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30.8.10

working out at work

I sit at a desk for eight hours a day. My bum loves it, the rest of me does not. Working in an office has its advantages. But it certainly has it's disadvantages.

Co workers bringing in tempting, mouthwatering donuts *drooling*, lack of movement, fast food restaurants flanking me from all sides. I feel like I am at the Alamo, surrounded on all sides and praying to throw the white flag into the air.

I have a few things I am going to start slowly implementing into my day to bring back some healthy to my slouchy day.

  • The first is something I have been doing for a while, but will continue on. I freeze my 32 oz Nalgene bottle with water and drink it throughout the day. It took a while for my body to adjust, but having done it for months now, it is like old hat.
  • Setting my Outlook alarm to go off every hour and at the very least getting up from my seat and taking a lap around the office. Also trying to stand at my desk more when taking phone calls and reading through emails. Get that blood a pumpin!
  • Getting an exercise ball just for sitting on during part or eventually all of the day. My posture is generally pretty good, but I notice that as I get tired during the day I start slouching and hunching over my desk a bit.
Nothing major right now, but something has to change. I put in all this effort to wake up before the birds and put in a run, and then laze around for a good chunk of the day. That cannot be healthy.

On a side note and totally unrelated to anything else, I want to get a swim workout in. Unfortunately my goggles are MIA. I either need to find them stat or need to invest in another pair. Cannot swim without them since I wear contacts and inevitably loose them when I am doing laps.

29.8.10

play of game distraction

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A ten mile run was on the books. But then I got the call. Two tickets to Lambeau Field. Bye-bye run, hello Packers! Not to mention that I have been dying to get a night shot of the field with my fisheye lens. It turned out just how I imagined.

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The Aaron Rodgers fist bump. Bros just giving each other a pat on the back. As they should. That is exactly how I look after a run--relaxed and just hanging out, not a single spot of sweat on my brown, and perfectly coiffed hair.

Although I did allow myself to once again be distracted, I did fit in a nice 6.5 mile run on my day off to make up for my slacker tendencies. I felt good, my muscles had a hard time falling asleep afterwards. But at least I had a Packer victory to get me through the night.

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Yeah, the score is correct, 59 to 24. And if you look at the screen on the scoreboard, it looks like Aaron is giving another fist bump, this time to the opponent after the game. Is it some secret male athlete language, and if so could I have the translation?

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Fist bumping it over and out.

26.8.10

stream of conscious running

When I run, I run alone. All part of my lone wolf syndrome. Apart of that running is my internal dialog. A small portion of what went through my head during a quick three mile run, here it is in the unedited version...

Oh, a Robbie Williams song coming up on my iPod. Thank goodness for the British.

Why is the guy in the yellow Slug bug staring at me? Better yet, why is he driving a beetle?

Wish I was out sailing right now, they all look so pretty.

What should I have for dinner--leftover chili it is.

Poker face, she has me like nobody, something lyrics I can't remember.

Wow, I bet if that lady was going in the same direction as me, she would totally pass my rear end. Kudos to you speedy woman, I aspire to your greatness.

Did speedy woman just pick her nose?

Nah, she's too cool for that right?

Crud, only two miles in and my tummy feels like it wants to expel its contents.

Shouldn't have eaten that chicken right before I ran, but it's soooo good.

Damn you chicken. But I love you still.

Tonight I'll be visiting with the 'rents of some of my favorite kiddos.

They will have wine.

Hmmm....sounds good right now.

Wine--I'm such a wino.

Not really, but sometimes I wish I could be.

Damn you Lady Gaga with your catchy songs, thank goodness no one knows your on my iPod run mix. Just dance, baby....

Mom's friend left a pumpkin on my patio today.

What the heck am I going to do with a pumpkin?

I could make a pie -- wait, never done that before, scratch the pie.

I'm hungry now. I could eat a horse.

Okay, no. That is disgusting, there is no way I could eat a horse.

Maybe a cookie. Chocolate chip of course.

I wonder if Robbie Williams likes chocolate chip cookies?

24.8.10

powermix :: you gotta be



"you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger"

Des'ree knew what she was singing about. If this pulls up on my ipod -- yeah, I'm gonna sing to it. Days like today I need that kind of motivation. It was a rest day, only 30 minutes of cross-training. I pumped up my bike tires and took it for a 6.5 mile spin around town. Only stopped once to say "hi" to some friends taking their kids out for a walk.

The hard part for me is that on these light days, I do not walk into the house sweaty and gritty. My muscles are not entirely fatigued after a harsh workout. Sometimes I dread those intense sessions, but most times I crave them.

6.5 miles is not that far to bike. Sure I kept the tempo up for the half hour it took to complete, but it was not the cruel workout that leaves you feeling satisfied with its completion.

It is the kind of workout where "you gotta be wiser" and remember that my muscles need that day for recovery. At the end of the day where I am sitting back after doing some laundry, eating some left over chili--Homer Simpson drool moment--and getting ready to head to bed in anticipation for an early wake up, I need to remind myself to feel good about what I did today.

One step closer to being ready for the September half marathon. One step closer to my personal goal.

P.S. Diary, I need a better bike seat. The one I have kind of hurts my bum.

23.8.10

todays inspiration :: my butt is big

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On this Monday I celebrate my squishy bum. Any advertisement that says, "It's a border collie that herds skinny women..." when referring to a well endowed caboose is after my heart.

Today I have eight miles scheduled. I had to split them up due to my work schedule, so the first 4.5 miles happened this morning. Thinking about mapping out a route by the 'Y' for the last 3.5 and throwing in a half hour of swimming to work out the kinks in my body. Maybe hit the whirlpool and relax my muscles. Especially my bum, that little bugger definitely deserves a little TLC.

In celebration of my derrière, not only will I attempt to find as many ways to say butt as possible, but I think a little workout is in order. I firm rump is a happy rump after all.




22.8.10

Mandarin Straw-Naner Smoothie

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  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/3 frozen banana
  • 6 oz. mandarin oranges, drained
  • 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 cup vanilla whey protein
This recipe was a happy accident. I was suppose to buy mango, instead I purchased mandarin oranges. A couple of tweaks to the portion sizes, and voilà! My new favorite smoothie for right after a run.

The directions are super simple, just combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth and serve. By my calculations this is approximately 185 calories. Not too shabby. The other stats:

  • Sugar, 7.5 gr
  • Protein, 11 gr
  • Potassium, 362 mg
  • Calcium, 102 mg
  • Cholesterol, 25 mg
  • Total fat, .75 g
I finished out my quick 3.25 mile easy run this evening and felt sluggish (as I usually do with later in the day runs). Not to mention I did not drink enough water today and felt a side stitch coming on. Of course my buddy, humidity, is still hanging around. It was just one of those runs where I had more fun getting all geared up for the run rather than actually hitting the pavement.

But I finished it up and then treated myself to this delicious concoction. What you cannot see in the photo is that I poured that little bugger into my "Blue Moon" glass. It makes the smoothie appear more rebellious. That's right biker dudes, move over. Mandarin Straw-Naner Smoothie is in da' house.

21.8.10

todays inspiration

My rump stayed glued to the couch pretty much all day. My motivation could be compared to Richard Simmons using a flat iron; neither one was happening. Technically this was suppose to be my rest day during the week, but I don't think it was meant to be that much rest.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I have a light three mile run scheduled. Early bed tonight and early to rise tomorrow and beat the humidity.

To give myself some motivation I will remind myself of my first half marathon where a rather generously sized man passed me in the last mile. He wore a plain white t-shirt and scribbled on the back in black sharpie reminding fellow racers that if he could do it, anyone could do it:
"My half marathon is your half marathon plus 100 lbs"

20.8.10

powermix :: Down in Mississippi

From my iPod powermix. Girl has to have some tunes to run to. My all time favorite song to play is "We Run" by Sugarland. But they do not have an official video for this one, so I will go to a close second today, "Down in Mississippi"

a brief convro with humidity

Alynn: So Humidity, what’s up?

Humidity: I am, haven’t you checked the weather index this morning? Gee, and here I thought you would be prepped and ready for this interview.

Alynn: Okay, fine wise guy. We’ll skip the pleasantries and get right down to business. Why in carnation were you so high this morning?

Humidity: Well…it did rain last night, and there is a patch of thunderstorms rolling in around 1:00pm this afternoon.

Alynn: So I retain water like a cactus. I drink about 48-64 oz of water a day, yet I felt dehydrated after a little three mile run. Not to mention my lungs felt like they were going to explode.

Humidity: Holy sh---, okay, so you do drink a good chunk of water. But don’t forget, you should also be looking to consume foods that also have high water content.

Alynn: Examples?

Humidity: Lettuce, watermelon, grapes are good examples. Most fresh fruit and veggies are going to have higher water content then their processed counterparts. You want to be digesting the water for about 24 hours before a run to get that in your system.

Alynn: So all I need to do get over you is to make sure I am plenty hydrated. Sounds simple.

Humidity: Not so fast my young padwan. You also have to think about your heart rate.

Alynn: Do tell.

Humidity: Well, the higher the humidity or the higher the temperature will potentially increase your heart rate.

Alynn: So is that why I might have felt a bit sluggish this morning. Three miles and I was practically dead to the world.

Humidity: Amongst other things. I saw you eat that cupcake last night.

Alynn: Yeah, whatever you little snitch. Go on.

Humidity: So when I am really high – *squints eyes menacingly* don’t even go there Alynn – your body is trying to make sure that it maintains your body's normal temp. But when the outside air starts to climb, the body reacts by taking all that good ol’ oxygen and diverting it to the blood circulation to help get rid of the heat that is collecting on the skin. So it gives you less energy to work with during the run.

Alynn: Thus the sluggishness.

Humidity: Exactly. So when I am hanging around, feel free to take it down a notch and let your body adjust to the change. Whatever you do, don’t overdo it when I am in the hood. Drink lots, and slow down.

Alynn: I am pretty slow to begin with. *gives the stink eye* Don’t even go there Humidity, don’t even go there.

19.8.10

extreme house distraction

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My attention span is shorter than a fly. And I do not even have the added perk of flying around and being a pest to everyone.

The plan was to head out for a nice two mile warm up, head into the gym and lift some weights, and then head back out for another six miles.

I ran a whopping two miles.

In my defense, I was slightly distracted because something big has come to my hometown. You might say something extreme. And I am warming up my vocal cords.

"MOVE THAT BUS! MOVE THAT BUS!"

That is right, Ty is in the house, or should I say, building a house.

Extreme Home makeover is building a home about two blocks from where I grew up. I used to babysit a couple of cute kiddos in a house kiddy-corner from this monstrosity they are constructing.

Now, I am not into the whole idea of trying to get on T.V. or anything like that. I had one motivation for skipping out on an hour of my workout this evening, and one motivation only.

Freebies.

Freaking awesome freebies at that. They were giving things out left and right. Noodles and Co came in with bowls of mac and cheese. Hats and totes were being tossed into the crowd. It was madness, pandemonia, and pure awesomeness.

Did I also mention that Derek Hough is one of the celebrity guests for the week? Totally not ashamed of the little bit of drool that just escaped from my mouth.

Now, I was going to stop for just a moment to see how they were doing. Do a little sideline supervising. But then I got to talking with the other spectators and they fed into my gossip mill.

It all started out innocent enough. Discussion of when Ty would be flying in from the reveal in Idaho. Square footage of the house. How the police department and a local music store donated a piano to the family.

Then the gossip became steamy. All of a sudden I was thrown into tales of how the next evening benefit concert featuring three Christian bands might have special guest appearances by Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. That made total sense, of course Christian music and the totally pure Gaga go together perfectly. That has to be truth, right? I mean, you could argue that the whole alejandro video had an amazing religious overtone.

Yeah, I am probably going to be struck down by lightening.

Before I knew it, all my barricade neighbors and I were being ushered out by the security who closed up the viewing session at 8:00pm. It was then that I looked down and realized that I was still in my running gear, highlighted by my Pepto-Bismo pink running shirt and had yet to log in a single mile.

It was starting to get dark and I decided it would probably be safest to head to the gym and run on the treadmill, even though that thing drives me crazy. And of course my watch does not calibrate well to it, so I swear I was going faster then the little display panel was showing me.

A whopping two miles later and a couple of quick reps on some weights, I was being ushered out by the staff so they could close up shop by nine.

There are two morals to the evening. The first; I get easily distracted thanks to my puny attention span. This is why I prefer to run straight away in the morning. Get it done with and nothing can jump up and drag my attention in another direction. Planning runs for the evening is not just not ideal for me.

The second; I will do anything to get Derek Hough's attention. Even if it means wearing my Pepto-Bismo pink running shirt in public.



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accountabilabuddy

accountabilibuddy (urban dictionary) A friend, maybe a best friend, who you get into trouble with and who is somewhat responsible for your actions.

I had a running buddy (RB) for about three months a couple years back. She never ran long distance before in her life but was the one that encouraged me to sign up for a half marathon with her.

She even registered before me.

For all intensive purposes I was our "coach" since I had run cross-country back in high school and slightly--although not significantly--more adept at planning workouts. Mind you, I am built more like a mule then a cheetah. So while my plan was not to necessarily make us the fastest runners in the race, I did plan on us at least finishing the darn thing.

It was nice to have someone to talk to and pass along the miles. We even went out and bought matching bright pink running shirts and black shorts.

Yes, we were those girls.

The girls who probably spent more on gear then the seasoned runners. We would look good while running, but choke on the dust of everyone passing by. But we were in it together.

It was hard finding time to practice together. My RB was going back to grad school and working two part time jobs. I'm an early morning runner, and she was not available until the late evening.

It was difficult to keep the same pace. Being the slow mule that I am, I still had the endurance and wanted to push it a little faster. But my RB was not at that level and we had to pull back. Often times I felt like we would go faster if we walked. Sometimes it felt like I was exerting more energy to reign in my speed.

It was difficult to settle on the mileage. Sometimes I would not tell my RB how many miles I had planned for the day because that could be a deal breaker. I knew it was all mental, because after one easy five mile run while we were stretching it out and I told her how much we did, my RB did not believe me, "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"You are $*@&ing me!"

"No, no I am not. But thank you for asking."

"But it went by so quickly," she shook her head guzzled some water. The girl liked to stay really hydrated. She had the tendency to channel her inner cactus.

"It sure did."

But the next time I planned a five mile run and told her ahead of time, "Remember that five mile loop we did last week?"

"Sure do," RB said.

"We're going to do that again and see if we can improve on our time."

RB quirked an eyebrow, "Like #*&% we are."

End of conversation. We ran two miles together and called it a day.

But to her credit, my RB held on for the most part. Our training was sporadic at best, and at worst I ended up adding my own solo workouts to the schedule. But we carried on.

RB and I did run the whole half marathon together and finished with matching times to coordinate with our matching Pepto-Bismol pink shirts. Tired and chaffing, we crossed the line with our hands joined and thrust into the air. Together we shuffled through the chute and received our finisher medals. We allowed ourselves to be herded like cattle with the other runners to the food lines where we proceeded to gorge ourselves on Keebler cookies and fruit.

We proceeded to take several dozen photos posing with said metals and to later proclaim or victories on facebook. I arrived home some time later and immediately collapsed on the couch.

Still wearing my metal of course. That thing was awesome. And shiny. A girl likes to have her bling.

Some time later I reflected on the experience and determined a couple things about myself. The first and most obvious was that accountabilabuddys can be pretty darn important. They are the ones that get you off your rump and motivate you to move.

The second thing I learned is that I am a lone wolf. As much as I enjoyed the comradery of my cross-country team in high school, to me running has become something of an individual journey. The balance between finding encouragement from others and finding the motivation to do it on my own has been difficult.

My RB ran a couple more smaller road races with me, but we stopped practicing together. I stopped holding back and simply set up a meeting spot at the end to find each other when we were finished. I keep running. RB fell off the bandwagon.

So in a way this blog is really just a therapeutic outlet for me. I have some personal fitness goals, as well as some purely personal goals and I need something to keep me accountable. I doubt anyone would find this in cyber space and want to read it on a regular basis.

But if you are, I guess, umm, welcome?

I am not fast. I am not strong. And if I am being brutally honest I am slightly overweight. Okay, moderately overweight, but I am keeping the scale number to myself, thank you very much.

But I am built like a mule, so will continue on strong.

And continue to wear the Pepto-Bismo pink shirt. The darn thing is so hideously bright cars swerve to avoid hitting me.

What can I say, this mule likes the attention.