July 26, 2012
My husband and I try very hard to live our lives differently than other people. We believe in discussing issues and problems in a calm manner and that yelling and fighting doesn't solve anything. Despite these fundamental beliefs even the best of intentions can fall apart and we do end up fighting. In my world of definitions, fighting and arguing mean two totally different things. To mean arguing means a healthy exchange of disagreeing ideas with a problem solving undertone with the goal of coming to a mutual understanding and compromise. (This is not to be confused with debate which to me means an argument that doesn't have any real conclusion....think high school debate class or something along those lines.) Fighting is simply lashing out at each other with the intent to force your will upon someone else and with the intent to verbally (or physically if you're that type of person) hurt someone. My husband and I strive to only argue but unfortunately we do, once in a great while, fight. Last night was one of those rare times. And while I'm not one to air my dirty laundry in the great vast world wide unknown this argument was the whole purpose for today's run.
Having fought with my husband I went to bed and tried to sleep. When I was unable to, I got up and cleaned the kitchen (okay, so I clean when I'm angry, doesn't everyone?) by this time it was around 5:30 in the morning and as I was standing at the sink gazing unseeingly out into my mother in law's back yard I realized that the sun was coming up. I know that in the past when frustration has overwhelmed me if I went for a run it would help clear the air around me and help me become more focused. So as I was finishing up the dishes my thoughts turned toward the road and my shoes sitting neatly in their box calling to me, offering me the freedom and bliss and serenity of the pavement. Who was I to resist? Besides, I couldn't sleep anyway! I put down my dish towel and dug out my spandex.
Armed with my trusty iPod armband with my iPod blaring the "Marathon Mix" (Does anyone know how to change the name of a playlist once you have named it? I can't seem to figure it out!) and my Garmin on my wrist I set out. As my feet struck the pavement and my breathing became heavy I couldn't seem to find the peace I was searching for. The air around me was thick and heavy and my limbs felt tired. I kept telling myself if I just kept going I would find the calm I was searching for but it never came. I was a bundle of tension and my body knew it. I wanted to make this a 3 mile run (I am in training, you know) but it just wasn't happening and my body knew it. Despite cheerfully calling "Hello" to the people I saw out on their porches or on their morning walks I wasn't feeling joyful. Running wasn't going to ease the ache in my heart this morning and I knew it.
On my way back home I ran into my teenage cousin. She and a friend of hers were out running too. I was glad to get a hug as I haven't seen her in a while. I was grateful to see her. We had made an effort to gain guardianship over her and and her two sisters when their father died late last year but he had signed guardianship over to the middle daughter's best friend's family and they refused to sign it over to us. Now we don't get to see them very often; it's almost as though they are another family now and I miss them so I was very grateful to see our cousin this morning. I thank God for that small blessing. But it was with a heavy heart that I turned into my driveway after this morning's run. This morning there was no turning around and heading back to do the run again. As I quietly shut the door behind me upon returning I felt my eyes well up with tears. I knew what I had to do; I had to fix things with my husband. Our marriage is so important to me and whatever we fight about cannot be allowed to tear us apart.
Since my husband was sleeping when I came in, I sat down in my chair and fell asleep thinking things over. When I woke up I was disoriented (I thought it was 9:00 in the morning and it was 1:00 in the afternoon!) and things between my husband and I were chilled. As the afternoon wore on things thawed out and we worked things out and I felt better.
The physicals of the run break down like this: I ran 2.31 miles this morning. It took me twenty-seven minutes to do the courthouse run with the loop behind the courthouse included. My average pace was 11:30 and to be honest, I felt like crap. I believe this is because I was feeling like crap in my heart. This was my first early morning run ever. It was rather peaceful out in there in the morning but to be honest I have a much more idyllic idea of what an early morning run should be. My idea of a morning is this: Picture in your mind the perfect temperature for running. My ideal running temperature is slightly cool, cool enough to raise goosebumps when you start out but by the time you are done you are sweating. Now picture a nice clean trail; it's clear of roots and sticks and such. There are no cracks in the pavement, smooth and maybe just slightly curvy. The hills are moderate and there are trees on both sides of the path. Tall enough to block out the world but low enough that you feel safe. It loops around and there are posts marking your mileage as you run along embracing the peace and serenity of God's beautiful earth. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.....sounds like heaven on earth! And now we have to wake up; UGH! Nope, my morning run was along the sidewalks of town. It was quietish and there was little traffic, not many people out but it certainly wasn't as beautiful as what I picture in my mind, LOL!
Having said that, I liked running in the morning. Normally throughout my day I make decisions about how I eat, whether I take a shower early or late with my plan for my run in my mind. Today I didn't have to worry about. I'd already run, I'd had a shower. I could eat whatever I wanted without having to worry about it being too heavy for me to run (I prefer to run on an empty stomach). I was clean and my day was free. I didn't have to worry about fitting a run in. Those things make an early morning run worth it. Now if I could just get myself to do it every morning! Since we are night owls (my husband is a professional poker player and he works at night so I stay up with him) getting up early for a run is not really happening these days. Guess I need to work on that, eh?
All in all, this run was completely dissatisfying. It had more to do with my state of mind than the weather or the physicality of running itself. I learned today that there are some things a run can't solve. Going for a run will give you the space to calm down but you have to put you yourself have to put yourself in a place where you are willing to be open to changing your mind about what you think you are right about.
Happy Running!
KEA
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Some Miles Are Better Than No Miles
7/24/12
My mother in law called this afternoon to say she was going out for Chinese this evening and asked if we wanted to go along. I've been craving Chinese for a long time so I said absolutely yes! It was around 5:00 and we decided that since it's summer and we've been eating late these days that we wouldn't leave until around 7:00. I decided that I had time for a run and since I hadn't been very good about keeping up with my running (stupid heat!!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) that I needed to get out there and get into it again.
As I was gearing up for my run my youngest daughter came into my room. She saw me dressed and geared and asked if she could come along. Now, I love to hang out with my daughter. I love everything about her, her smile, her cheerful voice, her pretty little face and her conversation but I'm finding more and more as I continue my running that my running is becoming more and more "Me Time" and I am very jealous over it. I just don't want to share it. But, she was begging and I hate to hurt her feelings so I said she could go along. After all, she is fast on her scooter and as long as she stays in front of me, I don't have to worry about where she is and whether she is safe as much. This is my only concern with running with kids.....well, that and sometimes they chit chat and when I'm in the zone I don't feel particularly chatty; come on folks, 'fess up, you feel the same way! So I agreed to let her come along.
Things were going well and despite the heat. Then, my daughter began lagging behind and that's unusual for her. Have I mentioned she's really fast on her scooter and normally is in front of me? I was feeling a little exasperated at having to slow down and continually look behind to see where she was. I hit the .88 mile point and my daughter was considerably behind. I turned around and called "Hurry up, Puss" and she said she felt low. That means she felt like her blood sugar was low. My daughter is ten and just three months ago was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. We control her blood sugar with insulin. Since summer has kicked in our schedule has been off and we've been eating at weird times and this means that when we go for our run/scooter ride she may or may not have eaten anything. Usually I nag her about eating and we take care of it before we leave. This time I was focused on getting my run in and hadn't really planned on taking her with me so I forgot to ask her if she'd eaten anything. At that point we turned around and headed back home. Her health is much more important than my getting a run in.
Overall this was a terrible run. It was hot and my daughter was not herself and we didn't even complete our run. We only went 1.67 miles; it took us twenty-five minutes and our overall pace was 15:05. This was because the longer we were out, the slower my daughter walked. I tried to get her home as fast as we could but she wouldn't even scooter which didn't make sense to me. It takes more energy to walk than it does to push off and make the scooter go. I also felt pretty crappy by the time we got home although we got the blood sugar issue taken care of and we had a nice dinner with NaNa and all the family.
Incidentally, I have decided that I will not run with the kids again. As I said before, it is rapidly becoming "Me Time" and is something of an escape from the daily humdrum of life. I prefer to be alone with myself and my feet hitting the pavement to the beat of whatever particular song is playing on the iPod. If that makes me selfish, then so be it. Everyone has something they are selfish about and this is mine! I don't think that makes me a bad person and at least I'm honest about it.
Happy Running!
KEA
My mother in law called this afternoon to say she was going out for Chinese this evening and asked if we wanted to go along. I've been craving Chinese for a long time so I said absolutely yes! It was around 5:00 and we decided that since it's summer and we've been eating late these days that we wouldn't leave until around 7:00. I decided that I had time for a run and since I hadn't been very good about keeping up with my running (stupid heat!!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) that I needed to get out there and get into it again.
As I was gearing up for my run my youngest daughter came into my room. She saw me dressed and geared and asked if she could come along. Now, I love to hang out with my daughter. I love everything about her, her smile, her cheerful voice, her pretty little face and her conversation but I'm finding more and more as I continue my running that my running is becoming more and more "Me Time" and I am very jealous over it. I just don't want to share it. But, she was begging and I hate to hurt her feelings so I said she could go along. After all, she is fast on her scooter and as long as she stays in front of me, I don't have to worry about where she is and whether she is safe as much. This is my only concern with running with kids.....well, that and sometimes they chit chat and when I'm in the zone I don't feel particularly chatty; come on folks, 'fess up, you feel the same way! So I agreed to let her come along.
Things were going well and despite the heat. Then, my daughter began lagging behind and that's unusual for her. Have I mentioned she's really fast on her scooter and normally is in front of me? I was feeling a little exasperated at having to slow down and continually look behind to see where she was. I hit the .88 mile point and my daughter was considerably behind. I turned around and called "Hurry up, Puss" and she said she felt low. That means she felt like her blood sugar was low. My daughter is ten and just three months ago was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. We control her blood sugar with insulin. Since summer has kicked in our schedule has been off and we've been eating at weird times and this means that when we go for our run/scooter ride she may or may not have eaten anything. Usually I nag her about eating and we take care of it before we leave. This time I was focused on getting my run in and hadn't really planned on taking her with me so I forgot to ask her if she'd eaten anything. At that point we turned around and headed back home. Her health is much more important than my getting a run in.
Overall this was a terrible run. It was hot and my daughter was not herself and we didn't even complete our run. We only went 1.67 miles; it took us twenty-five minutes and our overall pace was 15:05. This was because the longer we were out, the slower my daughter walked. I tried to get her home as fast as we could but she wouldn't even scooter which didn't make sense to me. It takes more energy to walk than it does to push off and make the scooter go. I also felt pretty crappy by the time we got home although we got the blood sugar issue taken care of and we had a nice dinner with NaNa and all the family.
Incidentally, I have decided that I will not run with the kids again. As I said before, it is rapidly becoming "Me Time" and is something of an escape from the daily humdrum of life. I prefer to be alone with myself and my feet hitting the pavement to the beat of whatever particular song is playing on the iPod. If that makes me selfish, then so be it. Everyone has something they are selfish about and this is mine! I don't think that makes me a bad person and at least I'm honest about it.
Happy Running!
KEA
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Poppy and Grammy, Running the 5k!
July 20, 2012
Poppy sitting again today and we had her overnight. I have in the past said that when we have Poppy over it's impossible for me to run. Well, I have been proven wrong. My youngest daughter nagged and nagged and nagged and nagged and nagged for me to let her take Poppy on a walk. I refused because A) Poppy is only four months old and my daughter is only ten and B) It's hotter than blazes out there and I didn't think it was a good idea for the baby to be out in it. It's probably not a good idea for my daughter to be out in it either come to think of it! Anyway, so my husband decided to take the boys on a bike ride. I stepped outside and noticed that it had cooled off considerably and decided to indulge my daughter and go ahead and take Poppy out to see how she liked riding in the stroller.
We initially had some technical difficulties. Poppy is still small and the stroller we have is an umbrella stroller and the straps weren't quite tight enough. However, Poppy seemed fine and she even seemed to like it. So we set off on the courthouse run only we started out walking. We got distracted by the neighbors across the street. Mrs. J. hadn't seen Poppy so we popped in and visited for a bit. She thoroughly enjoyed holding the baby and we had a nice visit. Then we set off, me pushing the stroller, my daughter riding her scooter. It wasn't long before I was feeling the itch and so I started to jog a little. Poppy seemed to enjoy the ride so before you know it we were off and running. Okay....so maybe we weren't running....but we were going and I was beginning to work up a sweat.
We made it to the courthouse at a slow jog/walk with a bouncy step and turned around. About this time Poppy decided she wasn't quite as happy in the stroller as she had been when we started out. She began to get fussy so I picked up the pace despite my feet hurting. I wasn't wearing my running shoes and the shoes I was wearing were rubbing a blister on my right pinky toe. Those shoes were NOT made for running! OUCH! But, Poppy wasn't happy so run we must so we could stop at the snow cone place where they have benches so we could take her out and give her a bottle. The pace was quicker but not fast enough because by the time we made it to the snow cone shop Poppy was in full roar. :-( We took her out and held her. I tried to give her a bottle but she didn't want it. She had just had enough of the stroller! (Incidentally, with our crying baby we scared off a group of teenagers who had been sitting around goofing off and cussing at the snow cone shop, LOL!) Since my daughter was on her scooter I ended up holding Poppy and pushing the stroller for just under a half a mile home. It was rather difficult but Poppy was happy to be out of the stroller and in Grammy's arms!
This was an unplanned two mile "run" and despite having no idea what my pace was or even how long it took, all in all I am quite pleased with it. My daughter and I spent some quality time with each and with my granddaughter. We had a lot of fun and I think for the most part, Poppy enjoyed it too. We will have to find a way to make her more comfortable in the stroller and maybe next time we won't go so far. Pushing a stroller with one hand and holding a baby with the other isn't quite comfortable! Nor was running in the wrong shoes! OUCH! However, getting out in the cool evening and running with my kids was wonderful!
Happy Running!
KEA
Poppy sitting again today and we had her overnight. I have in the past said that when we have Poppy over it's impossible for me to run. Well, I have been proven wrong. My youngest daughter nagged and nagged and nagged and nagged and nagged for me to let her take Poppy on a walk. I refused because A) Poppy is only four months old and my daughter is only ten and B) It's hotter than blazes out there and I didn't think it was a good idea for the baby to be out in it. It's probably not a good idea for my daughter to be out in it either come to think of it! Anyway, so my husband decided to take the boys on a bike ride. I stepped outside and noticed that it had cooled off considerably and decided to indulge my daughter and go ahead and take Poppy out to see how she liked riding in the stroller.
We initially had some technical difficulties. Poppy is still small and the stroller we have is an umbrella stroller and the straps weren't quite tight enough. However, Poppy seemed fine and she even seemed to like it. So we set off on the courthouse run only we started out walking. We got distracted by the neighbors across the street. Mrs. J. hadn't seen Poppy so we popped in and visited for a bit. She thoroughly enjoyed holding the baby and we had a nice visit. Then we set off, me pushing the stroller, my daughter riding her scooter. It wasn't long before I was feeling the itch and so I started to jog a little. Poppy seemed to enjoy the ride so before you know it we were off and running. Okay....so maybe we weren't running....but we were going and I was beginning to work up a sweat.
We made it to the courthouse at a slow jog/walk with a bouncy step and turned around. About this time Poppy decided she wasn't quite as happy in the stroller as she had been when we started out. She began to get fussy so I picked up the pace despite my feet hurting. I wasn't wearing my running shoes and the shoes I was wearing were rubbing a blister on my right pinky toe. Those shoes were NOT made for running! OUCH! But, Poppy wasn't happy so run we must so we could stop at the snow cone place where they have benches so we could take her out and give her a bottle. The pace was quicker but not fast enough because by the time we made it to the snow cone shop Poppy was in full roar. :-( We took her out and held her. I tried to give her a bottle but she didn't want it. She had just had enough of the stroller! (Incidentally, with our crying baby we scared off a group of teenagers who had been sitting around goofing off and cussing at the snow cone shop, LOL!) Since my daughter was on her scooter I ended up holding Poppy and pushing the stroller for just under a half a mile home. It was rather difficult but Poppy was happy to be out of the stroller and in Grammy's arms!
This was an unplanned two mile "run" and despite having no idea what my pace was or even how long it took, all in all I am quite pleased with it. My daughter and I spent some quality time with each and with my granddaughter. We had a lot of fun and I think for the most part, Poppy enjoyed it too. We will have to find a way to make her more comfortable in the stroller and maybe next time we won't go so far. Pushing a stroller with one hand and holding a baby with the other isn't quite comfortable! Nor was running in the wrong shoes! OUCH! However, getting out in the cool evening and running with my kids was wonderful!
Happy Running!
KEA
Friday, July 20, 2012
Let Them Know You're Worth It, Dust It Off and Jerk It!
July 19, 2012
Earlier this week I was in a blue funk and decided I was going to take this week off from running. I was feeling terribly negative about everything - the kids were constantly fighting, it's been so hot out that I just couldn't motivate myself to run outside and the treadmill bores me, blah, blah, blah. I've been eating quit a bit too which hasn't been the norm so I was just a big bundle of negativity wrapped up in a bad attitude. So what did I do about it? I pulled on my big girl panties (and my spandex) and got on the treadmill.
My intention for this run was to run four miles at 5 mph with the treadmill incline set @ 2.0 but as we all know the best of intentions can go to the wayside. In my case it was all due to a certain song on my iPod. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but there are songs that for whatever reason just hit me and make me want to move. The one particular song that always makes me turn up the speed on the road or on the treadmill is "Jerk It" by Thunderheist. I'd never heard of Thunderheist before but I have discovered this cheesy show on SyFy called Lost Girl and it has opened up a whole new world of music to my iPod....well, that is, when I can find the songs on iTunes! Anyway, "Jerk It" was on one of the episodes and it had just that particular beat and speed that really hit me that I can groove to. So....after I'd pulled on my Big Girl Spandex and strapped on my iPod armband the first song on "Marathon Mix" (which my husband says I can't call a Marathon Mix because I've never run a marathon....pfffffffffffffft) was "I Will Survive" by Gloria Steinman which I thought was highly appropriate for the situation. I settled into my run comfortable singing along because this run wasn't about stressing myself out (this run was about motivating myself to get up off my lazy, grumpy butt and run) when all of a sudden BAM like a freight train of bass and groove here comes Thunderheist. What's a girl to do? Well, I had no choice but to kick up the speed and run it out. I had already run a little over half and mile and once I kick it up I refuse to let myself slow down until I've run at least one mile at the faster pace. And that's what I did. As a matter of fact, I ran a little over a mile at that pace. GO ME!
After Thunderheist ruined my perfect plan of easing myself back into a nice and easy run by forcing me to run a mile at the faster pace I was feeling it a little and not in a good way. I hadn't run for a couple of days and for some reason the arch in my left foot started hurting. That was very weird. My left knee started hurting again too. That was not good, especially since I had stretched thoroughly before I ran. So I slowed it down and finished my run by putting in another mile at 5 mph with the exception of maybe the last three minutes of the run. By that point I had decided I'd had enough of this particular run and just wanted to be finished so I kicked it back up to the 5.6 mph and got through it as quick as I could. I finished off with a thorough stretch and was glad to be back at it, even if it was on the treadmill.
As for the details, it took me 35 minutes to run 3.107 miles. My overall pace was 11:19 and this was run on the treadmill with the incline set at 2.0 for the whole run. I started out running 5.0 mph for the first .66 miles then kicked it up to 5.6 mph for a little over a mile. I then slowed it back down to the 5.0 mph. When I was at about 2.7 miles I wanted to be done so much that I kicked it back up to 5.6 mph to get done as quick as possible. Somewhere along in there I had kicked it up to 5.4 as well but not for very long so it's almost not worth mentioning.
All in all I'm satisfied with this run even though it started out as one thing and morphed into something completely different. I guess that's what I needed really. Incidentally, after this run I am finding my attitude has been adjusted slightly and I'm a little more chill and can handle what I thought I couldn't before. Glad I found the motivation to get this done.
Happy Running!
KEA
Earlier this week I was in a blue funk and decided I was going to take this week off from running. I was feeling terribly negative about everything - the kids were constantly fighting, it's been so hot out that I just couldn't motivate myself to run outside and the treadmill bores me, blah, blah, blah. I've been eating quit a bit too which hasn't been the norm so I was just a big bundle of negativity wrapped up in a bad attitude. So what did I do about it? I pulled on my big girl panties (and my spandex) and got on the treadmill.
My intention for this run was to run four miles at 5 mph with the treadmill incline set @ 2.0 but as we all know the best of intentions can go to the wayside. In my case it was all due to a certain song on my iPod. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but there are songs that for whatever reason just hit me and make me want to move. The one particular song that always makes me turn up the speed on the road or on the treadmill is "Jerk It" by Thunderheist. I'd never heard of Thunderheist before but I have discovered this cheesy show on SyFy called Lost Girl and it has opened up a whole new world of music to my iPod....well, that is, when I can find the songs on iTunes! Anyway, "Jerk It" was on one of the episodes and it had just that particular beat and speed that really hit me that I can groove to. So....after I'd pulled on my Big Girl Spandex and strapped on my iPod armband the first song on "Marathon Mix" (which my husband says I can't call a Marathon Mix because I've never run a marathon....pfffffffffffffft) was "I Will Survive" by Gloria Steinman which I thought was highly appropriate for the situation. I settled into my run comfortable singing along because this run wasn't about stressing myself out (this run was about motivating myself to get up off my lazy, grumpy butt and run) when all of a sudden BAM like a freight train of bass and groove here comes Thunderheist. What's a girl to do? Well, I had no choice but to kick up the speed and run it out. I had already run a little over half and mile and once I kick it up I refuse to let myself slow down until I've run at least one mile at the faster pace. And that's what I did. As a matter of fact, I ran a little over a mile at that pace. GO ME!
After Thunderheist ruined my perfect plan of easing myself back into a nice and easy run by forcing me to run a mile at the faster pace I was feeling it a little and not in a good way. I hadn't run for a couple of days and for some reason the arch in my left foot started hurting. That was very weird. My left knee started hurting again too. That was not good, especially since I had stretched thoroughly before I ran. So I slowed it down and finished my run by putting in another mile at 5 mph with the exception of maybe the last three minutes of the run. By that point I had decided I'd had enough of this particular run and just wanted to be finished so I kicked it back up to the 5.6 mph and got through it as quick as I could. I finished off with a thorough stretch and was glad to be back at it, even if it was on the treadmill.
As for the details, it took me 35 minutes to run 3.107 miles. My overall pace was 11:19 and this was run on the treadmill with the incline set at 2.0 for the whole run. I started out running 5.0 mph for the first .66 miles then kicked it up to 5.6 mph for a little over a mile. I then slowed it back down to the 5.0 mph. When I was at about 2.7 miles I wanted to be done so much that I kicked it back up to 5.6 mph to get done as quick as possible. Somewhere along in there I had kicked it up to 5.4 as well but not for very long so it's almost not worth mentioning.
All in all I'm satisfied with this run even though it started out as one thing and morphed into something completely different. I guess that's what I needed really. Incidentally, after this run I am finding my attitude has been adjusted slightly and I'm a little more chill and can handle what I thought I couldn't before. Glad I found the motivation to get this done.
Happy Running!
KEA
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Go, go Gadget Garmin!
7/17/12
Was that thunder I just heard? Great....that means another day I have to hit the treadmill. Well, let's just wait and see if it clears up and I can run outside. Until then, let's talk about gadgets, running gadgets; more specifically, let's talk about my Garmin. I love my Garmin. I REALLY love my Garmin. I want to share with you how I made the decision to buy the Garmin, which Garmin I bought, why I chose it and what I get out of it.
When I started running outside I started looking for a way to keep track of how far I've run. I began my search at WalMart and since I'm on a tight budget I began looking for the most inexpensive way to keep track. When I first started running outside I started at the high school track, not on the street. My husband told me that four times around the track was one mile but I wanted to know exactly how far it was. I know it sounds strange but when I was running on the track I had a preference for the fourth lane. I know, that's silly but it just felt comfortable and I liked it there so that's the one I ran in. So, when my husband told that four times around the track was one mile I became a little concerned because I had chosen the fourth lane and the sign on the track fence said "Runners please run in the fifth and sixth lanes." I began to think about the lanes and how it is a shorter distance in the inside lanes and then I began to think what if when my husband says four times around the track is one mile he means four times around the track in lane five or six? I began to question just how much distance I was covering. So off I went to WalMart to find a way to keep track. I ended up with a $10 pedometer. It was easy to set up and easy to use.....well, except for that stride thing. Yup, I had to figure out my stride and that's what determined how far I had traveled. So I set about trying to figure out my stride. The directions said to run ten steps, measure it, divide by a set number. Okay, I did the math. My stride turned out to be rather large which seemed strange because I'm a small woman....5' 1 1/2" and to have a stride that large (can't remember the number but it was suspiciously big, like 36 or something like that) just didn't make sense. But I went with it. So I was running with the pedometer on my shorts and cranking out big numbers and it just didn't make sense. So I went about trying to figure out my stride again. This time the numbers were super small. Nothing was adding up so I gave up on the pedometer. What I really wanted was something that told me mileage, speed and time.
I began asking my friends on thedailymile.com. They all had some sort of devices that they wore because they were posting times, pace, and some even had their routes mapped and posted! How cool is that? Well, not really cool because if you're a woman and you run alone you never know what kind of crazy person is out there who might see that information and well, you get the drift. Anyway, I've digressed, but the point is they had devices that told the information I wanted to know!!!! YAY! There was hope! Thus was my introduction to the Garmin.
I began my search by typing Garmin into a search engine. Then I began researching the different types. I settled on the Garmin Forerunner 110; I will refer to it as the 110 from here on out to avoid typing "Garmin Forerunner 110" a bazillion times. I chose the 110 because I didn't need something with a ton of bells and whistles. All I wanted was to know how far I'd gone, what my pace was and how long it took me to do it. The 110 gives me this information plus a little more if I want it. I also wanted something that was pink....okay, so I'm a cheesy girly girl, so sue me, LOL! The 110 is grey with a pink stripe. It's not pretty, but it's got pink in it....it works for me, LOL! Also as I mentioned previously, I'm a small woman. I needed something that wasn't bulky and heavy and didn't weigh down my wrist. While the 110 is a little big, it isn't uncomfortable and it doesn't weigh my wrist down. It's like wearing a watch only it's slightly bigger.
Setting up the 110 was easy. I pushed a button and it asked me a couple questions (male, female, age, weight, height, activity class). All I had to do was charge it and it was ready to go! As a matter of fact, when it came, the instructions said to charge it for a long time but it really didn't take but maybe half and hour before it was fully charged and ready to use. I don't know if that's normal or not but I was pleased. I had no problems linking it up and charging it.
As for the features, the 110 came with a heart monitor which I myself do not use. If I get a 110 for my husband I will give it to him because he is more concerned with his heart rate than I am with mine. The monitor straps across your chest and links with your Garmin device. The 110 monitors distance, pace, and time. It has an alarm on it (which I never use) and it also has a feature called "Autolap." This feature automatically marks a lap at a specific distance. For instance, when I was running the track, I always counted my lap just on the lower top corner. If I had used this feature of the 110 I could've told it to automatically mark my lap at that distance. I have not used this function on the 110 though. The 110 (and I assume with any other Garmin product) you can upload your data to the Garmin Training Center. I keep track of all my workouts this way. It's super easy to do and it keeps everything right there where you can take a look at it all quickly and efficiently. My 110 also uploads to the website where I chat and connect with all my runner friends. That too is super easy to do.
I know the picture isn't very clear; I'm not a good photographer but it will suffice to tell you what's what. The zeros at the top are the mileage. When you hit one mile the 110 beeps to tell you that you have reached this monumental achievement. ;-) It also beeps for each mile you run. The middle zeros, the biggest ones, show your time as in how long you have been running. The bottom numbers, the ones that on my Garmin in the picture say 14:17 show your pace. On the right side of the 110, there are two buttons, the top one is the light button. This button also turns the 110 on and off. The bottom button is the menu button; you push this button before you go for your run and the 110 will begin locating satellites. Put it outside and give it a minute. It can take a little bit to find them but let it do it's thing. I can't remember what else this button does and I am too lazy right this second to get up and look. The top button on the left is the start/stop button. This is the button you push to start the device's tracking, etc. I have never used the bottom left button. I believe it is the lap button. I will have to play with that button some time.
Some notes, when charging and uploading, make sure the device is completely connected to the charger. There are several little "holes" on the back that must be lined up exactly with the prongs of the charger. If they aren't lined up and put in correctly the device won't charge or upload. Also, if you are in the middle of your run and you have to stop for some reason, you can push the start/stop button and the device will stop recording your data. You simply push the button again and it takes up where you left off. This works even if the device has powered down to Power Save mode. (I found that out the other day!)
I guess the last thing to talk about is price. Well, let me tell you, this baby ain't cheap but it was as far as I am aware, the least expensive of the Garmins I looked at. I think I paid $176 for mine but I've seen them for as much as $317. I bought mine off of Amazon.com and I don't remember the name of the store. It was the cheapest I could find it and that is with the heart monitor; they are a tad less expensive if you find it without the heart monitor. Despite having not used the heart monitor, I wanted it. I think I thought it was in the device itself and not something that had to be attached to your chest. At any rate, I wanted that feature so I paid for it. So as I said, the 110 isn't cheap and I'm on a budget so I had to do my choosing wisely.
All in all, I am very pleased with my 110. I have had absolutely no problems with it at all. Well, let me restate that...I did have one problem with it, but it was completely user error! After one run I plugged it into the computer to upload my data. Somehow the device got turned off and I couldn't figure out how to turn it back on. It took some doing but I finally figure it out and got it turned back on (hold down the light button) I would definitely recommend the Garmin Forerunner 110 if you want a device that's less expensive but still gives basic information. It suits my needs and quite frankly, I love mine.
Happy Running!
KEA
Was that thunder I just heard? Great....that means another day I have to hit the treadmill. Well, let's just wait and see if it clears up and I can run outside. Until then, let's talk about gadgets, running gadgets; more specifically, let's talk about my Garmin. I love my Garmin. I REALLY love my Garmin. I want to share with you how I made the decision to buy the Garmin, which Garmin I bought, why I chose it and what I get out of it.
When I started running outside I started looking for a way to keep track of how far I've run. I began my search at WalMart and since I'm on a tight budget I began looking for the most inexpensive way to keep track. When I first started running outside I started at the high school track, not on the street. My husband told me that four times around the track was one mile but I wanted to know exactly how far it was. I know it sounds strange but when I was running on the track I had a preference for the fourth lane. I know, that's silly but it just felt comfortable and I liked it there so that's the one I ran in. So, when my husband told that four times around the track was one mile I became a little concerned because I had chosen the fourth lane and the sign on the track fence said "Runners please run in the fifth and sixth lanes." I began to think about the lanes and how it is a shorter distance in the inside lanes and then I began to think what if when my husband says four times around the track is one mile he means four times around the track in lane five or six? I began to question just how much distance I was covering. So off I went to WalMart to find a way to keep track. I ended up with a $10 pedometer. It was easy to set up and easy to use.....well, except for that stride thing. Yup, I had to figure out my stride and that's what determined how far I had traveled. So I set about trying to figure out my stride. The directions said to run ten steps, measure it, divide by a set number. Okay, I did the math. My stride turned out to be rather large which seemed strange because I'm a small woman....5' 1 1/2" and to have a stride that large (can't remember the number but it was suspiciously big, like 36 or something like that) just didn't make sense. But I went with it. So I was running with the pedometer on my shorts and cranking out big numbers and it just didn't make sense. So I went about trying to figure out my stride again. This time the numbers were super small. Nothing was adding up so I gave up on the pedometer. What I really wanted was something that told me mileage, speed and time.
I began asking my friends on thedailymile.com. They all had some sort of devices that they wore because they were posting times, pace, and some even had their routes mapped and posted! How cool is that? Well, not really cool because if you're a woman and you run alone you never know what kind of crazy person is out there who might see that information and well, you get the drift. Anyway, I've digressed, but the point is they had devices that told the information I wanted to know!!!! YAY! There was hope! Thus was my introduction to the Garmin.
I began my search by typing Garmin into a search engine. Then I began researching the different types. I settled on the Garmin Forerunner 110; I will refer to it as the 110 from here on out to avoid typing "Garmin Forerunner 110" a bazillion times. I chose the 110 because I didn't need something with a ton of bells and whistles. All I wanted was to know how far I'd gone, what my pace was and how long it took me to do it. The 110 gives me this information plus a little more if I want it. I also wanted something that was pink....okay, so I'm a cheesy girly girl, so sue me, LOL! The 110 is grey with a pink stripe. It's not pretty, but it's got pink in it....it works for me, LOL! Also as I mentioned previously, I'm a small woman. I needed something that wasn't bulky and heavy and didn't weigh down my wrist. While the 110 is a little big, it isn't uncomfortable and it doesn't weigh my wrist down. It's like wearing a watch only it's slightly bigger.
 | |
| The Garmin Forerunner 110 |
As for the features, the 110 came with a heart monitor which I myself do not use. If I get a 110 for my husband I will give it to him because he is more concerned with his heart rate than I am with mine. The monitor straps across your chest and links with your Garmin device. The 110 monitors distance, pace, and time. It has an alarm on it (which I never use) and it also has a feature called "Autolap." This feature automatically marks a lap at a specific distance. For instance, when I was running the track, I always counted my lap just on the lower top corner. If I had used this feature of the 110 I could've told it to automatically mark my lap at that distance. I have not used this function on the 110 though. The 110 (and I assume with any other Garmin product) you can upload your data to the Garmin Training Center. I keep track of all my workouts this way. It's super easy to do and it keeps everything right there where you can take a look at it all quickly and efficiently. My 110 also uploads to the website where I chat and connect with all my runner friends. That too is super easy to do.
I know the picture isn't very clear; I'm not a good photographer but it will suffice to tell you what's what. The zeros at the top are the mileage. When you hit one mile the 110 beeps to tell you that you have reached this monumental achievement. ;-) It also beeps for each mile you run. The middle zeros, the biggest ones, show your time as in how long you have been running. The bottom numbers, the ones that on my Garmin in the picture say 14:17 show your pace. On the right side of the 110, there are two buttons, the top one is the light button. This button also turns the 110 on and off. The bottom button is the menu button; you push this button before you go for your run and the 110 will begin locating satellites. Put it outside and give it a minute. It can take a little bit to find them but let it do it's thing. I can't remember what else this button does and I am too lazy right this second to get up and look. The top button on the left is the start/stop button. This is the button you push to start the device's tracking, etc. I have never used the bottom left button. I believe it is the lap button. I will have to play with that button some time.
Some notes, when charging and uploading, make sure the device is completely connected to the charger. There are several little "holes" on the back that must be lined up exactly with the prongs of the charger. If they aren't lined up and put in correctly the device won't charge or upload. Also, if you are in the middle of your run and you have to stop for some reason, you can push the start/stop button and the device will stop recording your data. You simply push the button again and it takes up where you left off. This works even if the device has powered down to Power Save mode. (I found that out the other day!)
I guess the last thing to talk about is price. Well, let me tell you, this baby ain't cheap but it was as far as I am aware, the least expensive of the Garmins I looked at. I think I paid $176 for mine but I've seen them for as much as $317. I bought mine off of Amazon.com and I don't remember the name of the store. It was the cheapest I could find it and that is with the heart monitor; they are a tad less expensive if you find it without the heart monitor. Despite having not used the heart monitor, I wanted it. I think I thought it was in the device itself and not something that had to be attached to your chest. At any rate, I wanted that feature so I paid for it. So as I said, the 110 isn't cheap and I'm on a budget so I had to do my choosing wisely.
All in all, I am very pleased with my 110. I have had absolutely no problems with it at all. Well, let me restate that...I did have one problem with it, but it was completely user error! After one run I plugged it into the computer to upload my data. Somehow the device got turned off and I couldn't figure out how to turn it back on. It took some doing but I finally figure it out and got it turned back on (hold down the light button) I would definitely recommend the Garmin Forerunner 110 if you want a device that's less expensive but still gives basic information. It suits my needs and quite frankly, I love mine.
Happy Running!
KEA
Oh, yes, I did!
7/14/12
Today's run was a run purely to relieve frustration. I started the day with the idea of working on a project that has needed to be completed almost since we moved in to this house. When we moved into this house the walls were covered in wall paper and I got all of it taken down and all but two rooms painted. I decided today to start painting the small room upstairs. We are trying to decide whether to keep it as a guest room or to use it as my youngest daughter's room and us take her room. It's all up in the air but I need to get the room painted regardless of what we decide to do. So I decided to do that today. It was a mess from the start. I had moved all my painting supplies down to the basement and I couldn't find all my painting tools. I decided to make due with what I could find but it made the job much harder; everything I had was inadequate. Also much to my disgust I found one wall still had some wall paper on it so I had to take that down; it was easy to do but then I had to clean it which meant I couldn't paint that wall today. I finally got so frustrated with the whole job that I gave up and decided to go for a run.
I did the usual run to the courthouse. I wish I could find a different "course" but for now it has to do since I'm still working on those hills! I kept the loop around the back of the courthouse and came home running the opposite side of the street. Oh, bonus, there's a water fountain across the street from the courthouse on the parking lot side. YAY!!! Until I can come up with a light and easy way to carry water, I'm depending on those water fountains to keep my hydrated! I continued on back home on the opposite side of the street, hitting the "park" water fountain when I got there. I also found that splashing water on myself helps too. I made it back to the house, came inside, did some stretching, took in some ice cold water and then headed back out again. This time I only got to the half mile point when I saw my youngest daughter who had gone out with my husband and his son. They were on bikes and she was on her scooter. Man, she is fast! I ran into her and turned around at that point to come back. This gave me just over another mile.
I had no incidents on this run. I had to walk just a little bit but overall I'd say this was a great run. I felt great and I ended up with 3.9 miles to add to the board. Wow! 3.9 miles! I almost headed out again to push it up to 4 but I decided not to. I think I should have. :-( Oh, well, there's always tomorrow! Anyway, here's how it breaks down: 3.9 miles @ a pace of 11:18; it took 44 minutes and I felt great when I was done. My frustration from earlier in the day just melted away as I pounded it out on the pavement. I'm completely happy with this run and I'm looking forward to getting out there again....maybe I can hit the four mile mark!
Happy Running!
KEA
Today's run was a run purely to relieve frustration. I started the day with the idea of working on a project that has needed to be completed almost since we moved in to this house. When we moved into this house the walls were covered in wall paper and I got all of it taken down and all but two rooms painted. I decided today to start painting the small room upstairs. We are trying to decide whether to keep it as a guest room or to use it as my youngest daughter's room and us take her room. It's all up in the air but I need to get the room painted regardless of what we decide to do. So I decided to do that today. It was a mess from the start. I had moved all my painting supplies down to the basement and I couldn't find all my painting tools. I decided to make due with what I could find but it made the job much harder; everything I had was inadequate. Also much to my disgust I found one wall still had some wall paper on it so I had to take that down; it was easy to do but then I had to clean it which meant I couldn't paint that wall today. I finally got so frustrated with the whole job that I gave up and decided to go for a run.
I did the usual run to the courthouse. I wish I could find a different "course" but for now it has to do since I'm still working on those hills! I kept the loop around the back of the courthouse and came home running the opposite side of the street. Oh, bonus, there's a water fountain across the street from the courthouse on the parking lot side. YAY!!! Until I can come up with a light and easy way to carry water, I'm depending on those water fountains to keep my hydrated! I continued on back home on the opposite side of the street, hitting the "park" water fountain when I got there. I also found that splashing water on myself helps too. I made it back to the house, came inside, did some stretching, took in some ice cold water and then headed back out again. This time I only got to the half mile point when I saw my youngest daughter who had gone out with my husband and his son. They were on bikes and she was on her scooter. Man, she is fast! I ran into her and turned around at that point to come back. This gave me just over another mile.
I had no incidents on this run. I had to walk just a little bit but overall I'd say this was a great run. I felt great and I ended up with 3.9 miles to add to the board. Wow! 3.9 miles! I almost headed out again to push it up to 4 but I decided not to. I think I should have. :-( Oh, well, there's always tomorrow! Anyway, here's how it breaks down: 3.9 miles @ a pace of 11:18; it took 44 minutes and I felt great when I was done. My frustration from earlier in the day just melted away as I pounded it out on the pavement. I'm completely happy with this run and I'm looking forward to getting out there again....maybe I can hit the four mile mark!
Happy Running!
KEA
Oh, the joy of the great outdoors!
7/12/12
YAY!!! Back to the Great Outdoors!!!! I must admit the whole reason I was because I wanted to play with my Garmin again. Have I mentioned that I love my Garmin? Well, I do. It's a handy little tool. Anyway, the inspiration was my Garmin and I was truly glad I got out there.
Today was the usual run to the courthouse and back except this time I added a little loop around the courthouse and then ran back on the opposite side of the street. I did this because at this point in time I don't have any way to carry water and I have to have something or I can't continue. On the opposite side of the street at the halfway back point there's a water fountain in a small "park." The water is hot but at least I can rehydrate and continue on home. I was glad I've made this change in my run. Running behind the courthouse gives me a little extra mileage and there's an extra little hill in there too which adds to my difficulty level. I'm all about challenging myself these days. Must be that competitive spirit, I'm even competing with myself! Nothing wrong with that, is there? Anyway, so I'm finding the hills are a little easier. I also like running back on the other side of the street. I don't know why; it may be psychological but it feels easier even though the hill looks bigger. That is so strange and is probably all perception related but I don't care. It works for me and that's all I care about, yeah?
Today I didn't have to walk any and I have found a way to trick myself through the hills. I know when they are coming up so I tell myself to not look up when I know I'm close. I can feel the grade when I'm running but if I can't see it, it's easier to get up it. Either that or I'm just getting used to them and they aren't as daunting as they have been in the past. I guess it doesn't matter because I'm glad that it's getting easier. I feel like I'm accomplishing something and it feels great!
I ran 2.32 miles outside today and it was HOT so I finished up my run on the treadmill. My first 2.32 miles @ a pace of 11:45 and it took 27 minutes to do it. I'm getting better! Yay! I ran the last mile on the treadmill @ a pace of 12:00. It took twelve minutes (big surprise there, right? LOL!) to run the last mile. I ran it with the incline on the treadmill set @ 2.
Once again, I would've preferred to have done my entire run outside but it was so hot and I just couldn't do it. Overall I felt really good after this run and I'm so glad to be back in the swing of things. Yay!!! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!
Happy Running!
KEA
YAY!!! Back to the Great Outdoors!!!! I must admit the whole reason I was because I wanted to play with my Garmin again. Have I mentioned that I love my Garmin? Well, I do. It's a handy little tool. Anyway, the inspiration was my Garmin and I was truly glad I got out there.
Today was the usual run to the courthouse and back except this time I added a little loop around the courthouse and then ran back on the opposite side of the street. I did this because at this point in time I don't have any way to carry water and I have to have something or I can't continue. On the opposite side of the street at the halfway back point there's a water fountain in a small "park." The water is hot but at least I can rehydrate and continue on home. I was glad I've made this change in my run. Running behind the courthouse gives me a little extra mileage and there's an extra little hill in there too which adds to my difficulty level. I'm all about challenging myself these days. Must be that competitive spirit, I'm even competing with myself! Nothing wrong with that, is there? Anyway, so I'm finding the hills are a little easier. I also like running back on the other side of the street. I don't know why; it may be psychological but it feels easier even though the hill looks bigger. That is so strange and is probably all perception related but I don't care. It works for me and that's all I care about, yeah?
Today I didn't have to walk any and I have found a way to trick myself through the hills. I know when they are coming up so I tell myself to not look up when I know I'm close. I can feel the grade when I'm running but if I can't see it, it's easier to get up it. Either that or I'm just getting used to them and they aren't as daunting as they have been in the past. I guess it doesn't matter because I'm glad that it's getting easier. I feel like I'm accomplishing something and it feels great!
I ran 2.32 miles outside today and it was HOT so I finished up my run on the treadmill. My first 2.32 miles @ a pace of 11:45 and it took 27 minutes to do it. I'm getting better! Yay! I ran the last mile on the treadmill @ a pace of 12:00. It took twelve minutes (big surprise there, right? LOL!) to run the last mile. I ran it with the incline on the treadmill set @ 2.
Once again, I would've preferred to have done my entire run outside but it was so hot and I just couldn't do it. Overall I felt really good after this run and I'm so glad to be back in the swing of things. Yay!!! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!
Happy Running!
KEA
Monday, July 16, 2012
A Day of Pure Joy
July 10, 2012
No running today. Instead I took my youngest daughter to the zoo. :-) We LOVE the zoo. Our intention today was to see every single attraction that the zoo has to offer. Unfortunately, we did not obtain our goal. Our day started out with an appointment at the St. Louis Children's Hospital. In April my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was hospitalized for Diabetic Ketoacidosis. While she was in the hospital we enrolled her in a study that is trying to determine the best way to rehydrate children while they have Diabetic Ketoacidosis. Today we had a follow up appointment in that study. Today they gave her tests to test her cognitive abilities. Unfortunately, the appointment went longer than we thought so we had less time at the zoo. :-(
We arrived at the zoo around 12:30 and immediately bought our Safari passes. Our first stop was the bush dog. A bush dog looks a little like a cross between a fox and a bear. He's really kind of cute. He was dozing in the shade even though it really wasn't terribly hot out. I suppose it was hotter for him since he's got all hat fur on! We then visited the giant anteater, the black rhinoceros and the sacred ibis. We also stopped at the cheetah pen but the cheetahs weren't out. We saw then saw the hyenas, the dwarf mongoose and got some really cool pictures of the hippos! Hippos are pretty cool. Our next stop was the Asian elephants where they had this huge pen but only one elephant. He was cooling off in the water. Ever once in a while he would raise his trunk and splash himself with it. Then there was another pen with several more elephants. I don't understand why they had such a huge pen with what looked like one small elephant and then another pen that was much smaller with several elephants. Maybe the pens join together and I just couldn't see it. We took a quick stroll through the exhibit that shows the Missouri fish (and smells like bleach and moth balls) and then we were off to see the bugs!
The bugs were kind of cool although it's difficult to take pictures of them. Some of their "cages" are small and of course they like to hide. We saw pill bugs, which incidentally are not bugs at all, centipedes, tarantulas, a praying mantis, many types of beetles and many others! What was really cool was the butterfly exhibit. They have a big dome with lots of flowers and plants and you go in and the butterflies just fly around you. Sometimes they land on you. The kids all love that! None landed on us today and it was hard to get pictures because the butterflies flit around so fast! Well, that and I'm a poor photographer. :-(
Next on our agenda was to get air brush tattoos! My daughter got a penguin on her arm and yes, I got one too. I got a dolphin on my ankle. It was fun. We next visited the stingrays. My daughter wanted to feed them but when it came time, she chickened out. So we gave the fish to another little boy who chickened out as well and his father ended up doing it. LOL! We spent quite a bit of time with the stingrays. They are fascinating and my daughter loved touching them! We were then off to see the bears and the penguins. Our favorite exhibit is the penguins so we planned to spend quite a bit of time in the penguin house. We took lots of pictures and watched them for a bit. Then we perused the penguin gift shop and of course my daughter came home with a new stuffed penguin to add to her collection! After the penguins we meandered over to the carousel and my daughter rode it twice....or maybe it was three times? I can't remember. She met a little girl there who was from Ohio and visiting her grandparents in the same town my dad lives! She was the same age as my daughter. My daughter's new friend was going to ride the train so we went along and they sat together while we rode through the zoo. Unfortunately it was time for the zoo to close so we rode the train all the way around then had to get off to go home.
We missed the reptile house, the cats, the giraffes, the primate house, and the birds so we will have to go back. I think we will go early in the morning so we can spend the entire day there and see everything the zoo has to offer!
I don't know how far we walked but we walked for five hours and that in my book counts as a good bit of exercise even if it wasn't a run. It was a wonderful day and I enjoyed every minute with my daughter. Family time is important too!
Happy Running!
KEA
No running today. Instead I took my youngest daughter to the zoo. :-) We LOVE the zoo. Our intention today was to see every single attraction that the zoo has to offer. Unfortunately, we did not obtain our goal. Our day started out with an appointment at the St. Louis Children's Hospital. In April my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was hospitalized for Diabetic Ketoacidosis. While she was in the hospital we enrolled her in a study that is trying to determine the best way to rehydrate children while they have Diabetic Ketoacidosis. Today we had a follow up appointment in that study. Today they gave her tests to test her cognitive abilities. Unfortunately, the appointment went longer than we thought so we had less time at the zoo. :-(
We arrived at the zoo around 12:30 and immediately bought our Safari passes. Our first stop was the bush dog. A bush dog looks a little like a cross between a fox and a bear. He's really kind of cute. He was dozing in the shade even though it really wasn't terribly hot out. I suppose it was hotter for him since he's got all hat fur on! We then visited the giant anteater, the black rhinoceros and the sacred ibis. We also stopped at the cheetah pen but the cheetahs weren't out. We saw then saw the hyenas, the dwarf mongoose and got some really cool pictures of the hippos! Hippos are pretty cool. Our next stop was the Asian elephants where they had this huge pen but only one elephant. He was cooling off in the water. Ever once in a while he would raise his trunk and splash himself with it. Then there was another pen with several more elephants. I don't understand why they had such a huge pen with what looked like one small elephant and then another pen that was much smaller with several elephants. Maybe the pens join together and I just couldn't see it. We took a quick stroll through the exhibit that shows the Missouri fish (and smells like bleach and moth balls) and then we were off to see the bugs!
The bugs were kind of cool although it's difficult to take pictures of them. Some of their "cages" are small and of course they like to hide. We saw pill bugs, which incidentally are not bugs at all, centipedes, tarantulas, a praying mantis, many types of beetles and many others! What was really cool was the butterfly exhibit. They have a big dome with lots of flowers and plants and you go in and the butterflies just fly around you. Sometimes they land on you. The kids all love that! None landed on us today and it was hard to get pictures because the butterflies flit around so fast! Well, that and I'm a poor photographer. :-(
Next on our agenda was to get air brush tattoos! My daughter got a penguin on her arm and yes, I got one too. I got a dolphin on my ankle. It was fun. We next visited the stingrays. My daughter wanted to feed them but when it came time, she chickened out. So we gave the fish to another little boy who chickened out as well and his father ended up doing it. LOL! We spent quite a bit of time with the stingrays. They are fascinating and my daughter loved touching them! We were then off to see the bears and the penguins. Our favorite exhibit is the penguins so we planned to spend quite a bit of time in the penguin house. We took lots of pictures and watched them for a bit. Then we perused the penguin gift shop and of course my daughter came home with a new stuffed penguin to add to her collection! After the penguins we meandered over to the carousel and my daughter rode it twice....or maybe it was three times? I can't remember. She met a little girl there who was from Ohio and visiting her grandparents in the same town my dad lives! She was the same age as my daughter. My daughter's new friend was going to ride the train so we went along and they sat together while we rode through the zoo. Unfortunately it was time for the zoo to close so we rode the train all the way around then had to get off to go home.
We missed the reptile house, the cats, the giraffes, the primate house, and the birds so we will have to go back. I think we will go early in the morning so we can spend the entire day there and see everything the zoo has to offer!
I don't know how far we walked but we walked for five hours and that in my book counts as a good bit of exercise even if it wasn't a run. It was a wonderful day and I enjoyed every minute with my daughter. Family time is important too!
Happy Running!
KEA
Back to the Grind
July 8, 2012
Well, it's storming out so I had to hit the treadmill again today. Once again I have to say that I don't like the treadmill but as it was storming I didn't have a choice. Today wasn't as bad as yesterday. Maybe it's because I took it easier or maybe it was because the really hard part is getting up out of your chair and getting your move on. I found my motivation yesterday and knew I had to keep it going or I would quit again. One thing I do NOT want to be a is a quitter!
This will be a short post today; sorry, I'm not feeling very witty so it'll be just the facts. I did this run on the treadmill. I ran it at 5.0 mph with the incline set at 2.0. I ran 3.11 miles at a pace of 12.00. It took me 37 minutes to run it. I felt really good after this run. I was sweaty and felt like I accomplished something.
I think we have established that I prefer to run outside. This is because I feel like running on the treadmill is cheating because when you run on the treadmill, the treadmill does some of your moving for you. When I am running outside I know that I am the one doing all the work. I also notice that when I get back outside after being on the treadmill, running outside is a little harder. Plus our area is hilly. Running the hills has proven difficult for me and I find myself having to slow down or even walk. To me this feels like defeat. I don't take kindly to defeat so I work hard to conquer whatever obstacle is in my way. Right now, that is hills. We will work on speed and distance after the hills have been shown who is boss!
So, I'm glad I got a run in but I will be happy when the weather clears up and I can get back outside!
Happy Running!
KEA
Well, it's storming out so I had to hit the treadmill again today. Once again I have to say that I don't like the treadmill but as it was storming I didn't have a choice. Today wasn't as bad as yesterday. Maybe it's because I took it easier or maybe it was because the really hard part is getting up out of your chair and getting your move on. I found my motivation yesterday and knew I had to keep it going or I would quit again. One thing I do NOT want to be a is a quitter!
This will be a short post today; sorry, I'm not feeling very witty so it'll be just the facts. I did this run on the treadmill. I ran it at 5.0 mph with the incline set at 2.0. I ran 3.11 miles at a pace of 12.00. It took me 37 minutes to run it. I felt really good after this run. I was sweaty and felt like I accomplished something.
I think we have established that I prefer to run outside. This is because I feel like running on the treadmill is cheating because when you run on the treadmill, the treadmill does some of your moving for you. When I am running outside I know that I am the one doing all the work. I also notice that when I get back outside after being on the treadmill, running outside is a little harder. Plus our area is hilly. Running the hills has proven difficult for me and I find myself having to slow down or even walk. To me this feels like defeat. I don't take kindly to defeat so I work hard to conquer whatever obstacle is in my way. Right now, that is hills. We will work on speed and distance after the hills have been shown who is boss!
So, I'm glad I got a run in but I will be happy when the weather clears up and I can get back outside!
Happy Running!
KEA
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Working it out!
July 7, 2012
I've missed a couple of days of running. It's been hotter than Hades here and I've not been able to run outside. On top of that I've watched my granddaughter for the past few days. She's just three months old and super adorable cute. She is teething so she likes to be held all the time. There's just no running when Poppy is over here.
So after three days of Poppy sitting and hot weather I finally broke down and got on the treadmill. I find I don't like the treadmill now that I've started running outside. It's really boring and I find myself watching the numbers of the screen. Our treadmill is rather old too and it squeaks and shakes while I'm running on it. I often wonder if one day it's going to do something really freaky while I'm on it and send me flying out the window. Time moves so slowly on the treadmill as well. I don't enjoy my music as much either. It just seems like the treadmill makes everything so boooooooooooring! But when it's too hot or too late to hit the streets you have to hit the mill.
I did 3.110 miles with the first mile running @ 5.6 mph. The last 2.1 miles were run @ 5.0 mph. I ran the whole run with the treadmill incline set @ 2.0. My overall pace was 11:34. I'm trying to increase my pace since I am training for a 5k coming up the first of September. (I challenged my husband to the race so I feel extra pressure to beat him....I've discovered this new competitive streak; I don't know where it's come from but we'll go with it, LOL) I am feeling a little frustrated at myself because I want to be faster. I know Rome wasn't built in a day but I feel like I should be doing better. I suppose I'm comparing myself to others on the running website, thedailymile.com, and I know I shouldn't do this because I am still a beginner but I can't help feeling frustrated. I want to be faster and able to run more miles. For now I'm content with being able to run a 5k but I have my sites set on bigger and better things.
Overall this was a hard run. I had only run two miles this week and then took three days off. I truly enjoyed my time with my granddaughter but I did miss running. It was difficult to get back on track and I was exhausted and soaked with sweat when I was done. I'll tell you a little secret though; I personally like the soaked with sweat part. It makes me feel like I am accomplishing something. I have lost one pound from Monday though and this makes me happy. All in all, even though it was difficult to get back to it and I felt rough after I was done I'm glad I got this run out of the way. I feel like I have overcome the hurdle of laziness that was threatening to overwhelm me.
Glad to be back in my running shoes!
KEA
I've missed a couple of days of running. It's been hotter than Hades here and I've not been able to run outside. On top of that I've watched my granddaughter for the past few days. She's just three months old and super adorable cute. She is teething so she likes to be held all the time. There's just no running when Poppy is over here.
So after three days of Poppy sitting and hot weather I finally broke down and got on the treadmill. I find I don't like the treadmill now that I've started running outside. It's really boring and I find myself watching the numbers of the screen. Our treadmill is rather old too and it squeaks and shakes while I'm running on it. I often wonder if one day it's going to do something really freaky while I'm on it and send me flying out the window. Time moves so slowly on the treadmill as well. I don't enjoy my music as much either. It just seems like the treadmill makes everything so boooooooooooring! But when it's too hot or too late to hit the streets you have to hit the mill.
I did 3.110 miles with the first mile running @ 5.6 mph. The last 2.1 miles were run @ 5.0 mph. I ran the whole run with the treadmill incline set @ 2.0. My overall pace was 11:34. I'm trying to increase my pace since I am training for a 5k coming up the first of September. (I challenged my husband to the race so I feel extra pressure to beat him....I've discovered this new competitive streak; I don't know where it's come from but we'll go with it, LOL) I am feeling a little frustrated at myself because I want to be faster. I know Rome wasn't built in a day but I feel like I should be doing better. I suppose I'm comparing myself to others on the running website, thedailymile.com, and I know I shouldn't do this because I am still a beginner but I can't help feeling frustrated. I want to be faster and able to run more miles. For now I'm content with being able to run a 5k but I have my sites set on bigger and better things.
Overall this was a hard run. I had only run two miles this week and then took three days off. I truly enjoyed my time with my granddaughter but I did miss running. It was difficult to get back on track and I was exhausted and soaked with sweat when I was done. I'll tell you a little secret though; I personally like the soaked with sweat part. It makes me feel like I am accomplishing something. I have lost one pound from Monday though and this makes me happy. All in all, even though it was difficult to get back to it and I felt rough after I was done I'm glad I got this run out of the way. I feel like I have overcome the hurdle of laziness that was threatening to overwhelm me.
Glad to be back in my running shoes!
KEA
Monday, July 2, 2012
Daily run
July 2, 2012
It's hot, hot, hot out there but I knew I needed to get out there and get my run in. I considered hitting the dreaded "mill" but decided I had better continue to get my body used to running outside in the heat. I hit the court house run. My husband says it is exactly one mile from our house to the court house. He's wrong. It's a tad bit farther according to my Garmin. I will introduce you all to my Garmin but that's a whole 'nother blog! So anyway, I hit the court house run today. It was super hot and I will admit to being a bit of a baby about the heat. The run there wasn't so bad. My pace was not what I would prefer it to be; it was around 10:06 and as I have discovered this whole new competitive side of myself I would prefer it to be faster. However, I also have to remember that I am still a beginner and I need to recognize that I am not going to be winning any marathons any time soon, especially when the hills around town are consistently kicking my butt....more on that in a second! So it took me about 10:54 to get to the court house. I did a little victory dance on the corner (and got a strange look from the guy who was turning onto the street) before I turned and headed back home.
On the way back I had to slow down since the way to the court house is down hill which means the way back is up hill. UGH! It is much harder to go up than it is to go down, DUH! Unfortunately for me, it's the way back so I ended up walking a bit. (This is the part where the hills around town are kicking my butt!) I tried very hard to run them but I ended up walking a little bit. So far the score is Hills: 1, Karla: 0. But since I am training for the annual Popeye 5k and there is still two months before the race I have time to battle and I do believe I will win. Average pace for mile two was 11:21 which again I am not happy with but as I believe in being positive at least I got out there and ran despite the heat.
Today's run was a two mile to the court house and back. It took 22 minutes and 55 seconds and my average pace was 10:43. The original plan was to run three miles but it was just too dang hot!
A note on the upcoming 5k. After I ran the Susan G. Komen 5k Race for the Cure I knew this was something I was going to continue to do so I was incredibly excited when my husband told me that our town holds an annual 5k. I told him I was going to run it and asked my husband if he was going to run it with me. He said maybe. I then brazenly (stupidly) threw down the gauntlet and challenged him to a race....now keep in mind he's not been training as I have and I fully expected him to say no but to my surprised he picked up the gauntlet, accepted the challenge so now me and my big mouth are training super hard. Good luck to me and my big mouth!
Happy Running!
KEA
It's hot, hot, hot out there but I knew I needed to get out there and get my run in. I considered hitting the dreaded "mill" but decided I had better continue to get my body used to running outside in the heat. I hit the court house run. My husband says it is exactly one mile from our house to the court house. He's wrong. It's a tad bit farther according to my Garmin. I will introduce you all to my Garmin but that's a whole 'nother blog! So anyway, I hit the court house run today. It was super hot and I will admit to being a bit of a baby about the heat. The run there wasn't so bad. My pace was not what I would prefer it to be; it was around 10:06 and as I have discovered this whole new competitive side of myself I would prefer it to be faster. However, I also have to remember that I am still a beginner and I need to recognize that I am not going to be winning any marathons any time soon, especially when the hills around town are consistently kicking my butt....more on that in a second! So it took me about 10:54 to get to the court house. I did a little victory dance on the corner (and got a strange look from the guy who was turning onto the street) before I turned and headed back home.
On the way back I had to slow down since the way to the court house is down hill which means the way back is up hill. UGH! It is much harder to go up than it is to go down, DUH! Unfortunately for me, it's the way back so I ended up walking a bit. (This is the part where the hills around town are kicking my butt!) I tried very hard to run them but I ended up walking a little bit. So far the score is Hills: 1, Karla: 0. But since I am training for the annual Popeye 5k and there is still two months before the race I have time to battle and I do believe I will win. Average pace for mile two was 11:21 which again I am not happy with but as I believe in being positive at least I got out there and ran despite the heat.
Today's run was a two mile to the court house and back. It took 22 minutes and 55 seconds and my average pace was 10:43. The original plan was to run three miles but it was just too dang hot!
A note on the upcoming 5k. After I ran the Susan G. Komen 5k Race for the Cure I knew this was something I was going to continue to do so I was incredibly excited when my husband told me that our town holds an annual 5k. I told him I was going to run it and asked my husband if he was going to run it with me. He said maybe. I then brazenly (stupidly) threw down the gauntlet and challenged him to a race....now keep in mind he's not been training as I have and I fully expected him to say no but to my surprised he picked up the gauntlet, accepted the challenge so now me and my big mouth are training super hard. Good luck to me and my big mouth!
Happy Running!
KEA
Why I run
When I was in high school I wasn't athletic. P.E. was one of my most hated classes and I dreaded it. I was uncoordinated. I couldn't catch a ball. I couldn't hit a ball. I couldn't even bench press the bar in weight training! And when it came to running, well, running around the track was just plain awful. I couldn't even make it once around the track without walking. So if anyone said to me, one day you will be a runner and you will enjoy it I would've have asked them what kind of drugs they were taking.
Over the years I've done various activities to be healthy. I once joined a gym and lifted weights and was actually looking pretty good until I got pregnant and my gym membership was taken away. I have done aerobic workouts. I've done aerobic workouts with weights and as much as I enjoyed them nothing seemed to hold my interest.
Then in February of 2011, my husband proposed to me. I joyfully went about the business of planning my wedding. One of the biggest steps to planning a wedding for a woman is buying the wedding dress. Since I am no longer twenty-one and was not overwhelmed with visions of being the "princess" my goal in a dress was much simpler. I am short so I didn't want a full skirt to overwhelm me; I didn't want bushels of crinolin or any form of flouncy skirt. I wanted a dress with some sort of straps and a lacy back to cover up my ugly tattoo on my right shoulder. I found the perfect dress; it was form fitting, a mermaid (what, a mermaid for me? NO WAY! Oh, yes, a mermaid for me!) with a see through back with lines of crystals horizontal across the back and promptly put it on layaway. The dress fit perfectly with the exception of being too long and a little too big in the bosom. No problem, those are easy fixes. My mother in law offered to hem it and I can always buy boobs. Over the next few months I saved my money and the day came to pick up the dress. I took one of my best friends and my daughter with me for one last try on before I brought the dress home. To my utter embarrassment and disgust I couldn't get it zipped up! I knew something had to be done. The wedding was a couple months away and I had to fit into the dress. Our money was tight and there was no budget for a new dress.
Well, in our bedroom stood an old mountain mechanicized of steel and conveyor belt otherwise known as The Treadmill. It sat there with the intention of one or the other of us using it to "get into shape" at one point or another. It looked like it was my time. I'd never been on a treadmill before. I gingerly stepped onto the belt and pushed the buttons and held on for dear life. I started out walking but I quickly realized that walking wasn't going to cut it for me. From somewhere deep inside me came this intense desire to move.....a desire to run, and run I did.....and it felt good! Over the next couple of months I worked up to running three miles a day and on November 11 when my wedding came around, my dress fit perfectly! I was overjoyed and I knew it was because of my dedication to the treadmill.
After the wedding time slipped by and I lost way. The Treadmill begged and taunted me to come back but I ignored it, preferring to sit at my computer with my cat at my feet instead. Then one day I realized that my clothes didn't fit again. The weather was turning warm and it was time to get out the summer clothes and I was ashamed at the way my body looked. But more than that, somewhere along the line I found the Susan G. Komen 5k Race for the Cure. The cause of breast cancer has always been a cause that has been very important to me. Whenever possible I have donated to help search for the cure and to help those who need medical care and can't afford it receive what they need. But this race, something in me woke up and rose up like a great lion ready to roar. I realized I had two months to prepare for the race and I bravely signed up and immediately began fund raising. This was something new though. I had never run a race before. Three miles is one thing on the treadmill in the comfort of your own home with the mill happily helping you move. Three miles on a road is something completely different. I began training. I started out back on the treadmill since it had been almost six months since I'd even run and I wasn't even sure I could run a mile! I struggled on the mill but I kept telling myself, if those women can endure what they go through just to live I can do this. I gradually moved my training outside. I went to the high school track and began running loops around the track. It wasn't until about two days before the race that I was even able to make it three miles outside, but I did it.
The day of the race was beautiful. We drove to St. Louis and I wish I could tell you how much the experience moved me but I just do not have the words. Almost everyone there had someone's name on their shirt and on their hearts. And the survivors, oh, the survivors....there were thousands of them in their bright pink shirts and the victory in their eyes, oh, yes, this is why I was running. The name on my shirt was Bonnie. She is my aunt and she was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago. Luckily, Aunt Bonnie was regular with her breast exams and she was diagnosed quickly enough that she didn't even have to have chemotherapy. We were blessed but she was on my heart and my shirt as I lined up with the untimed runners. We began moving, walking at first and then we turned the corner and you could see ahead....all the people running down the street, there were so many it was like a sea of pink & white. I wish I'd had a camera to take a picture; it was one of the most moving things I've ever seen. We came up to the pink painted starting line and I began to run. My music was in my head - ironically, it was "I Run For Life" by Melissa Etheridge, the song she wrote about her experience with breast cancer, and my feet needed to move. As I ran through the course I was amazed at the people on the side of the road. I didn't know any of them, but there they were, cheering, cheering for those women who were survivors and cheering for me! Me, a stranger with a name on her back!
Something happened to me that day and I know I can never go back to that woman who sits in her chair all day and plays on her computer. I was born to move. I was born to run. And run I will!
I am woman; see me run!
KEA
Over the years I've done various activities to be healthy. I once joined a gym and lifted weights and was actually looking pretty good until I got pregnant and my gym membership was taken away. I have done aerobic workouts. I've done aerobic workouts with weights and as much as I enjoyed them nothing seemed to hold my interest.
Then in February of 2011, my husband proposed to me. I joyfully went about the business of planning my wedding. One of the biggest steps to planning a wedding for a woman is buying the wedding dress. Since I am no longer twenty-one and was not overwhelmed with visions of being the "princess" my goal in a dress was much simpler. I am short so I didn't want a full skirt to overwhelm me; I didn't want bushels of crinolin or any form of flouncy skirt. I wanted a dress with some sort of straps and a lacy back to cover up my ugly tattoo on my right shoulder. I found the perfect dress; it was form fitting, a mermaid (what, a mermaid for me? NO WAY! Oh, yes, a mermaid for me!) with a see through back with lines of crystals horizontal across the back and promptly put it on layaway. The dress fit perfectly with the exception of being too long and a little too big in the bosom. No problem, those are easy fixes. My mother in law offered to hem it and I can always buy boobs. Over the next few months I saved my money and the day came to pick up the dress. I took one of my best friends and my daughter with me for one last try on before I brought the dress home. To my utter embarrassment and disgust I couldn't get it zipped up! I knew something had to be done. The wedding was a couple months away and I had to fit into the dress. Our money was tight and there was no budget for a new dress.
Well, in our bedroom stood an old mountain mechanicized of steel and conveyor belt otherwise known as The Treadmill. It sat there with the intention of one or the other of us using it to "get into shape" at one point or another. It looked like it was my time. I'd never been on a treadmill before. I gingerly stepped onto the belt and pushed the buttons and held on for dear life. I started out walking but I quickly realized that walking wasn't going to cut it for me. From somewhere deep inside me came this intense desire to move.....a desire to run, and run I did.....and it felt good! Over the next couple of months I worked up to running three miles a day and on November 11 when my wedding came around, my dress fit perfectly! I was overjoyed and I knew it was because of my dedication to the treadmill.
After the wedding time slipped by and I lost way. The Treadmill begged and taunted me to come back but I ignored it, preferring to sit at my computer with my cat at my feet instead. Then one day I realized that my clothes didn't fit again. The weather was turning warm and it was time to get out the summer clothes and I was ashamed at the way my body looked. But more than that, somewhere along the line I found the Susan G. Komen 5k Race for the Cure. The cause of breast cancer has always been a cause that has been very important to me. Whenever possible I have donated to help search for the cure and to help those who need medical care and can't afford it receive what they need. But this race, something in me woke up and rose up like a great lion ready to roar. I realized I had two months to prepare for the race and I bravely signed up and immediately began fund raising. This was something new though. I had never run a race before. Three miles is one thing on the treadmill in the comfort of your own home with the mill happily helping you move. Three miles on a road is something completely different. I began training. I started out back on the treadmill since it had been almost six months since I'd even run and I wasn't even sure I could run a mile! I struggled on the mill but I kept telling myself, if those women can endure what they go through just to live I can do this. I gradually moved my training outside. I went to the high school track and began running loops around the track. It wasn't until about two days before the race that I was even able to make it three miles outside, but I did it.
The day of the race was beautiful. We drove to St. Louis and I wish I could tell you how much the experience moved me but I just do not have the words. Almost everyone there had someone's name on their shirt and on their hearts. And the survivors, oh, the survivors....there were thousands of them in their bright pink shirts and the victory in their eyes, oh, yes, this is why I was running. The name on my shirt was Bonnie. She is my aunt and she was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago. Luckily, Aunt Bonnie was regular with her breast exams and she was diagnosed quickly enough that she didn't even have to have chemotherapy. We were blessed but she was on my heart and my shirt as I lined up with the untimed runners. We began moving, walking at first and then we turned the corner and you could see ahead....all the people running down the street, there were so many it was like a sea of pink & white. I wish I'd had a camera to take a picture; it was one of the most moving things I've ever seen. We came up to the pink painted starting line and I began to run. My music was in my head - ironically, it was "I Run For Life" by Melissa Etheridge, the song she wrote about her experience with breast cancer, and my feet needed to move. As I ran through the course I was amazed at the people on the side of the road. I didn't know any of them, but there they were, cheering, cheering for those women who were survivors and cheering for me! Me, a stranger with a name on her back!
Something happened to me that day and I know I can never go back to that woman who sits in her chair all day and plays on her computer. I was born to move. I was born to run. And run I will!
I am woman; see me run!
KEA
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