HAVE DONE

It is true. I am a walking Shleprock and I have PMS misery:

1) Burnt popcorn at work so that our entire office reeked and people kept asking what was that smell.
2) Been canceled by my homeowners insurance due to our being the victim of vandalism
3) Been denied by companies because of my vandalism claim
4)Possible lost a parking permit (that does not belong to me) (not sure if I lost it or it was never given to me). I had to go up and beg a replacement before the person I borrowed it from gets back in town...but not even sure if she even gave it to me or we just talked about it....grrrrr
5)Got pulled over by the police for speeding...though I did not get a ticket but a stern talking too.
6) Was publicly humilated by being pulled over as it was on 4th Street and numerous people I knew saw me and passed the word around.
7) When getting pulled over told the police that my purse was in my trunk...so had to open my trunk...which then everyone that passed me thought my car was getting searched
8) Had to have baked potato while my husband had bacon. This cause alot of emotional distress. Further distressed when baked steak day I had baked fish. (I need to lose 10-15 more pounds)
9)Have lost numerous things this week that I have just laid down for a MOMENT!
10) Had a doctor's appointment for a check up. Despite losing weight I have a severe doctor/scale phobia.
12) My car needs lubed so my car creaks and moans the entire time I am driving it...It is annoying and embarrassing
13) Been generally cranky and short tempered and not willing to joke or kid around....my poor husband has had to bear the brunt of this as he has been in a playful mood and I HAVE NOT! He was joking with me the entire walk we took on Monday and all I did was whine and snarl at him. I say this to him "DO NOT POKE THE BEAR"
14) Found out I have to pay 830 in federal taxes despite us claiming 0 exemptions. Does it not stand to reason if you are claiming 0 that you should at least break even?
AND FINALLY FINISHED OFF MY WEEK WITH THE FINALE
15) Almost killed my dog and injured my husband.....I gave her a piece of chicken breast..which normally she would eat no problem(yes I know you are not suppose to give the dog table food but she is in kidney failure and has a bad thryoid and has lost tons of weight and we have to get her to eat anyway we can...and she turns her nose up at the very expensive food we bought from the vet that is suppose to help her...so she is losing even more weight) Well come to find out that she is losing teeth...we found one on the floor the other day.....so she could not chew up the chicken breast chunk that I give it to her and she swallowed it whole...where it got stuck....she was heaving, frothing at the mouth, gasping so hard her rib cage was totally sunken in and dying in front of my eyes. My husband (who stays cool in the throes of trauma) tried to give her doggie heimlech (spelling?) and then he and I turned her upside down and shook her...nothing...she was frothing at this time...he tried to pull it out but it was too far down her throat...which when he was doing this got bit very hard!. Finally he prayed and then started rubbing her throat trying to push it up and then she gagged and coughed it up. I was terrified! After this we determined that she likely has not been eating the expensive dry stuff because she can't chew the hard pieces... she does not have many back teeth...however those canines are sharp and still there...that is proven by the holes in Jerry's hand! So now she is on wet dog food and I am not giving her any table food unless it has been put through the blender first. Suprisingly enough she still loves me after my attempted doggie manslaughter. Poor girl...she is such a sweet loving dog!
This was not a good week for a woman with major PMS issues!

My runs were good this week.
3.25 miles on Tuesday...no stopping to walk
5 miles on Thursday no stopping to walk (though it was a tremendous feat just to drag my rear out of bed...the only reason I did was that I cannot tick off the one person that is going to help me thru the mini)
10.85 miles yesterday. There absolutely WAS walking during this one. I also have determined there is not one place in town to go where I am not going to get hills. I did not set out till 8:30 a.m. so it was very hard for me because I am not use to running at this time of day. I am an under the cover of darkness person. The sun never hits my face. So I was contending with Mr. Sun in my eyes and baking down on the top of my head AND people staring at me. They were probably wondering if they should stop and call for medical help as I am sure I looked like I was dying. I also made the mistake of taking gatorade with me which made me cramp up really bad. The last time I drank gatorade was at the Zoo Run and it did the exact same thing to me. I guess I better just stick to water and lifesavers for the sugar. I am also tring to find a little bottle to transport honey as my stomach can handle that. I always eat a tablespoon of honey before my Thursday runs.

Well I better get cooking. I invited a few people over for dinner and I don't think they will be impressed if I served bologne sandwiches and pringles. So I better get the turkey breast cooking.

Running out of Time

The mini is so very close and I am so ill prepared. This weekend I have a 10 1/2 mile scheduled. It was suggested that from now until the mini I do my long runs at the same time as the mini is that way I get use to running at that time. I can see the logic in that. So instead of running under the cover of darkness as is my usually practice I will be setting out this Saturday at 7:30 a.m. Blah! I have been promised that at the mini I will have fun, that I won't be last, and that I will want to do it again...hmmm I am somewhat skeptical.

Spring Fling: Spring Fling went well and all the children seemed to enjoy themselves! This was Adam's and Carissa' s first Easter Egg Hunt! Poor Tyson he is the oldest child in the family and he is looked upon with total adoration by my neice Abby, so she follows him around and around. He is not so thrilled with that but will put up with it. He is already followed around by his little sister and pretty soon Adam will likely be following him around. I told Tyson when he was little he use to follow Amber around and she too hated it. And years ago......Amber use to follow Kendra and Amanda around...yes they hated it too. At any rate..I had a wonderful time being surrounded by my grandchildren and neices. Baby Adam spent the night with grandma and we had a fun time. However, he has Grandma pegged in that if he whimpers and looks up at me with his big big eyes slightly filled with tears that Grandma will pick him up and cuddle him no matter what time of the night it is.

Time to go swimming....

Woof Woof says the Fat Old Labrador

This morning my run went very well. 5 miles no stopping, not even on Puke Mountain. However, as I was running, or more aptly described as trotting, behind Leo (who has the patience of a saint), a visualization popped into my poor oxygen deprived brain. I thought I must look somewhat like an old fat labrador that is being taken on a run by its owner. I am always behind, panting, gasping and my tongue is hanging out of my mounth. I probably would even stop to drink out of a mudpuddle if I thought I could get back up again.

Okay hightlights from this mornings run: I was last again! Even though Jeff and Kris stopped at the VP to get a gatorade they still beat me in....how sad is that...people went SHOPPING and STILL BEAT ME! I hang my head in shame.......sigh..... However, the upside is that I saw their back sides a tiny bit longer then I usually do. I tell you I can identify every person I run with by just looking at their back side because that is all I ever see. I find it ironic that the very thing I am absolutely horrible at is the very thing I love. Side Note: Trying to run to Christine Aguilara's "Aint No Other Man"almost killed me...I better stick to ballads.

Updates:
Last Week: Running Good! No stopping on my 3.25 mile or my 5 mile and on Saturday I did 10 on the treadmill (cause we were out of town at a hotel on an interstate). I did 10 minutes run, 1 minute recovery. However, at least twice I snuck in 2 minute recoveries. I found 10 miles on the treadmill to be horrible and hope to never have to do that again. I got a blister because on the treadmill you foot tends to strike in the exact same place time after time. Outdoors you don't get that because of variation of the ground. I also swam several times over the weekend. My food was good on Saturday but I lost it on Sunday and ate like a pig...of which I am still suffering the consequences of.

Mini: The Mini is fast approaching. I have not yet hit the panic zone but look to start melting down by the second week of April. Leo has been so kind as to bump himself back to my slow corral so I do not have to be by myself. Not to many people would be willing to sacrifice their own time to help someone else achieve a goal and I am so very grateful for that. Ahhh I must have taken my sensitive pill again.... My husband, my son and my daughter in law will be there to witness my total humiliation. I just hope I can cross the line with some semblance of dignity...preferable on my feet and not crawling across the line. I would also like to not puke when I cross the line...oh and not to be last or next to last. My luck I will end up crawling across the line and puking just as the newspaper photographer snaps a picture for the front page of our local paper. I can see the headline now....Local Woman Perseveres, Then Pukes.

Grandchidren: Carissa and Tyson came over the weekend before last. Tyson learned how to play Bunco. I love Tyson...he is the only one that will play games with me. He is very bright and can pick up games in a snap...and he is learning to play a mean game of scrabble...of course he is learning at the foot of the master. Carissa is very mobile and darting all over the place. Her favorite game was "Take everything off Grandma's Coffee Table" followed closely by "Remove all videos from Shelves".
Baby Adam is sitting up and he tried his first bite of Grandma's mashed potatoes. He was not sure about the potatoes. He just let them ooze out of his mouth....hmmm he must take after Grandpa's side because Grandma's side never lets a carbohydrate out of their mouth.

Upcoming Event: Spring Fling on Saturday. A day of fun and lame games with Grandma. I think they only put up with the lame games for the Reeces Cups.

Remark of the Day: "Whoooooo Hoooooooo" Yodeled by Karen as we took off at the Y doors at 5:00 a.m. My response, "I think this is gonna kill me"

Better then I thought

Saturday: Finally got to meet Runner Susan! Met up with her and her sister Amy and had a wonderful time. I have decided I need more girls nights out!

Sunday: 9 miles. Should have done 10 but as I was going to be very late had to skid in at 9 miles. I overslept and then still had to get up and make applesalad to take to the church carryin before I went for my run. HOWEVER, my 9 miles were really good. I was doing about 15 minutes with a 2 minute walk recovery! Much much better. I did it in about 1:57. So my time is getting better. I just slow down so much on the second hour but that is okay...strength is building up I can feel it...I was not really sore. My knee was just a little stiff because I did not put my IT band on after the run...but did not hurt really bad! I was more disgruntled from the large amounts of time I was sitting at church. Sitting for long periods always makes me irritable and tired and it was a very long day at church.

Today the plan is to do a small walk at lunch then one this evening!

High Points of my weekend:
Friday: Having dinner with Baby Adam, Kendra and Lucas and my Mom. I fixed what I thought to be a most delicious meal!
Saturday: Shopping with my hubby in the A.M., My son brought over Ty and Carissa for a visit! Yeah! Meeting up with Amy and Runner Susan
Sunday: Running 9 miles with what I thought to be very little effort(compared to my usual run...probably caused I slowed it down to go further). Ty coming to church with us!

Oops going to be late again!
Will post some pictures later!

VICTORY OVER PUKE MOUNTAIN

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! You all getting that I DID IT. Finally after months and months I made it up 4th Street hill with stopping. In fact I made it thru the whole 5 miles with no walking at all...not on any of the hills! Yeah Me! I was slow but that was okay! Then Friday I was in NO PAIN, which means.....I AM GETTING STRONGER. I have been told time and time again if I am faithful to the climate runs they will make me better. 1) I am running with others that will help push me and 2) The Hills will make me stronger and 3) I will not get skittish while running with others. For some reason when I run with more then 2 people I get all skittish and kinda sick to my stomach. I think the nausea comes from being nervous because I know I will be last and I hate to be last.

Today or tomorrow I have to try for 10 miles. No I have to DO 10 miles.

Now to start my busy day today!

Hostile, Giddy and Bewildered

Those were my mood swings for yesterday. I think I need extra extra extra strength midol. In addition, I have felt sarcastic, mean and nasty and then I when I was taking a walk last night and glanced over in the window and I saw a short squat tubby middle aged woman, discovered it was ME and THEN I WAS DEPRESSED. It is crucial for my well being that I remove 20 pounds of unsightly pudge from my body asap (which was why I was out walking). I need to start walking at lunch again but now we have cable in our break room and it is all I can do to pull myself away from The Young and the Restless. So I must, as sad as it makes me, says goodby to Victor, Nikki, Kay and Jill and begin my afternoon walks.

Sunday: 9.19 walk/run. Not to bad considering I had a belly full of Honey Bunches of Oats (which I will never buy again due to its yumminess factor!)
Monday: Power Hour but not full effort due to my walk/run Sunday. I was all tuckered out.
Tuesday: A little lifting and a 3.25 mile run. Kept a nice steady pace. Kept a good pace by telling myself that 3.25 is nothing compared to 9.19 mile. I did only .25 mile walk to warm up in the beginning..no more walking. Then my husband I did a 3.75 mile walk in the evening...which I was behind him 90% of the time because 1) my legs were tired from my run in the morning 2) I have PMS weight weighing me down 3) My corn was on fire!

Wednesday: Swimming this a.m. which I am going to be late for if I don't quit blogging and ,hopefully, if the the young and restless does not lure me away, a 30 minute walk this afternoon and perhaps a little walk after church.

Okay time to swim...the pudge will not be removed by sitting at my computer desk...though a girl can dream...