Thought this was supposed to get easier???

Here it is....day 40 of training for this half-marathon and it seems to be getting harder than easier. I know what you are thinking? "Tina - today is Sunday - which is always a "Day of Rest" on your training schedule - why is that hard?" Well, I'll tell you why. I did not feel good all day Friday and Friday evening, so I ended up sleeping in on Saturday and not going to the team run as usual. So, I figured since I technically had my "day of rest" on Saturday, I couldn't be lazy today and I really needed to get up and make up that 6 MILE RUN that I was supposed to have done yesterday.

So.....I woke up at 6:45 a.m., laced up my tennies and headed out. I had it all figured out - I would run out a mile from home and run back for a "water stop" at the end of my driveway (where I had set up a water bottle for a quick "run by" later). Then after my little water break, I would head back out and do another 2 miles and stop for another water break, and then wrap it up with another 2 miles. Sounds like a good plan, huh? Well I walked and walked ( just could not muster up the strength to run at this point) to what I thought was the "1 mile mark" and thought I was going to die by the time I got there. It took me 24 minutes, wherein usually a mile takes me about 15-17 minutes. So, I was like "Wow, that must have been more than a mile, I clearly miscalculated". I turned around and ran/walked back to the house and it took me 18 minutes to get back but I took a little detour through a cut road because I was dyeing of thirst. When I stopped to get water I thought my feet were going to bust right out of my shoes they hurt so bad.

I have came to the conclusion that the reason I have such pain when I walk/run at home is because when they paved the roads in our neighborhood they paved them at a significant slant where the road actually "peaks" in the middle and then slants down to both edges of the road. So, when I walk, I feel like I am leaning. I swear this is putting strain on my legs that I should not be having. I could be wrong, but this is what I am thinking since I dont have the same issues when I walk/run downtown. (When I walk/run downtown, I simply have the "Oh my god, I am out of shape and too old to do this type pain.......not the oh, god, my feet are going to shoot off the bottom of my legs pain that I experience at home.....just to clarify).

Anyhoo, by this time, I had convinced myself if I tried to go back out for another 2 miles I would end up collapsing. This would not be good since by the time my family woke up around noon and realized I had not made it back home, I would have surely been left for dead on the side of the road from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Because of this thought, I only made it 2 miles today instead of the 6 I had so graciously planned the night before. There is always tomorrow I guess.

Today is your birthday! It's my birthday too!!!

Well, OK.....it may not exactly be your birthday - - but it is MINE!! I love birthdays! I am of the assumption you get to celebrate your birthday the entire WEEK of your birthday, and not just the one day. After all, you have to get in as many free lunches/dinners you can possibly get right?! :)




Anyhoo, to my surprise (and everyone else in my office) my boss decided he wanted to get me a birthday cake for my birthday. Doesn't it look yummy?

I know, the picture does not do it justice since I had to use my phone to take the pic. But, trust me.....it was a toasted Coconut cake and it was scrumptious!

Me and a coworker went to lunch today for my birthday and then came back to the office and pigged out on cake! :) Most of the others in our office "save their extra calories for wine" so they said, so needless to say me and Jillian had a lot of cake to share - but we didn't mind! We had breakfast and snack for the rest of the week!

Me and the family did not do anything special for my birthday today since we have planned to go out to eat tomorrow night since that day worked better for everyones schedule. I didn't mind, that gave me more time at home to eat some more cake tonight! My thought was - cake is carbs and carbs are good for running -right?! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Tina

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there!

Today, me and Jeff slept in as much as we possibly could with three dogs in the house. I swear every morning we are able to sleep in, it seems like the dogs need to go potty a lot earlier than normal. Lucky for me, Jeff let me sleep in and he took care of the early morning potty break today since he knew I was flat exhausted from yesterday.

Then, even though it was Father's Day, Jeff got up and treated us to some homemade pancakes. Guess I should have made them since it was Father's Day and all, but they taste so much better when someone else makes them, don't you think?!

Today, day 33 of training, was a "rest day" so I was not required to run, walk, ride a bicycle or anything, which was good since my legs were wobbly from yesterday's run. "Rest Days" have quickly became my favorite day of the week! :) However, today being "Grocery Day" as well, we did make our normal run to the grocery store and grabbed all the deals for the week. We did pretty good, spending about $80 for right at $140 worth of groceries, so not a bad trip after all.

Then, I was pleased as punch when he suggested we go to Outback for dinner!!!! Outback is not one of Jeff's favorite places - - in fact, we have never been since we met back in 2007!! So, when he suggested it, I jumped on the chance faster than white on rice!!

Of course since it was Father's Day we had to wait about 50 minutes, but it was SOOOOO worth it. The best part you ask?????? Was this...............

Sidney's Sinful Sundae!!!!! It has to be hands down the best dessert I have ever had. I was completely stuffed after eating the Bloomin' Onion, the salad, and dinner, but I was not leaving Outback without having this dessert since it may be another 3 years before he is willing to go back!

We have our "Nutrition Counseling" with the TNT members this week. I am sure they will tell me this should not be on my diet for marathon training, but guess what? TOO BAD! I cannot wait to go back and have another already! Hubby almost thought I was going to pick up the bowl and lick the melted ice cream off the bottom, but I did hold back. :) - - barely.

Have a great week!

Tina

Another "Normal" Saturday Morning!

Day 32 of training and now I guess I can say this is my "Normal" Saturday morning routine: Up at 4:45 a.m., Run at 6:00 a.m. and then breakfast at Brueggers Bagels with the team! Two weeks in a row I have been up for this challenge and also managed to keep a smile on my face throughout the day with the family. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am NOT a morning person at all so for me to get up this early and not bite everyone's head off that I come in contact with is really something to brag about!

This week we did another 4 mile run, (4.4 miles to be exact). Was able to do this in just over 1 hour 10 minutes again for an approximate 17 minutes per mile pace. At least I have now slowed down! Still having some pain in my shins, but it is getting better. Out of the hour or so I was walking/running, this time I was able to get in a solid 30 minutes of running so I was pleased with myself. I did experience some foot numbness about halfway through but they loosened my laces and I was good to go. Tonight my hubby very affectionately told me my feet were "fat" today (swollen) which I guess is why my laces started strangling my feet halfway through my run.

As we do every Saturday morning, some of the team members headed over to Brueggers for bagels after our run which is always a good time and a good way for us slow runners to actually get to chat with the fast and longer distance runners since we really don't get to see much of them on the run route after about the first 30 seconds.

Once I got home from the run, I had a children's class scheduled for the kids to come over and make Father's Day cards and a gift for dad. The girls made a cute card with a little "King of the Grill" picture on the front and then made a bank that was filled with candy with a few cute sayings attached them. Such as the tootsie roll had a note that said "because you make me roll with laughter"; the Pay Day candy bar said "because you work so hard for us" and the M&Ms packages said "because I love you More & More each day". The kids enjoyed making them and I am sure the dads enjoyed eating all the candy - which I am sure the girls helped with that too! Although I love to teaching the classes, not sure I can keep up this pace of getting up bright and early, running, and then coming home to teach a class. Got to fit in a nap somewhere in there!

Then, Saturday night my cousin Joe was in town from California so we all met up at my mom's and had a nice visit chatting and catching up. By the time we chatted for a couple of hours, I was flat out exhausted and hit the road to head back home for a well deserved full night of sleep!

This running thing seems to be getting a LITTLE easier, but I still have a long ways to go to be able to complete the 13.1 mile journey in October. But, I will do it!

Tina

Me and Arthur Ravenel

the Arthur Ravenel Bridge that is! Yes, here on Day 28 of my training, someone on the team - not mentioning any names - had the bright idea that was it was time to go run the bridge for our run tonight! Ok, you twisted my arm, it was Owen that came up with this bright idea and I let him know that he was not allowed to pick the running paths anymore!

Tonight we had a team meeting over at a physical therapy clinic in Mt. Pleasant to go over different injuries and injury prevention techniques to prepare everyone for their martahons and triathlons. It was interesting and I learned a few different things while there. There was no actual "team run" scheduled for this evening, however about 6 of us came ready to run and decided to head over to the bridge to see what we could do.

Our schedule was to run 3 miles tonight and me and Kim did it - 3.1 actually so that qualified for a 5K! It was definitely a struggle for me to complete, but I did it. After all, once you go running up what seemed to be a 90 degree incline you had to come back down right?! We got yelled at only once for walking in the bike lane, but luckily I was not actually passed out in the bike lane and able to get back over in the proper running/walking lane! :)

Finished it in about 55 minutes for another 17 minute per mile pace. It felt more like 2 hours, so I was pleased as punch when Kim's snazzy little running watch said we did maintain 17 minutes per mile. She is still promising that in another two weeks this running will get easier. We shall see.......

Tomorrow is another cardio day for me so me and hubby will once again head out on the Sawmill Branch Trail to ride our bikes for at least 3 miles. For tonight though, my pillow is calling my name!

Have a great week!

Tina

First Saturday Morning Team Run!!

Saturday morning, day 25 of training, and I was up at 4:45 a.m. and on the interstate by 5:00 a.m. heading into downtown Charleston to meet our team at Colonial Lake for our first morning team run. We were supposed to be there and ready to run by 6:00 a.m. and I was. Everyone trickled in between 5:30 and 6:00 and we were off and running by about 6:15. Once again everyone split off into groups running either 4 miles, 6 miles, 8 miles and I think I heard perhaps 11 miles!?!? Seeing as I was in the first group of 4 milers, I really didn't have to listen to the rest of the information for the longer distance runners.

We headed out around 6:15ish and did a warm up lap around Colonial Lake and then proceeded on down Broad Street all the way to the Joe Riley Stadium once again. This time we were greeted at the stadium by a gorgeous looking bottle of Gatorade to quench our thirst. Just a quick sip of Gatorade and then back to Colonial Lake!

4.22 miles in right at an hour and 12 minutes, for an average of approximately 17 minutes per mile. On the date of the actual race, we have to pace ourselves at 16 minutes per mile, so I was glad to see I was not really too far off at the beginning of my training. Since I have a little over 3 months to go with training, surely I can get much faster than 16 minutes per mile.

Right now we are just worried about the heat. The temps have been in the high 90s and 100s already which is why we run so early. However, during the week I dont have time to run in the mornings so I run when I get home from work. But even then, it is still 90-95 degrees at 6:00 or 7:00 at night. Trying to convince myself to drink plenty of water throughout the day to help keep hydrated....very hard for me to do since a bottle of water would usually last me a day or two since I dont drink that much, but I'm trying my best!

Tomorrow, Sunday, is a day of complete rest for our training so, once again, I will be glad to oblige by that rule! Today was pretty rough since I am not a morning person at all. Not only did I get up at 4:45 a.m., but then I ran 4.22 miles only to come home to go to lunch and some shopping with hubby, then back out in the heat to do some clothes shopping with Jessica. Then we had a family anniversary party to go to which of course I had to make my famous mac n' cheese for. I did manage to squeeze in about a 30 minute nap between shopping and dinner, but not sure that even helped. By 10:00 p.m. I was pretty much exhausted and couldn't wait to lay my head down on the pillow!

Hope everyone had a great week/weekend!

Tina

Day 22 - Somethings you never forget.....

Like riding a bicycle! So true! I have probably not ridden a bicycle in 6+ years but today I got on mine and went for a little ride. For today's race training, I was supposed to do 30 minutes of "activity". That activity could be swimming, weight lifting, bicycle riding, walking, etc., etc. Well, when you have no pool and no weights, the next thing on the list is a bike, and I actually happened to have one. So, hubby loaded up our bicycles and we headed over to the Sawmill Branch Trail here in Summerville. I have never been on this trail, although I pass it numerous times a day. It was really nice being able to ride on a path and not worry about traffic. I think we may start coming over during day light hours to do our walking and running over here. Can't do much past 8:00 or so however, since there are no lights in this area. But it is definitely a nice, peaceful, quiet area.

This trail is actually 14 miles "round trip" if you take the entire trail, but obviously I did not do that. Little ole me managed to ride 3 miles total. Hubby was ready to keep on going, which I told him he was more than happy to do, but I would just wait at the truck. Being the sweetie that he is, he didn't want to show me up, so we loaded up the bikes and headed back home. That 3 mile ride took me 19 minutes. I will say that I did not "coast" but about 1 minute total since I did try to keep my legs pedaling and not "cheat".

Apparently when you run, you use totally different muscles than when you ride a bicycle. I say that because all the muscles that have not been bothering me since I took on this adventure are now sore. I also apparently had a death grip on my handlebars since even my arms are sore! I am so out of shape - I should not be able to say that though come the end of this adventure!

See you on the trails!

Tina

Day 21 of Training - First Team Run and I live to tell about it!

(Pretend photo inserted here - meant to take pic of the group and forgot camera......)

Tonight was the first "team run" I have experienced. I was nervous to go for several reasons........was i going to be the slowest person there.........does everyone else look as silly in running shorts as I do........was I going to be able to manage to at least run a mile, much less the 2 we were scheduled to do......was I going to be able to remain on my feet and not flat on my face..........the lists goes on. However, I actually enjoyed myself!

We first met for about an hour and went over tons of ideas for fundraising. (As you know, I have to raise $2,500 before July 20 to remain in this wonderful group and learn to run a half-marathaon by October! - so the ideas were great to have!) Afterwards everyone headed outside and split off into groups that were going to run 2 miles, 3 miles, 4 miles or even 5 miles for those "Oh great runners". (I am sure you can figure out which group I was in.........!)

We started off at the MUSC Wellness Center and ran aallllllll the way over to Joe Riley Stadium where the Charleston Riverdogs were actually having a home game that night. How exciting to run by hundreds of people in funny running clothes, breathing heavy, no makeup on and your hair sticking up everywhere. Luckily, there was that big tall wall separating the spectators and me so no harm done - I didn't scare anyone at least! I was with a group of four ladies and we decided that instead of stopping at the 1 mile mark and turning around, we would plug forward for another 1/2 mile so then by the end of the walk/run, we would complete 3 miles and not just 2. We were hesitant, but we plugged on.

We managed to all get back safely and soundly to the MUSC Wellness Center and we were all still standing tall and proud when we returned. After all - we did it - 3 miles! 1 mile more than we were expected to complete. We finished strong and I am actually looking forward to getting up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday for our next team run which is supposed to be 4 miles!!!

The best part of tonight - no leg pain!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Tina

Actually returned to scrapbooking today!

Since I started focusing my crafting on greeting cards the last year or so, I do not think I have scrapbooked at all other than throwing together my very simple wedding album last year. I really want to get back in to it and actually get pictures off of my camera. Pretty sad when a scrapbooker has to show people pictures by letting them skim through photos on her camera! LOL.

Anyhoo, I have never done tear bears and have been wanting to take a class on them for the last few years. I finally found one that was held on a Sunday and that I could actually participate in! Sometimes I think the LSS forget that a lot of people actually WORK during weekday days and they tend to offer the "fun classes" during that time. :( So, off i went today to my LSS and made this layout:

Isn't it cute? Hard to tell from the photo but the bears are actually "fuzzy". They are VERY time consuming to make but I am sure as you make more of them and are home alone (and not in a room with 12 chatty women) it would actually not take too long. The paper you use to make the bears is called Mulberry paper and is kind of a "bumpy" type of paper. You take a little tool or wire brush and actually "pick" or "brush" at the paper to get the fluffy, fuzzy effect. I think it turned out cute for my first one. Not sure if you can see from the picture, but below the word "beach" in the lower left hand corner, there is actually "sand" on the page. I grumbled at the class and was whining and "ewwing" because it was gross and wet. (I don't like messing with gooey, wet things on my scrapbook pages.) Well........needless to say I have to go back to the LSS and now admit to Ivy that I love the effect and actually buy some of the stuff to do it! She is going to give me a hard time - I just know it. Maybe I'll go next week when she is on vacation and then it will be our little secret! :)

I can't wait to get back into my scrapbooking. Would love to be able to actually scrapbook our summer vacation this summer that we are taking next month in the same year that we go on it! LOL

Today was "Day 19" of marathon training. I was so happy to wake up, look at my "training schedule" and see that today is our first "day of rest". I was like woo hoo - finally a day I can meet goal!! LOL So, no running for me today!!!

Going to get rested up and wait for hubby to return home tonight since he has been gone all weekend, so my girlie scrapbooking, card making, chick flick watching weekend is now over.

Have a great week!

Tina

Day 17 & 18 - Cards finally made!

Well, Friday, June 4, was pretty uneventful and nothing too exciting. The doctor did call to say no leg fracture - yeah! But to "take it easy". I been "taking it easy" all week, no more time for taking it easy. However, I heeded his advice today and worked all day and then came home and had dinner out with Jess since the boys were off on a 4-wheeling weekend in the hills of Kentucky. Figured I would rest up since I had full packed weekend of card making, scrap making, cleaning and running to fit in.

But, Saturday, Day 18 of training' I was busy as a bee and loved every minute of it!

Here are some of the cards that we made in our card class this morning and one or two I made after the class while I was watching my "chick flicks" while hubby out of town:

I was waiting all week to watch Julie & Julia this weekend while hubby gone, but could not find it to rent, so I ended up settling for "Leap Year", "Bride Wars", and "Dear John". All pretty good.

Prior to settling down late this evening, I figured I better try out the old legs and see what they were going to let me do. Since the boys were out of town and Jessica was working, I was really worried to do too much since I didnt know if I would end up hurting on the other side of the block and have no one to come pick me up! LOL. So, I actualy only did .6 mile. I know - lame! However, I was able to alternate 1 minute running to 2 minutes of walking for a total of 9 minutes and no pain when I got home! Doctor said to TAKE IT SLOW and not to follow schedule by trainers but to do at my own pace. So.....here I go. Tomorrow morning the plan is to get up at at 6:30 so I can try to get in a mile or so. Figured in broad day light if I was laying on side of road perhaps someone would come along and pick me up! LOL

Tomorrow I get to look forward to going to take an actual scrapbook class. I have not gone and taken one myself in probably over 2 years so I am looking forward to actually being a student and not a teacher and to try and get back into my scrapbooking versus card making!

Have a great night!

Tina

Day 16 - What a day!

As I indicated yesterday, dad was having his gall bladder surgery today. He was scheduled for 2:30 so my boss said I could leave and head to the hospital to see him when he came out of surgery, which was my plan all day. Luckily I called dad to chat before surgery this morning and let him know I'd be there and check in on him later, because after that, my day just pretty much went downhill.

I have been struggling with a lingering cough the last couple of months and 3 weeks ago the doctor had put me on some medication that was supposed to "knock it out". Told me if it returned after 2 weeks to call him immediately. Well, I finally called him today - I know - a week late - and told him as soon as I went off the medication the coughing returned and has progressively got worse. Made an appointment with the nurse to go see him next week. Five minutes later got another call back and said I couldn't wait til next week and I needed to be at his office by 4:00 today. Well - - no biggy, that gave me time to at least pop in to see dad when he got out of surgery at 3:00 and then rush to Summerville - WRONG!

Left work to head to hospital but was told by mom that dad would go straight to recovery until probably 4:00 or later. So......no seeing dad.

Went to doctor, where I was put on more medication for next 5 days and if that don't cut it, have to go for some further pulmonary testing. What fun!! Then while I was there and having to pay my $30 co-pay, figured I could kill two birds with one stone and went ahead and mentioned my leg pain assuming the doctor would simply say "push on girlie - you are simply out of shape!" Well, that ain't what he said. Instead, he said "Oh, you might have a stress fracture, let's send you for xrays." WHAT?!?! REALLY?!! I dont have time to sit and "rest" any more doc. So....there I went and hobbled off to xray and now I am doing more sitting and waiting for results. Grrrrr.

Came home to "lay down for 5 minutes" then will go see dad. Well, 2 1/2 hours later at 8:10 p.m. woke up. Where did my day go?!? Called dad and chatted with him, he seemed to be a little doped up but otherwise said he was doing fine and would be released in the morning and they had already had him up and walking the halls. Good news!

Tonight however, my legs (even the one I didn't have xray'd) was really bothering me. Remember yesterday how I said I was supposed to rest but made cards instead? I guess standing up on my legs for 3 hours at my craft table has taken its toll and wasn't a very good idea. :( Then again, I told you before I didn't do this "rest" thing very good.

So, here's to hoping the doctor will call me in the morning with a "clean bill of health" to return to running/walking tomorrow and my legs will feel like new when I wake up.

Tina

Day 15 - Presented with a Straight Jacket

Yes, you read that right. I came home from work today for my husband to present me with a "Straight Jacket". Lucky for me it was the model name of a pair of brand new Oakley Sunglasses that he bought for me to run in. LOL! (Although I still think I am crazy for doing this whole marathon training so either type of straight jacket at this point would probably have been in order!)

Anyhoo - I am always the one that buys the $10.00 glasses off the rack at Walgreens when I need sunglasses since I am constantly losing or breaking them. He said I needed a "good pair" of glasses so he surprised me with these today. Needless to say, they are not $10.00 glasses so I guess I need to sew them to my head so I don't lose them!

This was another "day of rest" as far as walking/running goes. Hopefully by tomorrow will be back up and running. So, since I could not run, figured I better take this evening to design cards for my upcoming card class I am giving on Saturday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!!

Thanks for everyone's support by providing fundraising for this event. Hope I can get back on my feet and make everyone proud.

Update on dad - got word this afternoon that dad met with the surgeon and they have scheduled him for gall bladder removal surgery tomorrow afternoon so off to the hospital I will head after lunch tomorrow! Stay tuned......


Tina

Day 14 - a "No Training Day"

Well, here it is, June 1st and the 14th day of training. Can't believe I been at this for two weeks today and still can't manage to run a complete mile. I apparently had high hopes! I was told today that unfortunately I was an "all or nothing type of gal" and apparently pushing myself too hard. Here I was thinking I was not pushing enough.

We were supposed to have our "Stretching/Exercise Training" Session with the Team in Training group tonight. I was so looking forward to it since I thought that perhaps I would learn something to help alleviate the pain and issues I was having with my right leg. Needless to say, they cancelled the training and they are doing a repeat of last weeks "Proper Shoes/Gear" Training since several people did not come last week. Poop!! I say, those people can learn shoes/gear another time - I need my stretching!!! Well, no one cares what I think so I didnt have a meeting tonight since I didn't need a repeat of last week.

Then to top that off, due to the pain I been having for two days, I was instructed I needed to take two days off of walking or running and "rest". I don't "rest" very well, but I guess I need to in order to prevent an unnecessary injury. Hopefully come Thursday I can get back out there and be better than ever. How am I supposed to manage a half-marathon when I am sitting on my butt?!

I was happy though that when I got home I got notice that someone gave a donation on my fundraising website that pushed me over the $500 mark!!!! Thanks Mr. Brooks!!! So, now I don't feel a total let down to the LLS today - at least I got a donation when I'm sitting on my butt! :)

Tina