Kelly in Motion

Article by David Haas re: exercise vs cancer

2012-01-26T22:26:00.001-05:00

Fighting The Cancer Battle With Physical Fitness

Coping with cancer symptoms,and the side effects of cancer treatment, creates tremendous stress for cancerpatients and their families and caregivers. Physical fitness provides amazingbenefits for everyone affected by cancer.

But cancer patients, the menand women doing firsthand battle with an ugly disease, can benefit most from afitness program. Whether they were just diagnosed with cancer, going throughcancer treatment, or currently in remission, cancer patients should considerexercise in their treatment and recovery programs.

Years ago, most cancer patientswere encouraged to rest and to limit their physical activities. This is stillgood medical advice, if physical movement causes pain, a rapid heart rate, orbreathing difficulties. But research indicates that exercise is safe for mostcancer patients. In fact, it can improve physical functioning, speed therecovery process, and generally perk up life.

Exercise Supports CancerPatients In Many Ways

According to the AmericanCancer Society, exercise supports cancer treatment in numerous ways Regularexercise improves a cancer patient’s physical abilities and makes them lessdependent on others. Physical fitness builds muscle, improves blood flow,builds stronger bones, and lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Exercise helps cancer patientsdeal with the side effects of radiation, chemotherapy, and other cancertreatments. It lessens nausea and fatigue, improves appetite, and lowers therisk of depression and anxiety. Best of all, physical fitness boostsself-esteem and improves outlook, both of which are important to the recoveryprocess.

Most Patients Can Exercise,Pending Doctor Approval

Many cancer patients wonderwhat kinds of exercise they can engage in, during the cancer treatment phaseand into recovery. The experts recommend three main types of exercise:stretching and flexibility movements, aerobic exercise, and strength orresistance training. The best fitness program depends on numerous factors,including the cancer type, cancer stage, and treatment plan.

For example, weight lifting isnot recommended for breast cancer patients, particularly after breast cancersurgery. And vigorous aerobic activity is impossible for asbestos cancerpatients, who should talk to their mesothelioma doctorabout exercise during treatment.

Most cancer patients can starta fitness program immediately after diagnosis, even if they were not activebefore. In fact, patients who were sedentary before cancer will derivetremendous benefits from exercise during cancer treatment and recovery. Doctorapproval is important with any fitness program, and patients should startslowly and increase their workouts as their fitness level improves.

Article by Davis Haas

Bat Mitzvah

2011-09-12T22:43:00.001-04:00

I was able to squeeze a run in after Valerie's volleyball game and before it was completely dark. I ran/walked 3.34 miles in under 40 minutes. Runkeeper clocked my miles at 12:22, 10:22, 11:52. I felt like I was moving quite a bit faster in the first mile and I'm certain the mile 1 alert was at least .1 if not .2 miles off the actual distance, so that may account for some of the time discrepancy.

Val and I attended our first Bat Mitzvah this weekend. Val's friend, Samantha, did an incredible job. I can't imagine how much study and practice was required for preparation, quite a lot! Congratulations, Sam! I thought the service was fascinating and very well done. And I was teaing up through much of it. I was so proud of her.

I had a little trouble with the eating plan on Saturday because we had lunch served after the Mat Mitzvah service and it was certainly not low-carb based. I would have LOVED the spred if I could have had all those carbs, though. Darn! I somehow got out of there with 5 carbs left for the rest of the day, so it was a tough afternoon and evening. I ended up just 3 carbs over budget by the end of the night, which is pretty good considering where I was at 1pm.

I'm on day 8 of the low carb diet and doing fine. I'm down 4 pounds. It's funny how I don't crave bread at all, but I really want to be able to eat more nuts and have wine with cheese and crackers. Not yet. I'll get through induction and then get those back into the diet in a few weeks. I don't want to blow the diet head-start process I'm going through now. This is not the type of diet that can be cheated. It's all in or don't do it at all. Just watching carbs doesn't have the impact I'm looking for right now. I'll get to the "just watching carbs" stage later, though.

And then we'll have a wine and cheese and cracker party!

Feeling good about progress

2011-09-09T20:42:00.000-04:00

Day 5 on the low carb diet. I forgot to weigh in this morning, but I'm guessing I'm down a total of 3 pounds from Monday. Yes, I know most of it is water. But it's long-term water loss, it doesn't come back the next day. And I feel like I'm making progress.

I love my carb manager iPhone app! It has given me the information I needed to alter my previous low carb plan into something more healthy - and it should be more effective, too. With less fat and more fiber, I should find it easier to drop these extra pounds. This week, I've eaten limited quantities of raspberries, blackberries, cucumbers, V8, and tomatoes and quite a bit of lean meat, romaine and spinach salad. I've also had less healthy things like cheese, nuts, steak, protein drinks, eggs and cottage cheese. The balance in the food choices is a major improvement from my meat, cheese, and eggs focus during my 2004 low carb diet. I had no idea how many calories I was getting from fat! That couldn't have been good. I hope the new plan is at least effective as before.

I did get that run in yesterday. Runkeeper tracked me at 3.11 miles in 38:23. That's sad if you know I ran that distance in under 30 minutes in May this year. Ouch. Oh well. I haven't run much since May, probably just once a week or so. These are the consequences.

Although I didn't plan to run today, the weather was just too perfect and I found myself at home alone for much of the evening. So I laced up my shoes and headed out. It felt pretty good to put in 5 miles in 60 minutes. I walked most of the first mile to loosen up. My mile splits were negative, so I must have gotten the hang of it out there. Miles 2-5 were executed with a 2 minute run to 1 minute walk ratio. Runkeeper clocked my splits at 16:14, 12:05, 11:45, 10:42, and 9:48.

Let's try this again

2011-09-08T11:42:00.001-04:00

Wow, it's been such a long time since I updated this blog! I had to really think to remember my password.

I have no excuses, really. Just the usual busy summer things as well as too much going on at work. To be honest, I've also been having serious motivation issues with running. My fitness plan in early July lasted a little over a week and then crashed and burned. It must have been more of an idea than a plan since it didn't stick.

I'm slowly getting back into it now. It's amazing what a few months of running just once a week can do to my endurance! Bye, bye half marathon distance! Hello run/walk 3-5 miles at a time.

A lot has happened over the summer, so I won't even try to catch you up on all the happenings. I will share that I replaced my Blackberry with an iPhone 4, though. I don't know how I lived without the great apps, web browsing, and video support. I'm using a Runkeeper application to track and post my infrequent runs. Although I highly recommend the application, it has not always been accurate. If you want accuracy virtually all the time, stick with the Garmin watch.

My last few runs were 3.19 miles on 8/17, 3.39 on 8/26, 5.04 on 8/31, 3.5 on 9/4, and 3.02 on 9/5. I hope to add a run this afternoon/evening and I'll probably get soggy in the process since rain is expected all day. I'm also doing yoga once or twice a week.

In addition to trying to exercise more often, I've started a low carb diet again. The low carb approach has worked wonders for me in the past, but that was pre-cancer. Since my breast cancer surgery, I've been reluctant to use the low carb diet again because I didn't implement it in a very healthy way. However, I recently did some research and learned how to use the low carb approach while being more nutritionally sound. I also got an iPhone app (Carb Manager for 2.99) that helps me track my progress. The Carb Manager app focuses on tracking carbs, protein, and fat, however, it also tracks and graphs more comprehensive nutrition details compared to USDA daily recommended intake (vitamins, minerals, calories, sugar, etc.). Now that I know my daily fat/protein ratio, I have drastically changed my eating habits. I had no idea eggs were so fatty! Anyway, I'm down 2 pounds in just a few days and plan to keep it up for at least 2 weeks. At that point, I'll decide whether to extend the accelerated weight loss or slow it down by slowly adding the good carbs back into my diet.

Since I haven't been running as often, I'm behind on all my running and HR technology podcasts. The bright spot in this is that I'll have new-to-me episodes to listen to on all my runs for quite a while.

Unplugged and a new plan

2011-07-11T23:08:00.000-04:00

We just got back from a week unplugged. My family went to the semi-wilderness in Canada and had no mobile phones or access to email. It took a few days to get used to it, but was nice to slow down a bit. I'll admit that Ken, Val, and I turned on our phones immediately after crossing the border back into the States on Saturday, though. It took awhile for my Blackberry to sync all the emails and tweets and facebook updates I missed.

In the Canada wilderness, the evil biting flies kept me from running during vacation. A few hours of kayaking was the extent of my exercise, so I'm really itching to get moving again. Truth be told, I haven't exercised much since I completed my Trifecta of running events this Spring, so I'm well past due.

I ran this morning and logged 3 miles slow (~11:30 pace with 3:1 run/walk intervals). Then I walked another 1.36 miles to spend a total of 60 minutes to demonstrate (to myself) my commitment to my new training plan. Actually, it's not a training plan. Just a fitness commitment to help me with motivation and keep me interested.

While running, I listened to a Steverunner intervals episode about his fascination with all things involving endurance. He can collect pennies for 40 years and feel a sense of accomplishment for filling a 5 gallon glass water container. I think that shows amazing tenacity and stamina, as does running marathons. What's even more impressive to me is that he has committed to running for so many years; running as a primary exercise activity.

I'm not very good at maintaining. I'm a vision, ideas, passion, and action kind of person who craves change. I get bored and need to mix it up a bit to keep interested and motivated.

After my trifecta, I got burnt out with running so now I'm going to try to expand my training to include strength and flexibility training along with running. I also want to be more consistent with exercise.

So my new plan is to try to find an hour per day every day of the week for my workout. With just an hour, I won't be engaging in the longer runs. I'll just run/walk/run an hour 3 days a week. I'll also spend an hour 2 days a week on yoga and an hour 2 days a week on core/arms strength training.

I hope I can make this plan stick for awhile. I have such a crazy schedule with work and the kids' sports schedules. I know making time for me is critical, though. Send me some of those perseverance vibes.

Trifecta reflection

2011-06-12T11:43:00.005-04:00

Whew! School's finally out and all those Spring events are now fond memories. Among them is my Spring 2011 trifecta. I thought it sounded like a great idea to train for 3 events at once. The very opitimy of multi-tasking: 3 running events in 3 weeks. And this from someone who usually does 3 events in a year.

The Poco Loco started the madness in me. Initially I thought this was a 4 mile run and then learned it was a 13.1 mile run. Hmmmm. Well, I figured I would have to train for it, but it would be worth traveling to Boston and meeting Adam, Eddie, and Steve who have accompanied me for miles and miles of training via podcast. The event also introduced me to other podcasters and bloggers, all of whom I now follow on blog, twitter, and/or facebook. Shortly after returning from Boston, I wrote about these wonderful people.

The Poco Loco event was very laid back. I'm not sure how long it took us to run the 13+ miles, but I know it was more than 3.5 hours. We stopped frequently to ensure we didn't get too spread out and to switch up who was running with who. We ran in a large group the first 3 miles or so and then split into fast, medium, and slower groups. I was usually in a medium group but ran beside different people after each stop. It was a wonderful new experience to run with a group and talk and such. I'm usually silent while I listen to the voices through my earphones. Running and talking requires slowing down a bit and more breath control.

Event #2 was a week later at home, in Columbus Ohio, where I ran the Capital City Half Marathon in 2 hours and 24 minutes, almost a full 5 minutes faster than I ran the event in 2008 (before breast cancer). I was thrilled with the accomplishment!

Before the race, I was standing in the 2:15-2:29 corral and having dillusions of grandeur.

This is great. I've been here before. I can do this. I may even stick with the pace person and do a 2:20. I'm in shape. I'm faster than last time.

Oooo, and when I'm done with this race I will have done a full marathon if I add last week's half to this week's half. I wonder if I could put it all together and do the full marathon in October. I'll bet I could. Especially if I used my new gymboss to run-walk-run the race.

Yes, that's it, I'll knock out this race, do the Race for the Cure next week, and then just keep training at this level and do the full marathon. It will be amazing!

At mile 8, the 2:20 pace person passed me and kept pulling away. At that point, I was somewhere totally different in my self-talk.

She isn't walking much through those water stops like she promised. She must be going too fast. Why can't I keep up with her? I've been in front of her for more than half the race. Grrrrrr. Damn, this is hard. I really need to find a portapotty soon. Why did I think I could ever do a marathon. That's crazy. How am I even going to finish this race?

Between miles 8 and 13, I struggled and did a lot more walking than I wanted. To compensate, I ran faster than I should have, too. It was not a race run strategically. It was a pure "hold on to the end" type of event. but it was great to come in with a new PR.

The last event in my trifecta was the Race for the Cure 5K. I ran this with my daughter and she kicked my butt big time. I beat her by 10 minutes last year and she beat me by 1:17 this year. I didn't see her the whole last mile. I was very proud of her run and mine too. In 2008, I ran the race in under 30 minutes, but didn't have a chip and so I had no official time. This year, I got the official sub-30 time: 29:53.

Since the wildly successful completion of the trifecta, I have been wildly unsuccessful at keeping my training going. I had a week or two during which I didn't run at all because of an issue with my right hip flexor and IT band. Typically, though, I've run about twice a week for about 3 miles each run. My 5Ks have been about 32 or 33 minutes. On 5/31, I went crazy and did a 4 miler in 45:35. I've been playing softball, volleyball, and mowing the lawn to supplement the lack of running. But it's just not nearly the same level of exercise.

It's time to get back on the road. I've missed it. The music is calling me now. Maybe I'll listen to music for a few runs and then catch up with my podcasts.

Need to mix it up now

2011-05-17T20:27:00.000-04:00

I haven't run since my 5K personal record on Sunday. However, I played competitive volleyball on Sunday night. Neither of those activities gave me a hint that I was injured. Evidently I am. Or something crazy is going on with my right hip flexor and IT band.

We had a significant rain storm all day today so I went to RPAC (OSU's Recreation and Physical Activities Center) to run on the track that got me through my winter training. I felt fine climbing the 4 flights of stairs to the track, but on the first step I knew I was in trouble. I tried running a lap (1/8 mile) to loosen up, but I was limping badly. So I stopped and stretched for about 10 minutes, focusing on hip flexor, IT band, and lower back. I also did lunges. My second running attempt wasn't any better. So I got on a stationary bike located inside the track.

I have friends and family who think it's crazy that I can run half marathons but completely refuse to do any activity involving a cycle. I know it's great cross training. And I know most people think cycling is much easier than running. I don't.

I pedaled 2 miles in 11:20. That's sad, I know: Many people can run that distance faster than I can cycle it. At just 5 minutes, sweat was already pouring off me. After the tortuous 2 miles, I went back to the track to try to run again. No dice. So I walked a mile. Then I did the 2 miles on the bike again. And another mile walk.

I finished up the workout in the weight room. I spent 30 minutes on arms, chest, abs, and back. No leg work, though.

After my crazy trifecta of running events (2 half marathons and a 5K in 3 weeks), I've been thinking I need to mix it up a little and add some other activities to my training. I guess this injury forced the issue today.

I should have hit the pool, but I was already in running clothes and it's been so long since I swam. Since the bilateral mastectomy, swimming is so much different than before. I used to be a pretty good swimmer and had a lot of upper-body strength. Now it's tough to do even my favorite stroke, breaststroke. Butterfly is impossible (not that I could do it well before the surgery, though). I even get tired pretty quickly with freestyle and can't keep a straight line during backstroke. I guess all those excuses should be reasons for starting to swim again instead of excuses not to do so. Maybe. Then there is the embarrassment of putting a flabby belly in a swim suit. Oh yea, I guess that's another reason that is masquerading as an excuse. Drats.

2011 Race for the Cure 5K

2011-05-14T13:16:00.001-04:00

After a tough training run on Thursday (5K in 32:19), I wished I didn't have a timing chip for today's race. I thought that I should just run it slowly with my daughter, Valerie (13). Val also had a timing chip, but I thought about giving it away to a friend who wanted one. Now I'm so glad we both had timing chips.

As it turned out, I would have loved to stay with Val during the race - she kicked butt. She ran the 3.1 miles in 28 minutes and 36 seconds (28:36) with an average mile pace at 9:14. She beat me by a minute and 17 seconds. Since she had not trained for the distance, I suggested she do a run-walk-run plan and gave her my new Gymboss to help her do 3 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking. She wore the Gymboss, but said she "followed what [her] body said" instead - look out Zen Runner, Val is joining your following.

Michelle (my sister-in-law) and I ran with Val for the first mile which was a brisk 9:35. We keep calling to Val to slow down and stay with us. Michelle was going to stay with Val while I took off, but we realized early in the race that our plan was flawed. She was certainly pushing us hard.

Val and Michelle slowed for a walk interval at about mile 1 and I kept running. Just a few minutes later, Val caught up to me. She and I ran a little while together and then she took off ahead. I knew she had her phone, so I just let her go. She was feeling good and having fun I just couldn't match her pace. I was running an 8:30 pace at the time and she was leaving me in the dust, so I slowed to a reasonable pace for me and let her go.

I caught a glimpse of Val several times during mile 2 because she walked occasionally and I almost caught her once. But I don't think I saw her at all during the last mile.

I had my Garmin which tracked my miles at 9:35, 9:40, and 9:09. According to official race results, my time was 29:53 with an average pace of 9:38. Val ran 28:36 with a 9:14 pace. Val was 19th in her age group for runners with time chips. I was 51st in my age group. Out of survivors, I was 17th out of 31 timed survivors. I was surprised how few were timed. There were over 50,000 people at the event today and just 31 of them were timed 5K running survivors. Crazy! Just being in that small minority was an honor.

After the run, we got freebees and caught up with another member of our team, Nate Agnoli (age 15) who ran the race in something crazy like 20 minutes. Then we walked against the current and found some others on our team (Jason, Ken, Ken's mother, my brother-in-law, and 3 young nephews) who did the 1 mile fun walk. We finished the walk with them and then spent about as much time trying to get out of the parking garage as we did on the run/walk course.

So that's my (and Val's) race report for the 2011 Komen Race for the Cure in Columbus, Ohio. It was a great day and great run. However, it was just the beginning of a great day for Val. She is hanging out with her cousins in the afternoon, has a softball scrimmage at 4pm, and a formal dance (Jr High May Dance) at 7pm. She will sleep well tonight!

Porta-potty strategy brings PR!

2011-05-09T21:04:00.001-04:00

The second race of my trifecta was this weekend. The Capital City Half Marathon was in downtown Columbus and I was there bright and early for an 8am start. The weather was perfect!

I went out pretty fast and felt great, but was ready to hang up the towel before mile 9. Oops. The numbers don't show the total story because I really struggled the last 4 or 5 miles. My Garmin line graph illustrates the run much more effectively as it shows me alternating fast and slow paces very frequently during the last 5K. This is a bad habit for me when I lose patience. It is not an efficient use of energy.

Depite the struggle to hang on, I was able to pull off a 2:24:18 finish, a personal record (PR) for me by almost 5 minutes. My splits were 10:18, 10:19, 10:36, 10:31, 10:27, 11:17, 10:53, 10:31, 10:52, 12:26, 11:40, 11:28, and 11:02.

This was only my 2nd official half marathon race. In 2008, I was just looking to finish and was thrilled to come in under 2:30. Comparing that race to this one, I notice the following:

I tanked much earlier in this race (mile 9 instead of 11).
I had a quicker turn-over rate and more speed when I had the energy to turn it on. My speed training was much more effective this year.
The extra GUs I consumed during the race didn't seem to solve the problem of losing energy. I really wanted to just stop running and walk the last 4 miles. Then, again, it could have been even worse without those 3 GUs.
My legs were tired. I'm not sure if this was because of the sore IT bands I've been battling the past month or so. Or perhaps this is to be expected after running 13 miles just a week earlier for the Poco Loco. Then again, maybe I just don't have as much endurance as I did in 2008. For whatever reason, my legs tired early and I've been much more sore post-race than ever before.
This year I cut out a porta-potty stop: 2 in 2008 and 1 in 2011.

I cared more about my time in this race since I wanted to do at least as well as in 2008. Because I was watching the clock, I was more deliberate with my porta-potty strategy. In 2008, I stopped twice and waited in line both times. During this race, I passed many porta-potty lines even though I knew my bladder couldn't handle the whole race without a pit stop. During training runs I plan a loop back by my house or the library to ensure I don't resort to hiding in the bushes. My refusal to wait in line allowed me to hit the perfect porta-potty during mile 10. It was right on the sidewalk and had absolutely no line. Woo Hoo! I was in and out very fast.

I trained well for this race and worked hard to hang on when I was tired. However, I know the real reason I got this PR was my porta-potty strategy.

Poco Loco - the people

2011-05-04T22:40:00.013-04:00

I ran the first time since the Poco Loco today. I put in 5 miles in 50:46 with splits at 10:39, 10:39, 10:33, 9:36, and 9:17. I was surprised to feel issues in my right thigh again today. I had almost no trouble with my hip flexor or IT band during the 13.7 miles of the Poco Loco, so I thought I kicked that almost-injury. I didn't run at all for 6 days prior to the run in a last ditch attempt to solve the problem. However, it flared up again during my training run today. I fell off the wagon and quit maintaining the Aleve meds, so perhaps that's contributing to the recurrance.

But enough of injuries and training updates. I promised an update about the Poco Loco.

I ran with everyone in the group at some time during the event and had a great time. Eddie and Adam posted a great pic of the group.

Steve Runner - Steve grew up just outside of Boston and lives just a few hours from there now. He was our host for the Poco Loco and did a great job organizing the event. The pre-party at Grendel's Den was a good time and I loved hanging out on Harvard Square before the event. I even stopped to see the headquarters of Car Talk, a fun radio show on NPR. The post party was at Sunset Grill and Tap which had a huge beer list and great food. I already knew a lot about Steve from listening to his podcasts, Phedippidations and Intervals for several years. I found him to be much like I experience him when he's in my head on a long run. He has a way of inspiring others while being humble and even self-deprecating at times. It works for him, though. I especially love the way Steve encourages runners of all abilities. He marvels at the fast and ultra runners and is equally impressed with new runners who are struggling with just a mile or two.

Zen Runner - Adam Tinkoff is the founder of the Mojo Loco (of which the Poco Loco was one event) and is such a great guy. He and Eddie Marathon host the Slow Runner's Club, on which I was a guest in January. Adam believes strongly in the run-walk-run method and has done 2 marathons and is scheduled for 3 more. He really walks the talk about taking it easy and enjoying the running experience. He's also the nicest guy you'll ever meet. Adam was giving hugs and encouragement all the time. I learned that Adam is an art director for a major consulting company and I know one of his colleagues from the HR Technology Conference I attend each year.

Eddie Marathon - Eddie made my day several times during the Poco Loco. He was really supportive and genuine and it just felt great to be around him. I was also very inspired by his story and zest for life. Eddie is also a cancer survivor. He beat it, too and now is amazingly fit and healthy and runs events and races, including marathons, all the time. He and Adam (Zen Runner) are running the Chicago Marathon to raise awareness and support for the Diabetes Action Team. Eddie's mother recently passed away because of complications with Diabetes. Contribute to their run and this great cause!

Jim Snyder - Jim is the runswim2 follower on this blog. He frequently comments on my posts and is always either encouraging or funny or both. Jim gets credit for encouraging me to begin running. I had spent 4 years working out with a trainer and knew I needed to add cardio to continue making progress. I had never seriously considered running until I met Jim at a conference and he talked about the marathons and triathlons he was doing. Actually, he was running the Columbus Marathon just a few days after the conference. It wasn't long after that meeting that I decided to train for the Race for the Cure 5K. Since then, Jim has been a great mentor to me for things related to HR technology, leadership, and running. He is also a great friend. During the Poco Loco, he seemed to appear out of nowhere just when I was fading and needing some encouragement.

Nicole Wong - Nik (Painter Nik) is a strong runner and all around fit person. She was also very fun to hang out with. She, Tim C, Jim, and I ran the last couple miles together and I really enjoyed that leg of the event. Nik was laughing and joining in with Tim as they teased me for kicking into a different gear at the end of the run. I was running about a 9:30 pace for the last mile or so. I could see the end and wanted to take off.  I sat by Nik at the post-party and we both had martinis. Hers was melon and mine was sour apple. They were great. I hope to get a chance to hang out with Nik again. You can learn more about Nik and Dan at http://4feetrunning.blogspot.com/.

Mister Fonzie - Dan is Nik's husband and he was the only other runner besides me who has never run a marathon. He's done 5 half marathons and has been working on increasing his speed for shorter distances. I got turned on to Nik and Dan's podcast, 4 Feet Running, just as they put it on hiatus. I listened to many archived episodes, though and enjoyed them very much. I'm very much looking forward to their post-Poco Loco podcast. Dan and Nik rode with Jim and I to the post-party and we had a great time encouraging Jim to be a rebel and do a U-turn to park right in front of the place. It was the best parking place we had the whole trip - and he put the car just two inches from the curb too. Dan was so funny when he just had to get a picture of that expert parking job.

Tim Cleary - Tim was so great to run with! He's a much faster runner, but he made a point of running with me several times along the course. He even asked me about HR technology so we were able to talk a bit of shop during the run. I was impressed that he really did his homework on his teammates. Tim was really fun toward the end of the race when he was convinced I had underreported my pace as I kicked it up a notch. He was tracking the pace with his Garmin and was surprised as we picked it up at the end. I also loved Tim's Poco Loco head band that he wore to the pre-party. It was a pleasure to run with Tim. You can find him at http://www.abueloruns.com/

Tim Doiron - Tim has a great spirit for life and a very impressive story. He has successfully kicked type 2 diabetes with diet and exercise. He's lost 50 pounds and now runs marathons as well as many other races. He extended the offer through Slow Runner's Club to coach others through the process of kicking type2 diabetes, too. Tim's wife, Deborah, made celebratory cup cakes for us (they were GREAT!) and Tim got Poco Loco t-shirts made for the team too.  Find Tim at http://www.rundervrun.blogspot.com/.

Deb Kumar - Deb amazed me with her 12 year career of running marathons, half marathons, and even competing in triathlons. She is a mother of two daughters and talked to me about wanting to be an example for her daughters as she continues to be active and healthy. I'm very impressed with her dedication to training while being a mom and holding a full time job as a high school science teacher. I know it's not easy to balance all of that! Also, her husband, Jay, is a runner too and so they have to juggle their schedules to ensure they both get their training done.

Jay Kumar - Jay is another one of "those guys" - those faster runners. He was inspired to run when he met Deb and she was training for Boston. He caught the bug too and has run 14 marathons and many relays. After the Poco Loco run, Jay and Deb came up to my suite as several of us took turns in the shower. While we were waiting, they turned on a hockey game and I learned that Jay also plays hockey and soccer. They are both big hockey fans. Jay ay hosts the non-running themed podcast Completely Conspicuous and writes a column about running in the Salem News.

Chris Russell - Chris is another Massachusetts local. He is the host of a very popular running podcast, Run Run Live and the author of The Mid-Packer’s Lament and The Mid-Packer’s Guide to the Galaxy, short stories on running, racing, and the human comedy of the mid-pack. Chris was one of the fast runners in the group but took the time to run with some of us slower team members, too. He is very out-going and had me smiling at his Hawaiian shirt prior to the race. Chris is very active on twitter. You can find him all over the web at cyktrussell.

Kevin Zelechoski - Kevin is tall. Really tall. He is also a long distance runner. Really long distance. Kevin does ultra-distance running; 50K and 50 mile races. In 2010, he did a 100 mile race! Yes, 100 miles on foot! Kevin was in the faster running group and really looks the part: His gear is a cut above what I have ever seen in a race. The faster group included several different people at different times, Neil, Chris, Kevin, Jay, and others. When they got too far ahead, they stopped and waited for the other groups. Then we all took off again and the groups changed a bit as some of the faster runners joined other groups. I was impressed that the fast guys were intentional about hanging with the rest of us even though they could have finished the course in a quarter of the time.

Alett Mekler - Alett was injured and so she rode her bike for part of the course with us. She was at the pre-party too. She was very fun to talk with and her energy was contagious.  Alett was supposed to be running a marathon elsewhere during the Poco Loco, but she joined the group when she was slowed by her calf injury.

Neil Bearse - Neil did the unthinkable. He interested Steve in an Apple product. No kidding. He showed Steve around his iPad and Steve got hooked - even after countless skits on Pheddipedations about how inferior the apple products are, Steve finally gave in. Neil is very heavy into social media and knows much about web based marketing. He is also the host of a new podcast, the Ghost of Radio, which features independent musicians. Find out more about Neil at http://neilbearse.com/

John Ellis - John wasn't able to run with us, but he took the time to meet us outside the Museum of Science along the route. He talked with us there and some of the techies, Steve and Eddie, I think, got audio of the event. We were all standing around John as his disciples. John also attended the post-run party. John advises many runners as they train for marathons, including Steve, and he lives along the Boston marathon course.

So you see, the Poco Loco event was heavily stocked with interesting and fun people. I had a wonderful time and encourage others to host Mojo Loco events. Invite these and other fun and inspirational runners to run and play with you!

Poco Loco Boston

2011-05-01T21:14:00.000-04:00

What an incredible weekend in Boston at the Poco Loco! A group of 16 runners got together to run a half marathon course around the Charles river and I was fortunate enough to be one of them.

I don't have time to write now since I just walked in the door, but I wanted to get a quick note posted tonight. I'll write more later.

The reason for the Poco Loco event was to get together with runners who know each other via social media (blogs, podcasts, twitter, facebook, etc.). We had a meet-up on Friday night at a bar on Harvard Square, ran the course on Saturday morning/afternoon, and then went out for a dinner and post-run party on Saturday night.

As for the run itself, I did very well. The course ended up being a bit long, something like 13.7 miles and we stopped a lot, including a very long stop after about 7 miles where I went to my hotel room, washed the salt off my face, ate an energy bar, and refilled my waterbottle. It was a very slow pace most of the run, but the last mile or so, I did in under 10 minutes, maybe under 9:30. I didn't have my Garmin on (it was low on batteries), so I just asked others about pace and such. A day later and I'm a little sore going down stairs, but other than that, I'm just fine. Yea!

It was incredible to meet everyone and so many people inspired and impressed me. I want to write about them so look for a post very soon.

Tight 7 miler

2011-04-23T15:56:00.000-04:00

One week until the Poco Loco half marathon in Boston!

I'm going to require some serious tapering this week or perhaps I will completely lay off running and try to repair. My IT bands and hip flexors are incredibly tight and sore. They are decreasing my mobility significantly. At times during my run today, I was almost limping while doing a slow jog. Not good. I'm not really in pain, though, just uncomfortable and annoyed. It's definitely a muscle thing, so I should heal fairly quickly, right?

Well, I got my run in today, but I did it slowly and with long, frequent walk breaks. I put in 7 miles in 1:22 with splits at 11:02, 11:15, 11:27, 11:52, 11:28, 13:02, and 12:03.

Bruised IT band

2011-04-22T10:03:00.001-04:00

Yesterday (Thursday), I had 45 minutes to get in a run that should take 60 minutes - or longer if I could take the time to stretch before and after.

I ran 5 miles in 51:25. My training plan called for mile 2 and 4 to be fast. I complied as best I could. My splits were 11:11, 8:49, 11:28, 9:05, and 10:45. During the run, my right hip flexor was giving me grief off and on (especially during and right after walk breaks during the slow miles). Afterward, my hip flexor and IT bands were tight, but not as bad as on Tuesday.

While I watched Val's softball game, I pressed on my right IT band (along the outside of my thigh) and tried to work out the balled up places along my thigh. Now I have 10 bruises that run up and down my leg. Nice. I must bruise pretty easily because I've done that to myself before, but never creating as many as 10 bruises. Usually I have just one or two places where I pressed too hard with my fingers and broke some blood vessels while trying to loosen a muscle.

My hand is swelling a bit more than usual right now. I wear my custom Lymphedema glove when I run, but I also wear it occasionally when my hand swelling seems to be more pronounced than usual. This week, I've worn it for a couple of hours just around the house and on the way to work. I think I'll put it on this morning after I publish this post.

The kids are off school today and I'm trying to get some work done from home. Actually, I got quite a bit done already and am taking a break to record yesterday's run information. I was planning to run today, too, but I'm waiting to see if my right hip flexor and IT band loosen up a bit. Right now, they are limiting my walking motion, so it's not looking good. I'm pretty beat up. I took some ibuprofen and will do some stretching after I get a little more work done.

Got away with it!

2011-04-19T19:59:00.001-04:00

My legs have never been this tight for so long in to a run!

I went out to run 5 miles and for 3.5 or 4 miles, my legs were so tight I couldn't run faster than an 11 minute mile pace (with no walk breaks). My legs just wouldn't open up to my normal stride. I was taking small steps to avoid injury.

To cope with the issue, I slowed down and concentrated on breathing and relaxing to try to loosen my IT bands, hip flexors, and upper glute/lower back, especially on the right side. I even stopped a couple of times to try stretching, lunges, high leg and kick butt drills, and to massage my cramping IT band, but nothing helped until it finally loosened on its own a little before mile 4. On a more positive note, slowing down and concentrating on breathing and such made the run not seem so far or so difficult from an endurance point of view. My "wind" held out just fine and I didn't feel like I was pushing my aerobic endurance.

It was rainy most of the day and the forecast promises more of the same all week. I was able to flex my work schedule to find time between storm cells today, thank goodness. I ran 5 miles in 53:17 with splits at 11:06, 10:57, 10:58, 10:27, and 9:43.

Working through the adversity was tough, but I felt like a fairly hearty runner out there in the rain and in "almost pain" but getting in the run anyway. And I did it without causing actual injury. I know . . . that's probably all luck, right there. Continuing to run after a mile or so when I knew I wasn't loosening up was probably not the best runner decision, especially just 11 days before the Poco Loco half marathon. I've put in far too many miles to have a silly decision like that derail my 3 events in 3 weeks running bonanza. Glad I got away with it today.

My 3-in-3 bonanza includes a half marathon on April 30 (Poco Loco in Boston), a half marathon on May 7 (Columbus Capital City Half), and the Komen Race for the Cure 5K on May 14. It's probably crazy to do two half marathons in a row. I wish I could flip-flop the May 7 and May 14 races so the 5K is between the half marathons. Oh well, I'm going to give it a try anyway. Hope my luck continues to hold out. Knock on wood.

13.1 today

2011-04-17T23:56:00.000-04:00

Today I ran my last long run before the Poco Loco (April 30). I went out hoping I could do 13.1, but knowing that I was stiff and had been nursing an "iffy" knee and very tight lower back. I stretched quite a bit before going out and then ran 6 miles before taking a break to stretch more.

My Garmin says I ran 13.1 miles in 2:28:30, but it is mistaken. I paused the clock and GPS for 15 minutes after mile 6 during which time I used the facilities, got more water, and stretched. Still, adding 15 minutes to the Garmin time is not a terrible time for a half marathon for me. My only official half marathon was in 2008 and I ran it in 2:29:10, which included 2 on-the-clock portapotty stops. So I'm a little slower now, it seems. That's not surprising. I probably weigh 10 more pounds. And I haven't been as consistent in my training as I was for that first race. Oh, and I'm walking some of each mile now.

My miles were 11:09, 10:59, 11:10, 11:04, 10:47, 11:45, 11:38, 11:32, 11:54, 11:25, 11:18, 11:09, and 11:33. I think my running pace was fairly consistent at an 11 minute mile and my time variances are due to the amount of time I walked during the mile.

Next week, I'm only scheduled to run 3 miles on Tuesday, 5 on Wednesday, 6 on Saturday (may move this to Friday). I think I should alter the schedule a bit since that is a pretty light. Maybe I'll add a Friday run. Counting my run today, I got 25 miles in this week. What should I run next week? Only 13 miles seems light. Would 18 be a respectable number of miles?

Quick run

2011-04-14T21:07:00.000-04:00

I put in a quick run today before mowing the lawn and heading to Val's game. I ran a 5K in 31:20 and went on to finish 4 miles in 40:50. My splits were 10:24, 10:13, 9:47, and 10:25. It was sunny and 71, but felt much hotter. I was certainly sweating more than during my 8 mile run yesterday. I walked twice for a short time during the 5K and twice during the last mile.

See my previous post for an update on Val's softball games yesterday and today.

Dad of the Year

2011-04-14T21:01:00.000-04:00

The umpire didn't show up for Val's softball game in Hilliard yesterday so Ken was volunteered (by me, mostly) to fill in so they could play. My only requirement was that he wear a mask behind the plate - he got a baseball in the face just this weekend while playing ump during Jason's practice.

I was very impressed with Ken - as was the other volunteer umpire who actually was certified for high school softball games. Ken called a great game and was very professional about it. He had to make several calls against our team, including two at the end of the game which resulted in our loss. On one of them, he even over-ruled the other umpire who had called the girl out at 3rd. Ken had a better view from the front and saw that she was tagged too high (in the shoulder) and, after conferring, the Hilliard player got the base. He also called that girl safe at home when the throw came in to Val too high to get the tag on in time.

Ken was almost sick about the game and about offering to help. On the ride home, he kept imagining Val getting treated terribly by her teammates on the bus. He expected her to be very angry with him when she got home. However, that's not how it happened at all. Val came home and was fine; did her homework, ate food, got ready for bed, and she treated her father and everyone else fine (and that's saying a lot for a teenager on any day of the week). When Val was headed to bed, I told her I was proud how she handled her father umpiring and making calls against her team. She responded by giving Ken a compliment. She said he did a good job at the game and he called the pitches better than some of their real umpires. She was proud of him, too. How cool is that?!?!

I told Ken that he taught his kids many things on that day. He set a good example for volunteering. He ran a competent game with good sportsmanship and a positive attitude. And he was fair. He did not make calls that favored his own team, but called them as he saw them. Val said that the other girls thought he was a very fair as an umpire. Although it was not easy, Ken was a great example for his kids today. In return, I give him the Father of the Year award! Great job, Ken!

Val had another game tonight. She is catcher and took a foul tip in the shoulder (above the chest pad) in the second inning. She played through the rest of the inning and even batted and made a run. No one knew she was hurt. However, her arm seized up and she couldn't throw when heading out for the third inning. So she sat the bench with ice on her shoulder and was sad and angry that she was letting her team down. Her team did great, though and they won with a 10 run rule in the top of the 7th. We went out to Dairy Queen with some of her teammates afterward and she was invited to a birthday party for tomorrow night. Yea! All is good with the world now.

Olentangy Trail

2011-04-13T21:52:00.001-04:00

Today was beautiful! Sunny and lower 60s. Val had a softball game on the west side of Columbus tonight, so I decided to run at OSU and shower at RPAC before heading to the game. I find it difficult to run on campus because it's too small. Okay, yes, I know. I hear your exclamations and shouts of disbelief. OSU is one of the largest schools in the nation. It is far from a small school. However, running more than 5 miles on campus requires venturing on some very busy streets and doing multiple loops. I wasn't feeling particularly loopy today, so I decided to do an out-and-back on the Olentangy Trail between OSU and the Park of Roses.

Overall, I was satisfied to complete 8 miles in 1:26:25. I felt pretty good throughout, although it was a little warm during a stretch of the trail with no shade. I suppose I should mention that I was off the clock about 5 minutes or so when I stopped at a portapotty (mile 4) and stretched a little before continuing the workout, so my actual time for the 8 miles was probably 1:30 or 1:35. I hope we can find enough facility stops at the Poco Loco in Boston. I seem to have the bladder of a fly.

I was scheduled to do a 7 mile run with 5 of it at tempo, but I couldn't hang on to the tempo today, so I settled for 8 miles with 3 of them at tempo and another quicker mile thrown in for good measure. My splits were 11:21, 9:39, 10:18, 9:41, 11:05, 10:14, 11:31, and 12:28.

I tried some new podcasts because I'm caught up with Steverunner, Geekgirlrunner, the Slow Runner's Club, and Run Run Live. I wish I would have downloaded some Extra Mile podcasts instead: I enjoy Kevin and hearing everyone call in with race reports.

Although I wasn't thrilled with the three podcasts I previewed on my run today, I did learn something new. One runner complained that his legs get tight and won't relax during a marathon. He has learned to address the problem by walking a little at water stations and then running much faster for a hundred yards or so to catch back up with the pace group. He believes the longer stride and stronger push-off stretches his legs and helps them perform better as he relaxes back to marathon pace. Hmmm, that's a very good idea. I'm going to try it. I struggle with chronically tight calf and IT band muscles. Sometimes they invite the lower back, hips, and hamstrings to participate in the fun too.

Fat lip

2011-04-10T20:44:00.000-04:00

On Friday, I put in a very quick 5K (30:00) with splits at 9:44, 9:48, and 9:34. It was supposed to be an easy 3, but I was squeezing in a run before heading to Val's softball game and I didn't have much time. Actually, I think I should count the run into the house, rushing through a shower, jumping into clothes, and racing to the car as part of the workout, too. I doubt my heart rate dropped during the whole process. I got to Val's game in New Albany ith 1 minute to spare.

Today I was scheduled for a 13 mile run, but I didn't get out in the morning as planned. Instead I ran in the heat of the day and it was 83 degrees F! My run was only 10 mile and was more of a walk than a run, really. I walked a lot more than usual, that's for sure. The 10 miles took me 2:05:52 and my splits tell the story: 10:29, 11:16, 12:19, 12:11, 13:16, 12:29, 11:51, 14:17, 14:37, and 12:59. I started out with good intentions to put in the time as I have for most of my runs, but I allowed myself more and more walk breaks as I went along. I stopped at a friend's house at about mile 4, replentished my water, and chatted for about 10 minutes off the clock. I also stopped at the library to get more water and use the facilities. I decided I wasn't in a hurry and was just wanting to do enough miles to qualify the run for a long run status. I hope 10 miles qualifies. It's not the 13 I'll have to do on the April 30 and May 7, but it was a warm couple of hours.

When I got home, I was sore and stretched a little and then got in the shower. Ken came in and talked to me and asked how my run was, if he could get me anything, etc. and it wasn't until I got out of the shower that I saw that he was the one who needed helping. He was running Jason's baseball practice and got hit in the nose/top lip with a foul tip. His lip is huge and looks very sore. His nose isn't broken and doesn't look too bad, but he says it's a bit torn up on the inside. His teeth made it though the ordeal unbroken, thank goodness.

Tomorrow, Val has to dress up at school and we found that she didn't really have any Spring dress clothes that fit, so we made a trip to Kohl's before church tonight. Val will be wearing a skirt (that's a shocker!). Many of her softball friends reported that they were planning to wear skirts, so I guess that opened the door for the possibility for Val. She's usually a t-shirt and jeans or sweats kind of girl. When dressing up, the jeans are tan or black and the t-shirt may be a bit more fitted and without words or pictures. So an outfit with a skirt, sleeveless shirt, and sweater jacket will be quite a stretch for her. Yea, Val!

Training Lapse

2011-04-06T21:05:00.000-04:00

I haven't been keeping to my training plan . . . and I know it's probably the most critical few weeks of the plan. I've put so much time and energy and heart into the past 3 months, you'd think I could keep the momentum for the last few weeks . . . . yet I have so many excuses. Chief among them includes very sore muscles and places rubbed raw on my feet. Perhaps a very light week or two will be beneficial? I can dream, can't I?

This weekend, I skipped my long run entirely. To try to make up for it, I expanded my Monday run a bit. I was scheduled for 3 miles but ran 6 miles in 1:03:30 on the indoor RPAC track. We had a crazy day of thunderstorms and hail so I really had no choice. Despite running only 6 miles and having what should have been fresh legs, my run was tough and I was very sore immediately following and throughout the evening.

On Tuesday I didn't have a run planned. I attended Valerie's first softball game of the season. She made the Jr. High softball team and was their starting shortstop. She had a good game overall and made a couple of outs. Our team lost by something crazy like 14 to 0, though. The other team had a pitcher a full foot taller than Val and weighed about 150 pounds. She was firing in pitches only a few girls even connected the bat with the ball. Val was one of just 2 girls that put the ball in play, but got out at first base. The game was played despite the weather being 44 degrees with a wind-chill of 36. At various times, we had ice and slush raining down on us as we sat on aluminum bleachers. I was freezing. Although I wore my trail runners so my feet stayed dry, they were very cold and frozen. Burrrrr. Her next game is tomorrow and should be in the 60 degree F range.

Today I was scheduled to run 8 miles with 4 miles as speed work. I struggled through the 8 miles but ignored the speed part. I just wasn't up for it. I should have taken a GU with me or ate something on the drive home. I was totally wiped out. I also had a sore place on the bottom of my foot that was bugging me from mile 4+. Really, the only time I felt pretty good was mile 2. It was a strange run. My total time for the 8 miles was 1:26:59 with splits all over the place: 10:51, 9:58, 10:51, 11:01, 11:10, 10:50, 11:17, and 10:53. I walked whenever I felt like it, which was more frequently in the later miles than the early ones.

On a more positive front, work and home life is going quite well. I had a wonderful visit with my grandmother and parents who visited last week from Nebraska. I just love having them here. We visited and planned home improvement projects and Dad and Ken made quite a bit of progress on some of those projects. We now have trim in the basement. The kids' shower head is no longer held on by duct tape. We have a new kitchen faucet. And the blue tape directing visitors to use the correct doorbell is no longer required. Although I was off work all week during their visit, I kept up with email and have been very productive so far this week. I suppose the break did me some good, after all.

Parents/Grandma visiting

2011-04-01T17:30:00.001-04:00

I just put in 7 miles in 1:13:37. It was a tough day to be motivated because my parents and grandmother are visiting from Nebraska and I would have preferred to spend that hour with them instead of pounding the pavement. However, they are here for a week, so I can't totally neglect my training during that time, especially since Poco Loco is in just 29 days!

Today's run was supposed to include speed work, but I wasn't feeling too speedy. I did kick it up a notch every other mile as planned, but my slow miles were slower than planned. My fast miles weren't breaking any speed records, but I felt it was very respectable to be under 9:50ish for a fast mile. I know I've done this workout more successfully, but I'm just glad it's done today. My miles were 10:20, 9:08, 11:14, 9:20, 11:57, 9:41, and 11:52.

In other news, we've had a great week visiting with my parents and grandmother. We've played several hands of cribbage, gone for walks, and made many wonderful meals. Val's great grandmother taught her how to make proper mid-western gravy and the kids had their first real hot roast beef sandwiches. We've been keeping Grandma busy! She also bought some books at the library and helped us pick out Val's new backpack and binder for school. On Sunday, we'll go to church and then out to a nice brunch at the 94th Aero Squadron.

As is our tradition when my parents visit, we are making significant progress on home improvements for their new house and ours, too.

For my parent's house, Dad got the lawn cleaned up and fertilized and a new furnace filter installed. We also met with the contractor and made decisions on their new garage. The contractor is thinking the project will begin in mid-April.

In my house, we got new kitchen faucet, a replaced shower head for the kids' bathroom, a decent video game/karaoke stand for Jason's room, reorganized shop area, and removed an old doorbell. We also had Mom and Dad's contractor come to our house to look at our bathroom. Our shower is leaking and we need to decide how to replace it. Of course, I want a total bath remodel: Drop the huge soaking tub and create a huge walk-in shower. Ken was more open to the idea once we met with the contractor. Tomorrow, we'll go to some tile shops and a plumbing fixture store so we can get an idea of how much all this might cost.

Visit from parents and grandmother

2011-03-29T23:24:00.000-04:00

This is Spring Break week and we are having a wonderful time with my parents and grandmother who are visiting from Nebraska.

Although I wanted to hang out with my family instead, I forced myself out for the 3 mile run that I skipped yesterday. My miles were 10:03, 9:46, and 9:26 for a 3 mile run in 29:17. I was supposed to do an easy run, but it was chilly and I wanted to be doing other things, so I pushed it a bit to get it overwith ASAP.

I wore my new shoes again today and noticed that my legs got sore about half way through the run. I wonder if my problem was not overuse of muscles, but underuse of shoes. Perhaps I got injured from doing a long run in my new shoes a couple of weeks ago. I think I'll lay off the new shoes until after my 3 running events in April/May. I thought the new shoes would help me train and run better in those events, but now it seems they are a liability. Perhaps they'll be better once broken-in, but now is not the time to test that theory.

Half marathon in 2:25:40

2011-03-26T19:06:00.002-04:00

I've have tight and very sore calf muscles, IT bands, and hips this week, so I skipped my scheduled slow 2 miler on Friday to allow more recovery days for my long run. I wasn't even convinced my long run was going to be particularly long, today. I was scheduled for 12, but was hoping for just 8 injury-free miles.

Today's run was totally different than last week's. Last week, I felt great and was much faster than expected. Today, I felt beat-up and was hyper-aware of my sore muscles throughout the run. When I over-use them, my calves and IT bands have a habit of balling up.  It can be a chronic problem as they don't recover easily because they are continuously contracting, even when at rest. Sometimes it gets so bad that I can't run. I was sending relaxation vibes to my muscles so they didn't get any worse. Also, to play it safe, I stopped to walk every time I felt them tighten enough to impact my stride.

At half past 5 miles, I caught a burning sensation in my hip/IT band/hip flexor area. The relaxation vibes didn't knock it down immediately, so I slowed to a walk and pondered the fate of the run. I was about 3 miles from home and Ken was with the kids at baseball practice, so I figured I was going to get in 8 miles, even if I had to walk the last three. The burning subsided after walking about 3 minutes, so I resumed running and walking according to the directions of my muscles.

Last week, at the end of a fast 11 miles, I was feeling great and could have run 2 more miles at a 10 minute pace easily.   Today I struggled a lot with the last 2 miles, just like I did in my 2008 half marathon during which I alternated ~60 meter tempos with ~60 meters barely jogging. It was brutal then as it was today.  I knew alternating very fast and very slow is not a productive way to run, nor is it wise for someone with a light injury, so the last mile I quit running fast and walked less frequently. I was just tried to hold on to what was likely going to be an unofficial half marathon PR (personal record) for me.

Today's 13.1 mile distance was measured by my Garmin and clocked at 2:25:40. In 2008, I did that distance in an official 2:29:10, but I stopped at the porta-potty twice on the course. Today my splits were 11:21, 11:05, 11:13, 10:21, 11:26, 11:44, 11:09, 10:57, 12:11, 11:27, 10:51, 10:45, and 10:18 with no stops.

I'm not sure it was wise to do a really long run this weekend, but I had the time and was dressed well for the sunny run with the temperature in the upper 30's F. It wasn't an easy run, but I think I learned quite a bit.

I learned to listen to my muscles when they are tired and to walk at the first sign of tightening.

I learned that during a walk break, I gain significant energy, attitude adjustment, and back flexibility by putting my arms in a tight swimmer's spike above my head and then pressing my shoulder blades together as I slowly bring them down to my side. I guess loosening my shoulders and chest muscles helps me run in better form. I must run hunched over too much and it puts a strain on my back.

I learned I tend to forget the GU nourishment when I run and I need to be more intentional about it. I didn't take a GU until mile 11 today. Ooops.

I learned I can go easier on my sore muscles by not intentionally pushing off and just letting momentum carry me along. I'm not very fast with that method, but when running beat-up and sore, it seems to be a good strategy for being able to run further before fatigue.

I learned that geese can be damn aggressive and dangerous.  Just after mile 7, I got dive-bombed by a goose. He/she was purposely aiming for my head. It surprised me and I actually screamed (not typical behavior for me).   I bailed off the trail and came to an abrupt stop just past where he/she landed. The goose was on the ground now but still showing me how huge it was with the full wing span and was hissing with a wide open beak. What was that all about? My first thought as I took off running again was that the adrenaline boost was going to have a negative impact on the rest of my run.

Some teenagers were walking toward me on the path and certainly had heard, if not seen my goose encounter.  I warned them of the danger, but their smiles responded with "what a pitiful old wimpy lady." A few minutes later, I heard a scream and slowed to watch them from the other side of the pond.  The first one was brave and tried to run past it. She was rewarded with a startling ground chase. As I ran on, the other teenager was strategizing how to navigate the fowl roadblock. Perhaps they learned something today, too.

Clean carpet on which to stretch sore muscles

2011-03-23T21:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I put in an easy 3 miles, trying to work out my sore muscles from my great long run on Sunday. My miles were 10:47, 11:02, and 11:25 for a total of 34:52. I walked some of every mile and even stopped to stretch a bit on the clock.

Today I was still feeling some calf and IT band soreness. I debated postponing my scheduled run because another day of recovery would be smart. Also, I simply wasn't in the mood for a 6 mile run with 4 of it at tempo. However, in the end, the weather forecast forced my hand, or my legs, I guess. Tomorrow the high will be 20 degrees F cooler with a wind chill even more intimidating. So I decided to take advantage of the relatively good weather and run this evening.

My run was pretty good, especially considering my attitude going in to it. I ran 6 miles in 1:03:04 with splits at 11:38, 10:13, 9:55, 9:45, 9:35, and 11:51. I successfully completed the scheduled 4 mile tempo run with a mile warm up and cool down. I walked several times in the first and last miles and a couple of times during the 4 mile tempo when I felt my back and hips tightening enough to alter my stride. Chris Russell kept me company with his Run Run Live podcast.

Now my calves are very sore and getting worse by the hour. So, I'm going to stretch a bit and relax on my professionally cleaned carpet. I have the most wonderful husband in the world! He surprised me today by getting the carpet cleaned. The dirty and stained carpet has been driving me crazy. Now I can go Zen.

Glasses

2011-03-21T23:02:00.000-04:00

First pair of eye glasses: age 44. Not priceless. $20 and not yet convinced they are worth it.

I finally took the optometrist's advice and bought some +1.00 reading glasses at Walgreen's. So naturally, I had to try them out this evening. I found the typeface was larger and with more crisp edges, but reading with the glasses made me a little nauseous.

I read my mystery novel for about 30 minutes, half with glasses and half without. I wonder if glasses take some time to get used to, like Val's contacts. Or maybe I should give it another 6 months or a year before I try reading with glasses again.

Although I had time to run tonight, I chose to give my legs and hips a break. Instead, I walked about 35 minutes; probably just under 2 miles. The weather will be getting worse this week, so I hope I can stay on target with the training.

11 miles in 1:59:21!

2011-03-20T19:03:00.000-04:00

What an encouraging long run today! I ran 11 miles in 1:59:21! I'm sore and tight, but I could have run another 2.1 miles to make the run a full half marathon (13.1 miles). I would have done so, too, if it weren't for Val's softball team family meeting tonight. That's okay. I was scheduled to run 11 and I did it in very good form.

I did some walking, but not on a regular schedule. I walked a little each mile, but never a full minute. I walked up most of the hills to save my legs and energy, though. I also consumed 2 strawberry banana GU gels along the way. I took one at mile 6-ish and one at mile 9-ish. According to my Garmin, my average mile pace was 10:50 today. That's incredible for me!  The mile splits were 11:11, 10:53, 10:51, 10:28, 10:26, 10:21, 11:22, 10:39, 11:16, 11:08 and 10:37.

In the middle of the run, when my pace sped up a bit, I found myself chugging along on momentum and it felt like I was expending less energy than usual to get further.  That was a really great feeling and I knew it would help me get through this long run. The weather helped, too. It was mostly cloudy and about 60 degrees F while I was out there. I listened to the Slow Runners Club while running and zenrunner and eddiemarathon helped distract me from the run and made the time fly.

Today must have been THE day for great long runs. Steverunner ran a full marathon (26.2 miles) for his long run today.  Like me, he has been struggling with his training, so I'm sure it was a great pick-me-up run for him, too. Congrats, Steve!

More than a little crazy

2011-03-18T19:56:00.012-04:00

I've gone crazy! I just realized that I'm running 3 events in 3 weeks this Spring. Since I rarely run more than 2 or 3 in a year, this is certainly out of character!

On April 30th, I'll be running the Boston Poco Loco with steverunner, eddiemarathon and zenrunner from Slow Runners Club, runswim2 (renowned for punny blog comments), and several other runners, podcasters, and bloggers.  Two teams will run ~6 miles up either side of the Charles river where we'll meet and webcast a live halftime show. Then we'll run back (~6 miles) to our cars and head out for a celebration party/dinner at a local pub near Harvard Square. I'll look for Car Talk's Tappet Brothers while I'm there!

One week later, on May 7, I'll be limping through the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus.  Way back in December, I thought this sounded like a good idea since I had to train to run 13 miles for the Poco Loco anyway. Now I'm wondering if I was more than a little crazy in my thinking (or lack thereof).

A mere week after the half marathon is my annual Komen Columbus Race for the Cure 5K. For 6 or 7 consecutive years, I've run the Race for the Cure in honor of my friend Cathy Cooper who lost her battle with breast cancer. Last year I also ran as a survivor myself.  Join our team (Kick it with Kelly) or contribute to the cause by donating in our team's name. Ken and Jason will be leading the 5K Kick it with Kelly walking group. Valerie and I will be running in the 5K chip-timed group. Ken's sister, Michelle was asking about coming too (actually, she reminded me to sign up!), so I expect her to join the team in the next day or so. Thanks for kicking my butt to get registered, Michelle! Please join us in this wonderful, inspirational event.

So, yes, I'm participating in running events three weeks in a row! I know I'm breaking so many running rules with this schedule. Oh well, as with pirates, the rules for runners are really more like guidelines anyway. I'm sure the injury gremlins will take pity and allow me my excesses just this once.

As for my training for all these events . . . well, it's going okay. So far, I've put in 12 miles this week: 3 on Monday, 7 on Wednesday, and 2 today (10:15 and 10:11).  I hope to run 10 or 11 more miles on Sunday.

Spring, shoes, and scheduling classes

2011-03-16T20:30:00.002-04:00

Spring is here! OK, not yet, but it sure felt like it today. It was lower 50s and sunny so I ran outside in my neighborhood wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and sunglasses. I also wore my new running shoes. I'm an Adidas person - I love my Adidas Adizero Tempo, but the new version of that shoe is too deep in the forefoot and toe and I couldn't buy it. So I picked up the Adidas Supernova Glide at my local running store. I've only run in them once, but so far, so good. I may go online and look for some old tempos for races, though, because they are a "faster" shoe and I've really loved them.

I ran exactly what I had scheduled today: 7 miles, alternating slow and fast miles. Although my Garmin reports that I ran 7 miles in 1:12:41, it's a little misleading because I was off the clock several times after completing the mile loop (talked to Ken when he got home, ditto for Jason, got more water, etc.). My mile splits are accurate, however: 10:34, 8:56, 11:38, 8:53, 11:45, 9:01, and 11:40. I was really pushing hard on the fast miles and needed significant recovery time. During the slow miles, I walked several times during the mile to facilitate recovery and to be ready for the next fast burst.

I spent about 30 minutes stretching after the run. My lower back and glute were tight on the right side before I ran, so I did a little stretching before the run and between miles, too.

I'm also having some issues with blisters on a toe and the bottom of my foot, but these were issues prior to trying the new shoes. I've been putting Vaseline between my toes (thanks for the tip, Jim!) and that seems to keep it from causing pain or breaking. I'm also trying to be shoeless Kelly around the house so my toe gets lots of air. The blister still fills up whenever I run, though.

Tonight we need to determine Val's classes for 8th grade. This is important because beginning next year, some of her classes will apply toward high school credits and will be on her transcript. I can't believe that's starting already! Unfortunately, scheduling is pretty much up to the child and parents. The school provides guidance at a big parent meeting for an hour this evening and with handouts, but I wish it was more hands-on and individually focused. The handouts didn't even mention that most colleges require 3 years of foreign language - this was an aside comment the principal made during the presentation. I'm glad I was paying attention! Val hadn't planned to take foreign language.

I got some good news at the parent meeting, though. Val won't have to take physical education (PE) in 8th grade or high school because she will have at least 2 seasons of a high school sport or marching band.

Short run on a nice day

2011-03-14T20:02:00.000-04:00

Today I had a short run planned and I knew I was up for it. I came home after work and, thanks to daylight savings time, had plenty of time to change, run 3 miles (33:18), shower, and eat - all before dark. I may even get this post done before night falls. How about that? I never thought I'd be so happy to lose an hour.

Unlike this weekend, I didn't have too much of an inner fight to get out on the road today. My mile splits were 11:26, 10:31, and 10:20, which illustrates how I felt while out there, too. I started a little tight but loosened up and got moving better as I went along.

I'm not sure what caused the difference in motivation and attitude between this weekend and today. Perhaps it's a mental thing about putting in a long run. I was supposed to run 10 miles this weekend. I think my dread multiplies by 2 for every mile that's scheduled longer than 4 miles, though I don't know why. I didn't have any trouble with 6 miles last night and could have easily run several more.

Send positive motivation vibes to me on Wednesday. I'm scheduled for 7 miles with 3 of of them as speed work. I'm hoping for terrific weather and lots of time on my hands. Yea, right. Dream big.

The dark place

2011-03-13T22:26:00.002-04:00

While the kids had a great weekend in sports (see previous post), I did not. I went to a dark place in my training.

Today, I was minutes away from vowing to quit running forever. It was a dark place.

It was a tough week for training. I put in 4 miles on Monday and 3 miles on Wednesday and both were fine runs. However, 15 minutes after my Wednesday run, I had a chest cough, with no warning I was getting sick at all. The cold persisted despite meds and fighting it with all my might.

On Friday I planned to run 10 miles, but didn't get out of work early enough to do it . . . and I was tired and unmotivated.

On Saturday, I was going to run the mileage at Bowling Green, but we got a late start and by the time we got there it was 4pm and cold and blustery (very windy). I took a nap in the hotel before heading to the swim meet at 5:30pm.

On Sunday, we were going to leave Bowling Green early so I was going to run at home instead. We left later than planned because Val was having fun with her friends and we wanted to encourage her. When we got home at 4:30pm, I was tired, unmotivated, and added GI issues to my cold symptoms. Again, I took a nap.

When I got up an hour later, I was dejected. And angry at myself. And tired. I knew I had lots of reasons to skip the run today - very little sleep in the hotel last night, chest cold, and GI issues - but I also knew that what was really stopping me from running was my lack of motivation. It was those demons of inactivity dragging me down.

I seriously considered hanging up the towel forever. I thought I should just quit running. Afterall, I'm not like the other runners I know. I struggle with motivation more often than I look forward to a run. I don't ramp up endurance very quickly. I weigh too much. I'm slow. I only run 3-4 times a week on a good week. And I'm way behind where I should be in training for the half marathon. I'll be significantly slower than my 2:29 in 2008.

All of those facts were staring me in the face and it seemed hopeless. I considered being a No Show at the half marathon on May 7 and even dropping out of the Poco Loco. Although the Poco Loco is supposed to be an easy, fun run for all involved, I'm just not sure I can run 6+ miles out and 6+ miles back.

While it was starting to get dark outside, I went through a dark place of runner gloom. I couldn't believe that I was only going to get 7 miles in this week. And then I decided, with much termoil, that running 3 miles today was better than not running at all. I knew I could physically do it, if I could just mentally kick my butt out the door.

So I did. I got out there and ran. I think what finally got me out the door was the realization that I was going to feel like crap all evening and all day tomorrow if I didn't get out and at least try to run now.

The run went suprisingly well, albeit slow. I ran 6 miles in 1:09 before my GI issues forced me inside again. I think my legs and wind would have allowed me to run 4 more, though. I was feeling really good and was enjoying the run.

Now I feel 80% better than I did all weekend. This is always the story, you know. It's always the same. I always feel much better after I get out there. Heck, I even feel much better WHEN I am out there. Yet, it's often a challenge to take that first step. And this weekend, it was much more than a challenge. The struggle was worth it, though. I won.

Yea for Val and Jason!

2011-03-13T22:04:00.000-04:00

Val made the cut for her Jr. High Softball Team this week. After the first day of try-outs, she was confident she'd make the team, but it was a good ego boost on both Wednesday and Thursday when she found she had made the cuts.

Val wasn't going to try-out for softball if she was swimming at State Jr Olympics this weekend. She could not have missed practices to attend tryouts, and of course she would not volate the tapering requirements for the week of the meet. Since OSSC decided to put all 4 fastest girls on one team, they couldn't take 2 relays in her age group because the B team was just short of qualifying. Although Val was very upset, perhaps it was meant to be because she's now on the softball team. We picked up new cleats for her this weekend and now she's ready to hit the field with gusto.

This weekend, Jason swam a great 50 backstroke in his State Jr. Olympics medley relay. He hung in there with all those state qualifiers and was in the top half of the heat when he got to the wall. His team came in 4th in their heat. Ohio State Swim Club's (OSSC) 9/10 boys are really amazing this year. They qualified 3 relays: the A relay came in 2nd (behind a team that set the JO record), the B relay came in 13th, and Jason's C relay was 22nd. Jason's C relay beat 2 other teams' A relays. There were 27 relays overall.

Val's friends did well in the meet, too. Kelsey was 2nd in the 50 breast and 1st in the 100 breast as an 11-year-old in the 11/12 division. Miaya was 8th in the 50 back. Miranda was 3rd in the 100 fly. If Val had qualified to swim at State, she would have bested 3 swimmers in the 100 breast and 6 in the 50 breast (comparing her Regional time to their State times). The competition was pretty tight on the 50 breast, the difference between 6th place and 19th place was just .6 seconds. That's crazy!

Overall, OSSC placed 8th out of 41 teams.

Just an update

2011-03-09T19:50:00.000-05:00

My run was rushed again today. I got out of work late and hurried over to RPAC. I ran 3 miles in 29:56. Since I knew it was a short workout, I ran the whole thing in a fairly consistent pace (no walking). Afterward I had to postpone the shower to hustle to pick up Jason from swim team practice.

Valerie is in softball tryouts this week. If she was swimming at the Ohio Junior Olympics, she would not have tried out for softball this year because swim practice would have been mandatory this week. Val seems to be doing well and is having fun at tryouts. She made the first cut today. Another cut takes place on Friday.

We're headed to Bowling Green this weekend so Jason can swim backstroke with his medley relay at the Ohio Junior Olympics. His relay is faster than 4 other relays which is great news because it's tough to be seeded last place. I hope Jason has a good experience at State JOs.

I'm not sure when I'll get my long run in this week. It was scheduled for Saturday, but we'll be driving to Bowling Green in the morning and will be there through the day on Sunday. I'll have to take a look at my schedule and move things around. Maybe I can run on Friday.

Ants and our first iPod

2011-03-07T22:48:00.000-05:00

After work today, I ran 4 miles in 39 minutes exactly. Seriously. I know that sounds nearly impossible, but I clicked the watch to stop and 39:00 was the actual time displayed. I ran inside on the RPAC track because I was in a hurry. I worked late and had to pick up Jason after swim team practice, which gave me less than an hour to get changed, find a locker, and run. I guess that's one way to force myself to do a speedy workout.

I spent all evening working on my daughter's new iPod touch - an early birthday gift and congratulations gift for her hard work and dedication to qualifying for State Junior Olympics in swimming. She's thrilled.

Val's room has those [insert bad words here] pavement ants again. They are getting in through the brick. The kicker is that we pay a service to stop such things from happening and Ken is not a happy camper about it tonight. To rub salt in the wound, Val won't sleep in her room, so she's sleeping with me tonight and Ken is on the couch or in Val's room or in a basement bedroom. I guess that's some serious incentive for getting the service out here ASAP to get rid of these ants. This happened about 4 years ago and was terrible. I can't believe they are back!

Slow 9 in the rain

2011-03-05T18:31:00.002-05:00

I ran my long run in the rain today. It was about 50 degrees and misting when I went out and it got cooler and more rainy as I went along. I was dressed perfectly though:

sleeveless dri-fit shirt
shell-only Marmot jacket with zipper vents under the arms
a ball cap to keep the rain off my face
light leggings that fell just below the knee with shorts over them
my fabulous Vasque trail running shoes

It was a bit warm occasionally, so I kept the jacket unzipped everywhere there was a zipper and the venting helped. My feet stayed dry in the trail running shoes, which is exactly why I wore them. I also wear them when I officiate swim meets even though the green color is outside the official uniform I'm supposed to wear. It's worth it for dry feet. I figure they can fire me if they want (it's all volunteer). Anyway, I highly recommend these shoes and will buy another pair again soon.

My long run today was 9 miles; the same mileage as last week. However, I was 6 minutes slower today as I finished in 1:43:55. I was outside in the rain instead of inside on the flat track, so perhaps that's one reason for the slow down. I also didn't follow a run-walk-run ratio, I just walked whenever I decided I should walk. My splits were 11:18, 11:10, 11:19, 11:20, 11:31, 11:19, 12:11, 11:35, and 12:04.

The good news is my back didn't hurt much today. Last night, Ken helped stretch my legs and rubbed my back and I'm sure that's why my back didn't tense as much today. My legs are really tired, though - and my IT bands and hip flexors are tight.

Tonight Ken and I are kid-less as both kids surprised us by getting invited for sleepovers. Weird. That never happens spontaneously! So I'm signing off now so Ken and I can decide what to do with our surprise freedom. Should we go out and have a wild night on the town or stay in and have a quiet romantic evening at home? Either would be great, as we rarely get just "us" time.

Have a great weekend! I will!

Homework miles

2011-03-02T20:29:00.000-05:00

I was able to run outside today; another beautiful day in central Ohio. I was scheduled to do a short, easy run (2 miles, but I did 3). I ran a 5K in 32:52 with splits at 11:02, 10:28, and 10:27.

It wasn't as easy going as it should have been, but I was out there getting in the miles and smarter runners than me assert that is what matters most. I'm going with that. These were ungraded homework miles.

Regional championship swim meet

2011-03-01T22:41:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy few days for our family. We had a 3 day Regional Championship swim meet Fri-Sun this weekend. I officiated every session and the kids swam very, very well.

Val got 1st in the medley relay (her team had a JO qualifying time), 1st in the 100 breaststroke (won by 11.7 seconds!), 2nd in the freestyle relay, 3rd in the 50 breaststroke (only .6 seconds off the JO time), 6th in the individual medley (all strokes), 8th in the 100 freestyle, 9th in the 50 freestyle, and 10th in the 50 butterfly.

Jason got 3rd in the 50 backstroke (dropped lots of time in this event!), 3rd in the freestyle relay, 4th in 100 backstroke, 4th in the 50 freestyle, 10th in 50 breaststroke, 10th in 50 butterfly, 11th in the Individual Medley (all strokes), and 12th in the 50 freestyle.

Both kids swam events in the mornings and then made it to finals all three evenings. The days were long, but rewarding.

We were 95% sure Val would be going to the state meet the weekend of March 11 since both OSU medley relays in her age group qualified. However, when the coaches moved the 4 fastest girls to one relay, the second team wasn't fast enough to go to the state meet. Val was devastated since she is 12 and next year ages up to the 13/14 group with new time standards.

Despite the tough news Val received, we are going to the state meet. Jason's amazing time in his 50 backstroke made him the top backstroke choice for the 9/10 boys B medley relay that qualified for state JOs. Two boys who are ranked in the top 10 in the state were able to make up for the 1.33 seconds Jason is shy of a state cut. Therefore, a second relay for 9/10 boys qualified and Jason is now a member of that team.

Because of the swim meet and then yesterday's retirement party for a staff member, I didn't run for 4 days. Today I put in 6 miles in 1:04:26 outside in beautiful weather. My miles were 11:15, 10:23, 10:21, 10:43, 10:34, and 11:02. I was scheduled to do 6 miles with 4 of them tempo at a 10:19 pace, so I fell a bit short of the schedule in pace, even though I did the mileage.

9 miles and sore back

2011-02-24T21:58:00.000-05:00

I don't have time to write much tonight because I need to pack for the 3 day swim meet that starts tomorrow morning, early. We'll be at Regional Championships Friday morning, Friday evening, Saturday morning, Saturday evening, Sunday morning, and Sunday evening. Both kids are swimming each day. I'll be officiating the whole meet. Ken will be managing our kids, tracking times, offering encouragement, and handling logistics.

Since the meet is in Worthington and we'll have 3 and 4 hour breaks between preliminaries and finals, we decided to get a hotel suite with 2 bedrooms and a kitchen. We got a great deal and will be close to all the swim action. I think the hotel will make it special and fun and I'm really looking forward to having a place to crash between sesssions.

I scheduled my weekly long run for today because I'll be too busy to do it this weekend. So tonight after work I put in 9 miles. I planned to do 8, but was able to squeak out another mile at the end. Since I was an overachiever, you're probably thinking I was handling the run pretty well. Not really. My lower back was very tight and painful after mile 3. I stopped a couple of times to stretch it (on the clock), and that helped for a half mile or so before it would work its way back (no pun intended) where it was before. It's pretty sore even now as I sit in the desk chair.

Overall, I'm pleased with my run, though. I actually did the scheduled long distance and then some. My miles were 10:37, 10:32, 10:13, 10:48, 11:43, 11:02, 10:20, 10:17, and 12:06. I walked about 1 minute of every mile except the last mile during which I walked 3 minutes. My overall time for 9 miles was 1:37:42.

Short, easy run

2011-02-22T20:34:00.001-05:00

My Lymphedema appointment went fine today. The PT specialist said my measurements were down from last time, especially my upper arm which worried me by being bigger than usual at my last appointment. She agreed that the glove was a good fit and gave me kudos for managing the swelling well. She sent me off with instructions to keep up what I've been doing. However, today my hand has been swelling more than usual - last night too. I think I'll wrap it in the finger and ace combo wrap tonight. I hate that thing.

This evening I was scheduled to do a short easy run. I added a mile to it, though, because I don't expect to get many miles in this week due to the kids' Regional Championship swim meet which occurs all day and all evening on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I plan to do my long run on Thursday.

Tonight I put in 3 miles in 30:58 with the splits at 10:28, 10:10, and 10:19. I was on the RPAC track and was in good company. I was lapped by my colleague, Tom, who is an impressive marathon runner and an Ironman triathlete.

Shorter runs going well

2011-02-21T21:10:00.000-05:00

Although I've had trouble with my long runs this training period, my shorter runs are going very well.

Today I was scheduled to do 5 miles with 3 of them at tempo. Since the weather was crappy (rain, sleet, and snow), I ran on the indoor track at RPAC while the kids were at swim practice.

My first and last miles were slow and don't really deserve time stats, but I'll note them anyway. The first was 10:38 but I stopped half way through, off the clock, and stretched for a few minutes and then I stopped after the first mile and stretched more. My cool down mile was 13:01 and included quite a bit of walking because I was spent after running the 3 mile tempo.

The middle three miles were at a continuous sub-9 minute pace. Sub-9 is extremely fast for me for just one mile, let alone 3. My miles were 8:54, 8:59, 8:50 and I didn't even keep an eye on the time during the run. Truth be told, age has caught up with me and I need glasses. When I'm running, I can only read the total time of the workout on my Ironman watch. The current split time display is too small. I guess that's one way to wean myself off of the need for speed. However, I can still read the split in recall mode after the run.

My 5K was 28:13 because I walked a bit during the last .1 mile of the 5K distance. If I would have been shooting for a 5K instead of just 3 miles, I probably could have dug deeper for a sub-28.

As it was, I struggled to hang on to the quick pace, especially during the last mile. I was continuously reminding myself that this was a tempo run and, as a former musician, I knew tempo meant I needed to try to stay at the same pace all the time. The most effective things I did to cling to the tempo were to manage my breathing and force my body to relax when I got tense and tired.

During the run I wore my new Lymphedema glove. It is so much better than the old glove, so I think I'll keep it. I have an appointment with the Lymphedema specialist tomorrow morning and will get her opinion on the fit.

Long run today

2011-02-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

My long run today was 7 miles in 1:16:15. I was disappointed in myself. Not because of the speed (or lack thereof), but because of the mental stuff. I've been dreading this run for a few days. All morning I was dreading going out. The weather was fine. It was the distance that had me spooked. I haven't been very successful during my long runs lately and I was afraid I couldn't do it.

When I finally shoved myself out the door, I didn't have a very good plan. I just put on the Garmin, grabbed a water bottle and headed out. The first mile I did well with a 3 minute run to 1 minute walk ratio. After that, the walking and running were not well timed. I just put them in whenever. Overall, I'm sure the run part of the ratio was higher than 3 since I caught myself running 5 minutes or more without a walk break. I never walked more than a minute, though.

My miles were 10:54, 10:52, 10:48, 11:00, 11:32, 11:00, and 10:09. It wasn't easy on me physically, either. I felt like a blister was starting on the outside of my arch and my back was tightening up throughout. I was very ready to be done at 7 miles as planned. No extra mile today.

I had negative self-talk sporadically throughout and after this less than optimal run. The Poco Loco is almost 2 of these runs back-to-back. Certainly I'm not ready for that. I couldn't just say, "hey, that was a good 7, let's go do it again!" I know I've still got a couple of months to train, but I like to be very well prepared for all events and I'm just not feeling it.

On a positive note, I wore my new Lymphedema glove while running today and I like it much better than the old one.

Outside in shorts and tee

2011-02-16T20:33:00.001-05:00

Wow - what a gorgeous day! Today's high was in the 60's and it was in the upper 50's and sunny when I ran outside at 4:30pm. I ran in shorts and a t-shirt. Hooray!

I was at OSU while the kids were at swim practice, so I had to run in the urban environment, but I found some a couple decent mile loops and did those with my speed workout.

If you just look at my total time and distance, today's run looks like it was brutal: 5 miles in 57:26. However, it was all according to plan. I ran 1 mile splits with a slow, fast, slow, fast, slow pattern. The focus was on the fast miles which were both sub-9 minute miles (8:58 and 8:48). The other three miles were just warm up, recovery, and cool down. It was tough, but I was able to totally ignore the Garmin during the slow segments and I fought off the "need for speed" urge and listened to my body when it wanted to walk or even stop completely to stretch.

The run was actually pretty fun and seemed like 2 miles instead of 5. And for some reason, I was confused after the second fast run and thought I still had another fast one to do. Then as I ran slowly and came back into the rational world, I realized that I didn't have to do another fast mile and that I was already 25% done with the cool down mile. What a celebration that was in my brain!

I'm amazed how great it is to be running again outside. I thought the inside track would be easier because it's flat and a controlled environment. I guess the boredom factor plays a big part though. I'm having much more fun outside. I think I enjoy a change-up every so often. I get bored with the same routes, workouts, environments, etc. and need to find something new to get my groove going. I'm also listening to music now while running and have kept up with podcasts while in the car instead.

I used my new Lymphedema glove while running today and it was so much better than the old one. I hate the color, though. It's supposed to be gray. In the sunshine today, it was lavender. Color me purple.

The new plan

2011-02-15T21:46:00.001-05:00

I spent some time on my training plan today. I resurrected my 2008 half marathon training plan and massaged it to fit my current life schedule. It may work.

The most important training alteration is to stop running all my weekday runs at 5 or 6 miles. By this time in my training, I expected 5 miles to be easy, but it is not. The consequence of running two 5+ mile runs during the week is that I'm finding it impossible to do a longer run on the weekend. Ooooo. Bad. The long run is the most important one. The other days are just "homework" for the long run. Obviously, skipping the long run will not get me to the half marathon distance, 13.1 miles.

I'm also planning to spend less time on the indoor RPAC track. I used to love the track but I've grown to hate it, lately.

Today I planned to follow my 2008 schedule which called for a 2 mile run outside at a 11:30ish pace. So I ventured out with my Garmin and started an easy run. I didn't watch the Garmin except to check the distance a couple of times. My route was from RPAC around the OSU Stadium and then up and around the oval and back. At the end, I noticed I was at 2.5 miles and decided to finish with an even 3 miles.

Along the way, I listened to music and stopped a couple to times to take pictures for the Slow Runners Club. My MO was slow and easy. Despite the MO, I just uploaded my Garmin workout and see that my miles were 10:23, 10:20, and 10:20. That's crazy. There are hills on that route and I've been a flat track runner for several months. I stopped the clock when asking passersby to take pics, but I wasn't winded and I didn't need to stop for recovery. Also, I didn't walk any of the distance. The watch shows 3 miles in 31:04. Interesting. Perhaps my base is 3 miles right now?

Since I intended to go out for a short, easy 2 mile run, I decided not to wear my Lymphedema glove. I doubted my hands would get too warm, which is a factor for causing swelling. Although I ran a little longer than planned, I was glad to see my hand didn't swell any more than it's usually slightly swollen state.

When I got home, Ken surprised me by giving me my new Lymphedma glove. It was supposed to go to the physical therapy place so we could check the fit, but I was glad to see it at home. I'm not sure I love it as much as I thought I would, though. A few of the fingers are a little long. Also, it has a palm pad and I'm pretty sure we decided to skip that on this version. And lastly, I'm worried the band is too tight just below my wrist. I'll wear it off and on for a few days until my appointment on Tuesday.

Time to reassess the plan

2011-02-14T21:06:00.000-05:00

Today I put in 6 miles in 66:07. My splits were 11:58, 10:37, 10:45, 10:51, 10:34, and 11:20. It was another tough run on the track. And I'm slowing down.

It think it's time for a reassessment of the training plan. If I keep putting in similar miles, I won't be able to do either the Poco Loco in April or the half marathon in May.

Not following the training plan

2011-02-12T19:54:00.000-05:00

I couldn't figure out what to do with my run today. I was scheduled to do 10 miles, which I couldn't finish in the amount of time Val would be at swim practice. Therefore, I needed to decide whether to do something else at RPAC (weights, rowing, cycle, stretch) or to run less mileage during that time. I hadn't yet made a decision when I found myself stepping on the track.

After a 1/2 mile warm up walk, I started the clock for my run/walk/run pattern with 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking. I was listening to a 4 Feet Running podcast produced by Nik and Dan who I'll be meeting in Boston in late April. Nik is an insanely fit (and fast) marathon runner. Her husband, Dan is more like me, though with significantly more endurance. During the podcast, Dan talked about training for the first Mojo Loco by doing some double workouts (he ran early in the day, rested, and then went out to run more). I thought that sounded like a good idea. While I was running, I decided I had time for 6 miles while Val was at swim practice and then I would run more miles outside later in the day.

My 6 miles on the track wasn't that great, though. It was more difficult than on Wednesday and I ended up completing it in 1:04:32. I was tired after just 4 miles, so the last 2 were a bit of a stretch. My splits were 10:53, 10:53, 10:34, 10:21, 11:04, and 10:51. My calves were sore and tightening up for most of the run. I finished with another 1/2 mile of walking for a cool down. Afterward, I spent some time on the mat stretching my back and legs. I was cooked.

On the way home, I ate a Cliff bar for the protein. And when I got home, I ate a sandwich. I really didn't feel well so I laid down for a short rest. A full 2 hours later, I still felt terrible. After a shower and some hummus and crackers, I felt better, although my legs were tired. Needless to say, I bowed out of the second workout. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be even better than today (overcast and lower 40's). Maybe I should run tomorrow even though it's a scheduled day off. We have a volleyball game in the evening, but I don't need to save my legs for that. I'm the setter and, though I run all over the court to get the second hit, I don't jump much.

I'm disappointed by my run today and annoyed my legs are so tired. This week, I put in 5 miles on Monday, 6 on Wednesday, and 6 today for a total of 17 miles. I was scheduled to do 20 (5, 5, and 10). Last Saturday, I was scheduled for a 9 mile long run, but I did 8. I'm not following the plan. This is not good. For my first half marathon in 2008, I did a great job following my training plan. Now I'm not convinced I'm on track to be able to do the May 7 half marathon . . . or even to do the 6 miles x 2 at the Boston Poco Loco.

I know my health may be causing some of my problems these past couple of weeks. I had a sinus infection but I took a round of meds and thought I was over it. Unfortunately, it came back. On Friday, I got better meds and I'm hoping this second round of beefed up antibiotics does the trick. I'm not as sick this second time though because I didn't let it go 10 days before seeing the doctor.

Addiction to 10-something

2011-02-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

Hi. I'm Kelly and I'm addicted to "10-something."

Tonight I ran on the RPAC track while the kids were at swim team practice. I put in 6 miles in 63:39 using a 3 minute run to 1 minute walk ratio throughout. I felt sluggish, although I was encouraged because my calves didn't hurt or feel tight. My lower back was tightening up, however, and is now pretty sore (evidence of tight hamstrings, no doubt).

The "10-something" addition (first recognized in the Jan 1, 2011 post) becomes obvious in my splits which were 10:59, 10:39, 10:38, 10:37, 10:32, and 10:11. How likely is it that I really ran a 10:59? Hmmmm. Not likely. I actually clicked the lap button a second or two early when I saw I was going to miss the "10-something" split on the first mile. Sick, I know. Or at least very silly.

5 miles in 49:41 and an attitude adjustment

2011-02-07T20:29:00.001-05:00

After a rotten day at work, I had a great run.

I put in 5 miles in 49:41 on the RPAC indoor track. After running an initial sub-30 minute 5K, I walked 2 minutes and then finished the last 1.8 miles running. I didn't use the run-walk-run pattern today. I ran most of the workout, thus creating a tempo run, I think. For those of you who know, do I seem to understand the concept of a tempo run? It's shorter than a long run, faster than an easy run, but not an all-out effort. Right? Well, that's what I did today. And it wasn't terrible. It felt pretty good, actually. I could have run more if I had walked a minute or so and then kept running. I wasn't straining to hold on to the pace, but it was a quick tempo for me. I could have sprinted the .1 or so, though I didn't.

Prior to the run, I was stressed about work and very disappointed in the outlook for resources in our department. I was overwhelmed with the work I have to do and tired of beating my head against the wall. I didn't have much desire to run and thought I'd rather have a drink and try to relax. Needless to say, I had pretty low expectations for the run.

So why did the run go well? Hmmm, well, I chose to run with a new music playlist I created over the weekend (using several songs from my daughter's new play list). Choosing positive, uplifting music over informative podcasts was a very good choice today. I was also able to distance myself from work and gain some perspective.

Post-run, I have a better outlook. No longer overwhelmed. A bit tired though. That's pretty much the status quo for me lately, though.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

2011-02-05T12:44:00.001-05:00

Earlier in the week, I saw that it was supposed to warm up a bit (highs in the mid-30s), so I planned to run outside today. I even laid out my running tights, stocking cap, gloves, jacket, etc. Then I woke up at 7am to freezing rain. Dang. I am so tired of running on the RPAC track. I was determined to start running outside again, regardless of the weather. Well, I guess I wasn't that determined. I dressed for the track AGAIN.

I slowed down intentionally today. I started with a 2 minute walk and then ran 3 minutes and walked 1 minute pretty much throughout 8 miles. I finished in 1:32ish and my miles were 12:19, 11:28, 11:44, 11:51, 10:33, 11:16, 11:25, and 11:41.

The freezing rain just stopped and now it's snowing. I won't complain about the snow, though. It's not like we're in Chicago or New England. I can see the grass in our yard. The streets are slick today, but not narrowed by mounds of snow. Val still had swim team practice this morning. And Jason had his basketball game. We've got it easy here in central Ohio.

My grandmother, Dorothy, has her 89th birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Grandma! She reads my blog - what a hip grandmother I have!

Left my watch at home

2011-02-02T20:50:00.000-05:00

I could let you think I was being smart and taking my last post to heart (and taking Jim's expert advice - see his comment on my last post). However, I didn't intentionally leave my watch at home. It's sitting here next to the computer smiling at me, knowing it was left behind in a subconscious attempt at healthy behavior. And at the gym locker, when I realized I had left it at home, I smiled that same smile.

I wasn't smiling on the RPAC track, though. I realized that without the watch, I had little incentive to actually keep running around in circles. So I compromised. I did a very slow warm up: 2 miles with much walking and slow running. Then I did a timed 2 miles with no walk breaks (the track has huge digital clocks ticking off minutes and seconds at four places around the tiny 1/8 mile track). My mile spits in the timed two miles were 10:30 and 10:00. I cooled down with 1 last mile of walking and running, much like the very slow warm up.

I really don't know how long my workout was. I would guess close to an hour. I know the mileage was 5 miles, though. I was scheduled to do 3 fast miles but decided to do 5 slower ones due to my sore calves. I still did a tempo-like run with my timed 2 miles, so I feel like I followed the spirit of the plan anyway.

My calves are still pretty tight. I stretched them a bit after my warm up and again at the end of the workout, but I don't think they loosened up much.

The flow of the track

2011-01-31T23:23:00.003-05:00

Today I followed my training plan and ran 6 miles in 64 minutes. I was very inconsistent with the run/walk ratio, as is obvious by my mile splits: 10:34, 9:56, 10:52, 10:55. 11:22, and 10:35.

I was running on the RPAC track again, going around and around that 1/8 mile track. Since I got off work late and it was cold and dark outside, I had lots of company there tonight. I let the flow of the group and the politics of ducking into the inside lanes for walking and the outside lanes for running impact my decisions about when to run and walk. I didn't run my own race, I guess. Hmmmm, if I didn't hold my ground with a few people on the track, I wonder if I'll be able to follow the plan in a mass of humanity running 13.1 miles.

I'm also reluctant to admit that I may be heading toward injury. My calf muscles are pretty annoyed lately. While officiating the swim meet this weekend, I had to stretch often and was uncomfortable standing on deck for hours. When I got home, Ken helped me use the evil foam roller thing to try to work out the knots in my calves. Ouch! So I guess it was good I didn't run Saturday or Sunday. Today I could tell they were tight and may have been affecting my stride a bit. It wasn't painful, just annoying.

Speaking of the swim meet, Val and Jason did great this weekend. Both improved time on every event they swam and both returned for finals. Success is great, however it makes for a long day. We were there Friday 4pm-7:30, and Saturday and Sunday 7am-12:30 and 3:45-7:30pm. I was on deck the whole time and felt as tired as the kids after the long hours. I was also inspired by them. Val was adamant she would break 30 seconds on her 50 free. She swam a 29:10 in prelims and then in finals she did even better at 28-something. She was really working hard and I was a very proud Mom. The time didn't really matter to me, though. I was just impressed that she wanted it so much and went out and got it. For those non-swimmers reading this, even to improve a short distance time by tenths or hundredths of a second is a goal often out of reach. Dropping 2 seconds at her age and skill level is pretty impressive. It was all a result of a new mind set and determination. I'm sure she had the physical ability to do it for quite some time.

I, on the other hand, might have more physical than mental limitations in my training right now. These calf issues are probably a warning and I should do something about it before I have to skip training days because of pain. Maybe I should slow down. I am running a bit fast lately (for me). I really like my watch to say 10-something for each mile, though. It's like an addiction. I'm addicted to 10, even though I suspect it's not good for me. I know 11 would be safer in the long run. Even more healthy would be to leave the watch at home and be like the Zen Runner and just run how I feel. Ooooooommmmmmmmmmm.

5 miles x3 this week

2011-01-28T11:50:00.000-05:00

I put in a slow 5 miles in 56:38 this morning. My miles were 11:04, 11:21, 11:02, 11:42, and 11:37.

This week is a strange training week because I can't get in a long run during the weekend due to a 3-day-long swim meet in which my kids are participating and I am officiating. The meet is tonight, tomorrow 7am to 9pm, and Sunday 7am to 9pm. It will be exhasting, I'm sure. The season is coming to a close though, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

My training plan for this week was to run 5 miles three times: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I have done that, though it wasn't easy and I walk/ran each time. I'm getting discouraged and I wonder if I need to rethink the plan or if I should just wait a bit to see if it gets more rewarding as the weeks go on. Right now it doesn't ever seem possible that I'll be able to run the 13.1 distance by May.

Jason

2011-01-27T19:51:00.001-05:00

Jason (9) was so excited to go to school today because he is in the volunteer choir that is practicing Thursdays before school for 6 weeks prior to a concert.

After school, he entered the house singing a song from the choir practice. He didn't stop singing until he started to do his homework.

After his homework was done, Jason told me about his day. He got a B- on a timed division test. He had gotten an A on a previous timed division test. His explanation: "I had this song stuck in my head and . . . ."

Priceless.

Cuts everywhere

2011-01-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

At work, we have many major events going on:

The budget looks bleak next year and everyone expects significant layoffs.
We are undergoing and efficiency study by a consultant group.
We are about to undergo a significant reorganization organization-wide just months after we started (and have not yet completed) our own reorganization internal to our VP unit.
Our VP is leaving.
We have been doing more with less for so long, we cannot continue on that path. We now ire to do less with less.
Even before budget cuts, I'm now required to prove I need to keep any position that becomes open. And this isn't just a simple study to see if we can do without positions, this is as big of a deal as if I'm asking for a brand new position.

I can't keep up the pace I've been running at work and remain healthy. I'm going to have to start doing even less myself and I'm already not doing much of the job I know I should be doing (because I'm doing jobs others should be doing).

In the kids' school district, they also have major cut backs due to the operating levy not being passed. I can't believe the selfishness and clueless of the citizenship in our suburb. This dire situation will decrease housing prices and make our area much less desirable for new businesses and families. I haven't read the full list of expected changes, but some of them are below:

School day starting later (shorter school day) - and our kids live too close to bus - how will we get them there when weather is bad?
No physical education
No music
No art
Lots of administrative positions cut

All that said, I'm not overly stressed about it all. It's just the way it is. I'm too busy to keep up the pace, but if it doesn't get better soon, I will just stop being as effective. I'll still be an important contributor but I'll quit pretending I can do all that I'm currently doing. I can do it in a sprint, but not a marathon. It's time to insert some walk breaks.

So the running analogy brings me to my run today. I got to the gym a full hour later than expected (due to work) but I decided to try to get my full run in anyway. The kids had to wait for me for a few minutes after swim practice. I did 5 miles in 51:40. My miles were 10:36, 9:25, 10:10, 10:52 and 10:43. I followed the run by a 3 minute walk and then hit the showers and rushed to get the kids.

What a whirl-wind day. I'm very tired. I'm going to bed now and will get up tomorrow and do it all over again.

Training update

2011-01-24T20:54:00.000-05:00

Today I ran on the RPAC track again while the kids were at swim team practice. I put in 5 miles in 51:48. My splits were 10:01, 10:22, 10:11, 10:48, and 10:18.

Although my miles look pretty good (for me), the run wasn't an "easy" run like it was supposed to be today. I used the run-walk-run with 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking throughout, but even so, I felt like I was pushing to get in the mileage. It wasn't easy.

I did 9 miles on Saturday, but today's 5 miles didn't seem much easier. How can that be true? Shouldn't 5 miles seem like a little trot in the park? Perhaps my endurance isn't increasing quite like I expected. Or maybe it's just the effect of the sinus infection I'm treating with antibiotics. I'm not having any breathing problems, but perhaps my energy is a bit zapped. I was a bit dizzy (in the vertigo sense), tired, and "off" today at work. I considered going home after my first meeting, but I just had too much to do and . . . here it is . . . I also wanted to get in my run on the track tonight. Hmmmm.

I'm feeling the need to get my miles in so I can stay on the training plan. It's a tough week for running because I can't do a long run this weekend. I have to officiate a swim meet all weekend (Friday night, Saturday day/night, and Sunday day/night), so I want to run 5 miles 3 times before 4pm on Friday. One down, two to go.

So tonight I'm tired and want to go to bed early. The kids both are still doing homework, though, and it seems Ken is not feeling great, either. I'd better get crackin' on helping with the homework so we can get the kids (and us) off to bed as soon as possible.

9 miles today

2011-01-22T13:52:00.001-05:00

I was actually able to run this morning. Believe it or not, I felt more like myself and much less sick while running. The temp was -5 degree F outside when I took Val to swim team practice, so I ran on the inside track at RPAC again.

Since this was a long run day, I put in 9 miles in 1 hour and 43 minutes. The first 6 were pretty easy with a 3 minute run and 1 minute walk pattern. The last 3 miles . . . well, I slowed my pace a bit and walked more, too. My miles were 10:43, 10:45, 10:44, 10:43, 11:12, 11:20, 11:48, 11:37, and 13:56.

Looking back, I know it was crazy to run today at all. If I was just a little crazy (hmmm, poco loco), I would have stopped at 10K (6.2 miles). But, no, I was all-out loco. I knew I had the time since I was waiting for Val, so I put in the whole long run, despite being sick.

The case for my craziness is even stronger when I tell you I went straight to the urgent care afterward. I tried to get in to see a doctor yesterday, but I couldn't find someone to take me, so I bit the bullet and went to the urgent care today. Good thing I did. I have a sinus infection with a throat issue that is affecting hundreds of people in the area. It turns into bronchitis when not treated quickly enough. My issue hasn't hit the lungs yet so I may squeak by with just a few bad sinus/throat days. I'm on generic Biaxin now and the doc says I'll be feeling better and will be less contagious by Monday.

While running today, I listened to the episode of Slow Runner's Club that I recorded with Adam and Eddie last night. I was hesitant to listen since I'd be on it, but it was still fun. Check out their podcast! I also listened to a few Steverunner intervals episodes interspersed with the song Dirty Water by the Standells (a song about Boston). Speaking of Boston, while climbing 4 flights of stairs up to the track, a woman wearing a Boston tee-shirt was following me. I just know Steverunner sent her to force me up those stairs faster. Hmmmm, can you tell I'm gearing up for the Boston Poco Loco?

Thanks Adam and Eddie!

2011-01-21T22:21:00.000-05:00

Had a great talk with Adam (zen runner) and Eddie (eddie marathon) tonight on the Slow Runner's Club podcast.

I'm nursing a pretty bad cold or sinus infection or some such nonsense, so I'm not even sure what I said on the mic, but hey, it was fun and they were fabulous as usual. I know we are going to have a blast at the Poco Loco in April.

As for now though, I'm a total party pooper. I'm going to bed even before the episode posts. Val has swim team practice early in the morning and I'm going to attempt a long run while she's there. With this nasty cold, I expect to do more walking than running, but sometimes getting some sweat pumping out of those pores makes me feel significantly better. I may actually feel like running a bit. I'm banking on that anyway.

Viva the Slow Runner's Club!

Running away stress

2011-01-19T21:10:00.002-05:00

Ken and I had to juggle schedules today because of a class he had to facilitate, so I changed some meetings and got the kids to swimming. Since I was there anyway, I took the opportunity to run off some stress from my day at work. I'm concerned about resources and the morale and well-being of my staff. It's just the usual song and dance about always having to do more with less . . . and with a bad budget looming over us next year, I'm afraid it won't get any better, just worse. So I went outside of my training plan and ran tonight.

I put in a 5K in 29:44 with miles at 9:21, 9:09, and 10:09. I ran the first two miles without walking, walked a minute, and then finished the last mile. I was pushing myself pretty hard so I could get to the party. I guess I was also trying to work out my stresses from the work challenges.

The run was a good idea, though. I was more relaxed afterward and I have some fresh perspective to apply to the problems now. I'm looking forward to discussing some ideas with a colleague or two. Hopefully we can find a way to improve the situation and ensure we are on the right path going forward.

Martin Luther King Day

2011-01-17T21:19:00.002-05:00

Busy weekend full of sports. Jason took the prize though. On Saturday, he had a basketball game (12 points and they won by 2). On Sunday, he had a B swim meet followed by a baseball hitting and pitching clinic and he still had the energy for a Wii Dance marathon at home that night. To top it all off, today, he had a tough swim practice. Active guy, that Jason.

At the swim meet, Jason earned 1st place in the medley relay and he made the difference in the race by giving them the lead they kept throughout. He also got 2nd in the 100 back, 3rd in the 50 back, and 8th in the 50 free. He earned his team 84 points, 40 of which was for the relay.

As for me . . . I had a tough run on Saturday, a good 90 minutes of competitive volleyball with Ken on Sunday, and a good run this afternoon while the kids were at swim practice.

Tonight I ran 5 miles with a run-walk-run ratio of 3 minutes running to one minute walking throughout. My time was 51:59 and my legs were tired at the end, but my last mile was the quickest, so I had something left in the tank, unlike my long run on Saturday. My miles were 10:27, 10:26, 10:15, 10:40, and 10:09. I was thrilled, especially considering that I'm nursing an annoying head cold.

Although I had great plans for relaxing this weekend, I didn't spend much time doing nothing. I took a 3 hour nap in the middle of the day today, so I guess that counts. I also took the time to make chili and beef and noodles.

I hope you all had a good Martin Luther King day. He was a great man who continues to have an impact on our nation and our world. It is good we take time to reflect on his messages and celebrate his life.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

- Martin Luther King, Jr. in Strength To Love 1963

Long run/walk - SLOW

2011-01-15T17:54:00.001-05:00

I had a tough long run this morning. I put in 8 miles of run-walk-run in 1:30:15. I started with running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute, but after mile 5, I had to shorten the running and lengthen the walking. My ratio wasn't consistent, but the last few miles were something like 3 minutes running to 2 minutes walking.

My miles were 10:45, 10:44, 11:11, 11:33, 11:23, 11:49, and 12:08. Like last week, it was an hour and a half of run-walk-run. This week I didn't feel as good though. I have a head cold and a pretty sore throat which may be a contributing factor.

I am now doubting my training plan. I wonder if creating it after a really, really good run was such a great idea. I may have over-estimated what I can do. I think I'll revisit the plan to see what changes might make sense. I don't want to get injured before the Poco Loco event.

I'm so glad it's a 3 day weekend for us. Ken, the kids, and I have Monday off for Martin Luther King Day. It will be a day to reflect on the impact the great man had on the world. It will also be a day of rest. I've been putting in too many hours at work and stretching myself pretty thin while there, too. I may do a little work from home tonight or tomorrow, but I'd really like to try to detach from it completely on Monday.

I should probably do some prep work for my interview on the Slow Runner's Club podcast which will take place Friday evening. Adam is running a marathon to raise money for breast cancer, so I know he and Eddie will be asking about my breast cancer surgeries and how running helped me get through all that. I should tell the story of walking laps with a walker around the nurses station the day after my bi-lateral mastectomy. Now THAT'S a true slow runner story! I had to be reminded that I did that before I actually remembered it. The drugs were still very much in my system and making everything fuzzy. But, hey, I guess I got a workout in that day.

Sub-9 minute mile!

2011-01-12T20:33:00.002-05:00

Last night I decided to sign up for the Capitol City Half Marathon in Columbus, Ohio on May 7. I figured that since I'm training to run 6+ miles twice for the Poco Loco (out, rest, then back), I might as well use that earned endurance for a half marathon (13.1 miles), too.

I did a half marathon in 2008, but it was a totally different situation then. I was a newer runner, had never done anywhere near that distance, and was starting with a fitness level lower than I have now. I looked at my 2008 training plan and knew I'd have to do something totally different this time. I used the Runner's World Smart Coach, but the resulting plan wasn't what I was looking for, either. My husband thought I should seriously consider the Galloway method, so I spent about 30 minutes reviewing the Half Marathon training book by Galloway that I read this summer. I'm intimidated by all the math and drills and such required to do the pure Galloway method. I have enough trouble finding time to actually run and track/blog it. Adding all that other overhead is de-motivating.
As I was reviewing the Galloway method though, Ken asked me what my Time Trial Mile would be (pace is calculated on a mile time trial). I guessed 9:30 or 9:15 if I just ran just one timed mile. With a 9:30 time trial the book provided an estimate that I could do a 2:29:20 half marathon. Wow, that's almost exactly what I ran in 2008 (2:29:10) - that's a pretty impressive estimate.

In the end, I decided to make up my own plan. The plan called for me to do a 3 mile tempo run (a faster longer run) today. However, since I was intrigued by the idea of figuring out my time trial mile, I incorporated a timed mile on the RPAC track tonight.

First I ran 1 mile as fast as I could and was surprised to see my watch display 8:53:56; a sub-9 minute mile! . . . And not just 8:53 pace for a little while . . . I kept it up for the whole mile.

Instead of stopping after the fast mile, I kept the clock running, walked to get a drink and then took off on the track again and to run a second mile in 9:30:09. Again, I took a drink break on the clock and took off to run a third mile in 9:56:08. My 5K was 29:22. I cooled down by walking a half mile off the clock.

Obviously, I'm pretty excited about the run!

Great 5 mile run

2011-01-10T23:08:00.001-05:00

I had a great run today on the RPAC indoor track: 5 miles in 50:47. I kept to the run/walk/run sequence with 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking. My miles were 10:00, 10:22, 10:07, 10:01, and 10:17.

I was very surprised at the increase in speed and decrease in effort compared to what I've been running the past month or so. What was the difference was in this run? Perhaps the 8+ miles I put in on Friday followed by 2 days off made the difference. Or maybe the decadent Mac and Cheese I had for lunch at Eddie George's Grill was a carb load (kidding, of course)? Or maybe the stars were aligned? Or maybe it's a cyclical thing - hmmmm that's actually quite possible. I just love it when I'm typing along in a stream of consciousness and come up with "the" answer or a great idea, anyway.

Poco Loco Update:

During my long run on Friday I listened to a couple of podcasts and learned more about the Poco Loco from Steverunner. Evidently this loco event is not being run as a relay. It's more like a group running event. Not a race, but an event. Two teams will run 6 miles on either side of the Charles River (upstream) and will meet somewhere on or near a bridge. Then we'll have a half time show which will be broadcasted live and also recorded, I'm sure. After the half time show and refreshments and such, we will RUN BACK. So this is not a 10K, but more than twice that distance . . . a half marathon . . . 13.1 miles. Alrighty then.

So my training plan will need to change quite a bit. I can't afford to focus on improving my pace anymore. I really need to focus on getting the endurance for that distance back first. I'm confident I can do it. I ran a half marathon in 2008 and I got some confidence by running 8+ miles on Friday. I'll be able to do the half by April 30 if I create a plan and stick to it. This will certainly help improve my consistency!

Lymphedema Update:

My hand was almost normal size for a week or so but now it's swelling a little more, about a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1-10. During the swim meet this weekend I wore the glove on Saturday but tried to do without it on Sunday. By 1:30pm, I had to take a break from officiating and put on the glove again. I think the heat on the pool deck affects the swelling. I haven't taken the time to schedule my next Lymphedema treatment (targeted massage) yet. Soon they are due to move closer to my office and I'll try to schedule a monthly visit and get more consistent at taking care of that part of myself too. Hmmmm, consistency seems to be the theme of today's post.

Perspective

2011-01-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a novel that describes a workaholic architect who dies of a heart attack in his 50's. His son remembers his father working all the time and striving to meet tight deadlines for very important business buildings. He was designing cities and buildings for the future; such noble and important work. By the time the son is in his 40's, all but one of this father's buildings had been demolished because they were no longer what was needed. New buildings were planned and erected. The son is glad his father didn't live to see the demise of his legacy.

As I was reading, I was struck by the correlation to my work. I probably have 10 or 15 tasks that should each take weeks or months to do right. I'm told all are high priority, important, and need my attention right now. I also have a few exciting technology options I'd like to research to determine whether they could make a major impact on how we do our work and the quality of our products. I can't get to the proactive work because I'm constantly chasing tasks with unrealistic deadlines.

One such task is a response to an audit report. I have worked for this employer for 17 years and cannot remember ever having an audit. Fortunately, there was nothing alarming in the audit. Much of it noted a lack of documentation of our practices. A few other things could be done much better if we had a lot more money and more staff. With all this in mind, I offered to respond to the audit by March 3, 2011. I'm sure you can guess the response I got on that proposed timeline.

I'm not mentioning this task to complain about the audit. I know audits are important and I'm glad we're being held accountable for best practices. I'm just trying to make the point that we inflate the importance and urgency of tasks and get caught up in the rat race of doing one task after another. If it was unimportant to do for 17 years, why do I have to do it in 2 weeks?

In 30 days, 1 year, or certainly by 5 years, most of these tasks I'll perform with significant effort and urgency will mean virtually nothing. All the rushed ideas put into place today will be replaced by other ideas on another day. State of the art systems designed and implemented today will be deemed outdated and inadequate just 3 years from now. Future reorganizations will undo the well thought-out and carefully implemented reorganizations of today.

I know all this sounds like I'm cynical and advocating for doing nothing at all. If you know me personally, you know neither of those things is me. I'm about as energized for change and continuous improvement as anyone you'll ever meet.

I'm just getting some perspective, I think.

And so I ran today instead of working late again.

90 minute run

2011-01-07T20:58:00.000-05:00

I stayed after work today and ran for 90 minutes on the RPAC track. I went around and around and around that 1/8 mile track, which sounds terribly boring, but I insist it's much better than running on a treadmill and also better than running in the dark snowy night.

Tonight I was consistent with a run-walk-run pattern of about 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking. I didn't actually track the time intervals, though. I ran 2.5 laps and then walked a half lap. I know I should get a Gymboss to vibrate and beep at regular intervals, but I've resisted doing so because I already have more than enough equipment to drag along on each run.

My first mile was 10:22 but I got caught up in the Slow Runners Club podcast and lost count of laps at some point in the second mile. I decided to channel the zenrunner and gave up tracking distance altogether. The result was that I ran twice as long as I would have run if I had been focused on performance. I probably ran a little slower, too.

I could guess at my speed though. I think my times probably sped up in the middle of the run (10 min) and slowed down (11-11:30) toward the end. If I ran an average of about an 11 minute mile, which is likely, I put in just over 8 miles. Not bad at all.

This weekend the kids have a swim meet, so I doubt I'll be able to run at all. I was determined to get in a long run today to ensure I stay on track for training. I'd say this qualified.

Slowing down but looking foward

2011-01-06T22:52:00.005-05:00

Yesterday the heat was off at work and I froze all day. Then I went to the indoor track at RPAC and warmed up quickly. I had a tough run; a pitiful 4 miles plus a fifth mile of half running/half walking. My miles were 10:04, 10:22, 10:24, 11:04, and 12:19.

I'm trying to figure out why running got harder and I got slower these past few weeks. About a month ago, I was doing really well and running at a consistent 10 minute mile for a 5K and just under 11 minute miles for 10K. Then I got slammed at work and had two consecutive weeks when I ran only one day. Now I've added 30 seconds + per mile. What's up with that? Getting some consistency back since December 22 hasn't brought me back up yet either. And it's not just the pace, the distances are tougher too. I wonder if I've gained some weight. My clothes still fit. But I'm avoiding the scale.

I have two theories about why I've slowed down.

I tried to keep the same pace after being off for most of 2 weeks. Perhaps I'm running too fast and I need to adjust my expectations and slow down again. The idea is that if I go back to a 3 minute run/1 minute walk pattern with the slower pace, say a consistent 11 minute mile, then perhaps I'd speed up again later.
The other theory is that I've gained weight and now it's tougher to run. I much prefer theory #1 since losing weight is such a struggle for me.

Perhaps I should throw away the watch and just focus on distance for awhile. The zenrunner would probably agree. He and eddie marathon host the Slow Runners Club podcast and encourage the idea of just getting out there and ignoring the time.

Speaking of the Slow Runners Club, I may be interviewed on one of their podcasts soon. Zenrunner is doing a marathon to benefit breast cancer research and I offered to help him raise money for the cause by chatting about my recent experience with diagnosis and surgery. He'll record the skype session and then edit it to include clips on the Slow Runners Club podcast. I guess I'm moving up to audio now! And Steverunner will be recording video at the poco loco. I'm a few years behind these run net leaders, but I'm slowly getting connected with this social media world.

Video from Steverunner about poco loco
Video from Zenrunner plugging kellyinmotion episode of Slow Runners Club

Slow runners club

2011-01-04T21:07:00.001-05:00

Today I ran outside! I'm such a weather wimp. Lately I've been running while the kids are at swim practice and if the wind chill is below 25 or so, I've been running on the indoor track. Today I ran at home on my mile loop through the neighborhood. It was about 35 degrees F and sunny (but windy).

I was so encouraged just a few weeks ago but now I think I'm slowing down again. My 5K was 32:10 today. The miles were 10:23, 10:26, and 10:23. I walked a minute about every three minutes throughout.

While running today, I listened to the Slow Runner's Club podcast. I started with the first episode which was the beta version Zen Runner posted just before Thanksgiving. I'll keep listening during my runs until I catch up with the current episode. I'm really excited about this podcast. Like Steverunner and Geek Girl Runner, I really appreciate podcasts that applaud and inspire slow runners like myself.

Speaking of Geek Girl Runner . . . . I'm sending this shout out to congratulate Kris on meeting her goal of running 1,000 km in 2010. She came right down to the wire and on the last day of the year passed the threshold and came in at 1002.41 km for the year. Great job, Kris!

In other news, since I got back from vacation in Utah, my Lymphedema has been incredibly mild. My hand has been only slightly swollen (a level 2 or 3 on a 10 point scale) the past 3 days. Today, even after the run, I'd rate it at level 2. That's really great!

I'm only on my second day back at work and it's kicking my butt again. I've really got to get out of this situation where I'm acting as director, manager, and business analyst. One of my two manager positions will be filled beginning next week. The other one hasn't been posted yet, so it is at least 3 months before I'll get any relief there. I'm working to train the business analysts and expect that process to continue with high intensity for another 5-6 months or so. So maybe I'll be able to function effectively as the director by mid-summer.

Catching up

2011-01-02T23:39:00.001-05:00

We're back from Utah and spent the day at swim team practice and trying to get ready to start the rat race around here again.

On Dec 31, I ran a 5k on a treadmill in UT. I haven't been on a treadmill in ages. When I started running about 6 years ago, I swore by them and thought I might only be a treadmill runner. Now I avoid them like the plague. I don't have the time on the run since I did a long walking cool-down and forgot to pay attention to the machine. I'm so used to my Garmin handling all that. I suspect it was no quicker than 33 minutes.

Today I was determined to run outside but a series of events made me change my mind and so I ran on the indoor track at RPAC while the kids were at swim team. I was also determined to put in a 10k and I didn't do that either. I ran 5 miles (10:31, 10:44, 10:58, 10:39, and 10:59).

I thought coming down from the mountains would make running in Ohio easier. I guess the benefit was offset by all the holiday food I ate while I was there. Oh well. At least I was fairly consistent with running while on vacation. I ran on Dec 22, 24, 27, 31, and Jan 2. I also had a full day of skiing and swam 1200 yards.

My Lymphedema was more obvious in Utah. Now that I'm back in Ohio, my hand is swollen at about a 2 or 3 on a 10 point scale. I guess the elevation really does make a difference. I wore a glove/wrap the entire time I was on the airplanes and the swelling was kept in-check, thank goodness. Running still causes it to swell, so I wear a glove when I run.

Now that I'm headed back to work and the crazy schedule of a mother of active school-aged kids, we'll see if I can keep up the consistency in my running. I hope so! I really need to improve my base and speed up a bit to ensure I can run with someone at the Boston Poco Loco in April. I initially thought the "poco" part meant that the run might be shorter and the runners perhaps slower, but I was mistaken. Each leg of the relay is 10k. And it looks like all the runners are marathon caliber. I'm not backing out, though. I can run a 10k. I know I can't run it at an 8 minute mile pace, but a 10ish minute mile might be possible if I work at it.

Ringing in 2011

2010-12-31T23:17:00.000-05:00

Ready to ring in the new year? Already have? I'm certainly looking forward to it.

It has been a challenging year with recoveries from breast cancer and reconstructive surgeries, significant work issues, and helping the kids navigate "growing up" events. The successes earned during all that adversity have sparked a new year that is sure to be full of life, health, productivity, and learning. I'm looking forward to so many exciting things in 2011.

Life

I am honored to join podcasters and other members of the run net community at the Poco Loco in Boston on April 30, 2011. We'll meet each other, run the event, and hang out all evening at a pub/restaurant. It will be great to meet these people who I only know online.
My 7th Race for the Cure is on May 14, 2011. I should be well trained from the Poco Loco!
After the Poco Loco, I'll spend the rest of the year training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Although I could never be mistaken for a princess, Becky has convinced me to run this all-women event with her in January 2012. I've only run the 13.1 mile distance once (2008) so it will not be a walk-in-the-park for me.
We'll be helping my parents get their retirement house ready by assisting with the construction of a new garage on the house they bought in Ohio. They plan to move from Nebraska to Ohio in 2012.
A family vacation will be planned for the summer, possibly to a lake in Canada again.
As the kids get older and more responsible, Ken and I are able to get away more often to spend quality time, even if just for a few hours.

Health

No more visits to the plastic surgeon! I've decided to forego the optional reconstructive steps and will not get the nipple creation or areola tattoo this year. I just don't think I need them and am worried they would get in the way of comfort/modesty while swimming and wearing braless outfits.
My physical therapist group (Lymphedema specialists) is moving to a much more convenient location in January and I pledge to use their services more regularly in this new year.

Productivity/Work

The second week in January, I will welcome a new manager to my team at work. Welcome, Christina!
A reorganization of my department has begun and the result will be more people to do what I have been trying to do alone. We didn't actually get more people, but the work has been reorganized to add business analysts who will make a significant difference in our ability to select the best solutions and get the job done more effectively.
I am cautiously optimistic that I'll be hiring the other manager position on my team during the first quarter of the year. I'm worried the budget shortfalls might cut the funding for that role, though. I hope not! The reorganization was designed with that role and doesn't work without it.

Learning

Once we get the new organizational structure functioning effectively at work, I plan to finally put in the time required to learn about new technologies we can use to further the aspirations of OSU. I've got a long list of things I need to research.
Ken, the kids, and I will continue to learn together as we navigate through Valerie's early teenage/Junior High years and Jason's move to Middle School.
We'll also learn much about basketball and travel baseball since Ken will be assisting Jason's coaches this year.
I'll continue to learn from my OSU staff, colleagues, and leaders as we strive to simplify our processes and more effectively develop and leverage our talented faculty and staff.
And I expect I'll figure out that I know less than I thought I knew about some things . . . and more than I gave myself credit for about other things. That's the joy of continuous learning and challenging myself to be open to discovery in both the new and familiar.

It feels wonderful to toast the successes of 2010 and to move on to the many happy times 2011 will bring. Cheers!

From Valerie

2010-12-30T20:40:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! It's Val. I'm taking over Mom's blog for this post. I would just like to start out by saying that this is my first time on a blog and to post something world-wide. So I hope everyone likes it.

I would like to tell everyone that being an early teen is great, fun, exciting, cool, and amazing. Sadly, that's not exactly correct. Sure there are times where those things are true, but other times it's the exact opposite.

Being 12 and a half, I've had lots of experiences. One of them being friends. I've learned that some friends are real, and others give you fake compassion. Some friends will always be there for you and like you for who you are, others, not so much. But let me tell you, that even when you get into fight with a friend, try to be the better person and try to make things better. I have lots of great friends, and we always have each other's backs. I'm very grateful to have friends like them.

Another experience that I've had is, life with my bro Jason. Sure we fight sometimes, but we still love each other. One time when we were real little, I hurt his feelings and wrote a note to him and tapped 4 quarters to it. We've been getting along alot better in the past couple months. We're starting to understand each other better. Even though he can get on my nerves, he's my bro and I love him.

Just recently I've learned that in 5 more years (not counting this year) I'll be graduating High School and getting ready to go off to college. In 5 years my childhood is over and I start early adulthood. I have to admit that I'm pretty nervous going out on my own into the world. No. Wait. I won't be alone. My friends and I have been talking and we all are planning to go to Ohio State University. Well, I already had my college picked out for me since I was a baby. See, both of my parents work at OSU on Campus, so I get 75% off the price if I go there. I want to though! They've got a great facility and a good amount of classes. My brother and I swim on a swim club there called OSSC or Ohio State Swim Club, so we're on Campus a lot. Going out into the world will be scary but fun.

I got to go now. Thanks of reading my post and I hope everyone liked it. I might write another time. By the way, "when life gets tough, the tough chose to go on". That is a quote from some where, but the next one is one that I made up and it sums up this post. 'Life is an adventure, for which I am up for'. Thank you again!!! Bye!!

Poco Loco in Boston on April 30

2010-12-29T20:16:00.002-05:00

I had a great workout today. The weather was crappy and about to get worse, so my brother took us to Cottonwood Recreation Center where I ran on a tiny track (17 laps = 1 mile) and swam. I ran most of 5 miles (only walked once during the 4th mile) and the splits were 10:17, 9:59, 9:40, 10:10 ,9:41, and 10:10. The 5 mile time was 49:57, so I ran just about a 10 minute pace for the whole thing. That's really good for me, even in a track setting.

After the run, I swam laps in the pool and put in 1200 yards which is almost 3/4 of a mile. The swim was slow and easy, though, with lots of resting at the 50 yard intervals. I swam almost half of it freestyle, a quarter of it breaststroke, and the other quarter backstroke. I attempted a 25 yard fly, but it was pitiful and I would have disqualified myself if I'd been officiating - I slipped in a breaststroke kick several times. However, it wasn't all sad because I think I did a couple of legal competition backstroke turns.

The others took advantage of the inside ice skating ring while I was running and we met up at the pool afterward. The kids played in the fun pools and went off the boards, but Ken made them do a few laps before we left. Val did a 450 (mostly free and back - and a 50 breast). Jason did a 250 (breast and fly - and a 50 free).

I feel 100% better after the workout. I even felt pretty good during the workout, too. So why was I dreading doing it? I really don't understand this motivation thing. You'd think I'd be psyched to workout all the time since I almost always feel better when and after doing so. Yet, about 80% of the time, I have to drag myself to change into workout clothes and to the venue.

Today, it was a little easier to kick myself out the door because I'm officially training for the Poco Loco in Boston on April 30, 2011. I'm so excited to be running this event and meeting up with others in the runnet community! To get the most out of the weekend, I need to be adequately trained to run 6.55 miles without walking and fast enough to hang with others doing the event. I know I can do it. What a great feeling that is!

Running in the mountains

2010-12-27T00:31:00.001-05:00

We're in the Salt Lake City area visiting my brother and his family this week. They live in a beautiful gated community on the side of a mountain and have spectacular views of the mountains from their house.

Today I decided to run and take in the scenery so I got all bundled up in a fleece, gloves, stocking hat, running tights, and shorts. After just a mile, I stopped to swap the fleece for a long sleeved tee and pocketed my gloves and hat. It was in the mid-30's, windy, and spitting snow/rain, but it really wasn't as cold as I expected. It was actually really nice.

I took off from my brother's house and was drawn toward the wonderful mountain view. It wasn't immediately obvious to me that in doing so, I was running up hill. And the up part got more and more pronounced as I got closer to the large mountains. On the way up, I had to walk quite a bit. On the way back down, I walked just once. As a result, my miles were very erratic: 11:40, 11:25, 13:43, 9:11, and 10:12.

I'm pleasantly surprised I got in a 5 mile run today - and surprised I did so in about 56 minutes. Initially I was very discouraged because I didn't realize I was going up a very long hill and I blamed the elevation and poor fitness for my pitiful performance. It was very discouraging initially, but got much better later. I'm sure the elevation played some role in my run today, though. At Ohio State, I run at an elevation of about 765 and the elevation at Bryan's house is about 4,900.

Tomorrow, we'll be skiing at a local ski resort with a base elevation of 7,700 that rises to11,000. I'll never get to the top. As a novice, I'll be on the bunny hills. And I'll probably be overdressed again.

I think the elevation is messing with my lymphedema. My hand has been pretty swollen since I got here. I wore the custom glove and wrapped an ace-type bandage from my hand to my elbow during my run today. I'll probably do the same on the ski slopes tomorrow.

So sore!

2010-12-24T11:13:00.000-05:00

As predicted, I was able to workout while the kids were at swim team practice yesterday. I ran 4 miles with a few walk breaks and then walked a 5th mile. The whole process took an hour and I was warm and toasty on the RPAC indoor track. My miles were 10:28, 10:33, 10:29, 11:00, and 17:28.

I followed up the track workout with 20 minutes of stretching and another 20 minutes of upper body weights, mostly benching and curls.

Today I am so sore - everywhere. My legs are wobbly, my back is stiff, my abs hurt when I laugh, and my arms don't want to move any directly very quickly. What a wimp!

We're packing today, going to church tonight, having a family Christmas in the morning, and then we're off to Utah to see my brother and his family. My parents are meeting us in Utah where we'll have an extended family Christmas/Hanukah celebration. We'll also be celebrating my nephew's birthday and the New Year. Party central at Bryan's house!

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a new year full of hope, health, happiness, and love.

Vacation starts today!

2010-12-22T22:33:00.000-05:00

I'm now on vacation until Jan 3, 2011. Yea! Work has been insane lately and I certainly can use the down time.

With the extra hours at work and holiday preparations, I've really let my running slide significantly. On Sunday, I played 90 minutes of volleyball, but other than that, I haven't exercised in a week. Yikes!

Today I got in a 5K on the indoor track at RPAC while the kids were at swim practice. Tomorrow, I'll be taking them to practice too, so I may be able to run again. It seems like it always works like this for me: I can't squeeze in a run for days and then I have several days in a row when I have the time and opportunity. It's the perfect recipe for injury.

To be safe, I stopped at 5K today even though I had time and energy for another mile or two. My miles were 10:11, 10:18, and 10:06, but I had a few minute break between the first and second mile (off the clock) to stretch and work out the kinks before finishing the run. I also took about 20 minutes after the run to stretch and do a little ab work before picking up the kids.

Steverunner is talking about doing a relay running event in Boston and I'd really love to go. We'll see if he has room for another "poco" runner and if I can make the date they pick. It would be really cool to do that.

5 miles yesterday

2010-12-15T22:38:00.000-05:00

I put in 5 miles on the indoor RPAC track yesterday.

Using the run-walk-run method (3 minutes running to 1 minute walking), I ran the distance in about 53 minutes. I wasn't really speedy, but it was a good run and I'm glad I went the longer distance instead of stopping at 5K (3.1 miles).

My running has been very inconsistent lately, which is evidence of the kids' inconsistent attendance at swim practice. We've been busy with holiday concert practice and performance, extra hours at work, basketball, homework, swim meets, and Christmas shopping and planning. It's the same for everyone right now, I'm sure.

In addition to the time crunches, winter has hit us hard. It has been snowy and in the single digit temperatures every morning this week. Even before these insane temps, it was too cold outside for a fair weather runner like me. I look for upper-30s and sunny before I get excited about running outside. So I've been inside when I have been able to put in any miles.

The kids made it to swimming tonight, but Ken took them. I had to stay late to get a bunch of work done. I have deadlines to meet before I go on vacation to Salt Lake City for Christmas.

New Albany swim meet

2010-12-12T22:17:00.001-05:00

I haven't been getting much exercise in these days. I ran on Wednesday this week and put in a 30:40 5K. My miles were 9:33, 9:42, and 10:19. I walked a little during the second and third mile.

Today I played 90 minutes of hard volleyball. We played two teams and won against the first but lost against the second. I was running all over the place and felt a step behind all the time; out of shape, no doubt.

The big sports news for us today, though, was the swim meet. Both kids swam in a B meet, which means the participants' best times have to be ABOVE a BB time to swim. Therefore, all of their friends who have qualified for State or are close, couldn't swim in this meet. The results of the meet are on the New Albany Aquatics Club web site and a summary of the Orr performance is below.

Jason is age 9 in the 9/10 age group and beat all other 9 year olds in every event except IM:

1st in 200 Free Relay (swam first leg)
2nd in 100 Free
4th in 50 Free
4th in 50 Back
4th in 100 IM (another 9 year old beat him by .1 second)

Val is 12 in the 11/12 age group and was seeded first in her 4 individual events - and she delivered:

1st in 50 Free (by 3+ seconds)
1st in 50 Breast
1st in 100 Breast (by 2+ seconds)
1st in 200 IM (by 16 seconds - really, 16)
2nd in the Free Relay

The blocks were really low and the pool and air were quite warm, so it wasn't a really fast pool today. Even so, Jason beat his personal best in the 100 IM by almost 2 seconds. Val slightly bested her times in the 50 Free and 200IM.

Annual appt & Lymphedema treatment

2010-12-07T18:12:00.000-05:00

My first ever annual appointment with my surgical oncologist was very uneventful, as anyone would hope. He did a physical exam that lasted maybe 3 minutes and then was done. He didn't find anything and said he'd see me next year unless I found something of concern between now and then. I guess I should be doing self-exams, though it seems overkill with no breast tissue.

The more impressive part of the visit was with the Lymphedema specialist. First, I must give the James breast center huge KUDOS. I didn't have an appointment to see the Lymphedema specialist. I'd been meaning to make one for months. So I called them from the waiting room and told them I was in the office for an appointment with Povoski and they squeezed me in immediately after I saw the doctor. They were fabulous!

The specialist (who is a physical therapist) did all the measurements and said everything looked really good. I was slightly down from the last time I'd been in (which was . . . gasp . . . September). She said I had been managing the swelling very well and that I was due for a new glove in February. She did a really long treatment on my hand and arm which consists of a massage technique designed to activate the lymph system and get the fluid moving. It really helped and when she was done, you could hardly tell my hand was swollen at all. On my self-created swelling scale, it's probably a 1 out of 10 now. Going in to the appointment, it was about a 2 or 3. For some reason, I'm not very swollen this week. I have no idea why.

The PT and I talked about their group's pending move to the campus area which will be much more convenient for me. She also talked about the workout room they will have, the extra PTs, and some other services I may be able to get there, including some upper body workouts tailored just for me. I'm really looking forward to seeing them next time in mid-January at the new facility.

Ken noticed a sign in the doctor's office asking for volunteer survivors to give feedback to the James. The location for the feedback interview is in the same building where we work. I'll call the number tomorrow to see if they want to talk with me. I've got quite a bit of feedback to offer. I was much more impressed with Riverside's holistic assessment and consultation (that's where I got my second opinion) than the James' linear process (which I thwarted by making appointments I was advised not to make).

Tomorrow's appointment

2010-12-06T22:24:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I have my first annual follow-up appointment with my surgical oncologist. I've been so busy that I forgot about it until today. I have no idea what to expect. I know I'll have a physical exam because I can't have mammograms anymore. We'll probably talk about the lymphedema but I don't expect to learn anything from him about that. It may be just a quick check for lumps that might be hiding in any breast tissue he left behind. There should not be any breast tissue left behind, though - that's the whole intention of the bilateral mastectomy, after all.

This will be my first post-mastectomy appointment with a doctor who is not my plastic surgeon. It will be strange to have someone else seeing my breasts now. The scars are large and still very prominent, which means they will probably always be that way. It's been more than 6 months since my last reconstructive surgery.

Thursday and Sunday

2010-12-05T18:50:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, I ran while Val was at swim team practice. I wimped out and ran inside on the track because it's cold outside now. I know it's not too cold to run outside this time of year (20's and lower 30's), but I'm really a fair weather runner.

I decided to run a 5K and then stretch a bit, so I ran the whole thing instead of alternating running and walking. I did the 5K in 29:41! That's fast for me. My miles were 9:40, 9:42, and 9:16. I was winding down very quickly the last half mile, at least, but I hung in there. Then I stretched for 30 minutes which was really helpful because my back has been acting up from tight hamstrings, IT bands, and hips.

Today Val had a birthday party all afternoon, so I only had the hour that Jason was at swim practice to get in a run. I ran inside on the RPAC track again (cold, snow, and lack of time were all factors in that decision). I put in 4 miles in 40:23 using the run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute method throughout. My miles were 10:13, 10:04, 10:05, and 10:01.

My back is still bugging me a bit and needs stretching. I'm headed to volleyball tonight which might make it better or worse, I have no idea.

The great news is that my hand has significantly reduced in swelling. The Lymphedema was running a self-reported 5 or 6 on a made up 10 point scale. I'd say it's down to 2 or 3 today.

Light workout

2010-11-30T21:33:00.000-05:00

My back has been a bit sore from my crazy run on Sunday. I broke the 10% rule and jumped from 6 miles to 8 miles for my long run this week. I wasn't training for anything, it was just a beautiful day and I had the time and interest to keep going and going.

Today I took it easy and warmed up with 15 minutes on a rowing machine. Then I stretched a little, ran a mile, stretched a little more, ran another mile, and ended with a 30 minute stretching session. So I only put in 2 miles today but I was working out for about an hour.

We are behind on Christmas planning and shopping, as usual. It's the busy season at home and work these days. Tomorrow, we expect our first snow showers. They won't stick, but it will be fun to see some big, fluffy flakes. 'Tis the season.

8 miles!

2010-11-28T16:13:00.002-05:00

Ken took the kids to swimming today and I got to run in my neighborhood again. I've been running primarily at OSU campus while the kids are at RPAC, so it was a treat to mix it up a little and get back into suburb (vs city) running.

Today was beautiful. When I went out, the temp was 38 or something like that, so I had on tights with shorts on over them, a stocking cap, long sleeved shirt, and my 13.1 (half marathon) gloves. I thought the gloves would encourage a long run and they must have done their job despite being put in my pocket within the first mile. I put in 8 miles today. Actually, I did 8.43 but the decimal was all walking and stretching for a cool down. When I got home, I took off my shoes and spent probably 30 minutes stretching before hitting the shower.

My miles today were 10:24, 11:02, 11:00, 10:03, 10:46, 10:23, 11:30, and 10:45. I didn't catch my 5K time, but my 10K time was 1:05:30. I did the run-walk-run routine again with about 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking, though I varied it a bit to walk up hills and sometimes just because I forgot to keep an eye on the time. I don't have the Garmin set to alert me other than at each mile so I'm doing the interval thing manually right now. I've thought about getting a gym boss to buzz me at intervals but then I'd have to carry yet another gadget. Still, it is small and might be worth it. I could probably do the same thing with an app on my Blackberry, but then it would interrupt my Steverunner Intervals podcast and I'd have to mess with the alarm all the time.

It felt really good to get out there today. I'm tired and hungry now, but I looked at my face in the mirror when I got out of the shower and I saw that glow and realized I looked much happier and healthier than before I went out. Sometimes it's tough to take that first step out the door, especially when it's cold out, but about 2 miles into it, I'm most often very glad I'm out there.

So now I can enjoy the rest of the day. I can feel good about getting some exercise in and doing something for myself. I'll probably be a lot more fun to be around, too.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T23:44:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful holiday weekend with a full house of family and friends, wonderful food, and lots of football, including the Buckeye's big win over rival Michigan.

I didn't get out for the Turkey Trot on Thursday morning. It was pouring rain in the morning and I was warm and dry inside making chili and prepping the house for the big day. I am very impressed with the brave souls who ignored the weather and ran the 5 mile race anyway.

I had a good run on Monday. I put in 4 miles while the kids were at swimming before it got dark. I didn't have my Garmin, so I had to guess at the mileage based on time. I also did about 15 minutes of arm weights (pecs and tris) and 20 minutes of stretching. I was actually sore the next day from the stretching, which wasn't a good plan because I was on my feet constantly Tuesday through today with all the cooking and cleaning and such. I had to stretch my hamstrings out several times because they were pulling on my lower back and making it very sore.

Although it was Thanksgiving, I don't think I ate way too much food or sweets. I did have 2 pieces of Jan's fabulous pumpkin pie though - one last night and one today. I think the standing for hours in the kitchen for several days and walking around with a baby all day today was a good to balance out the extra food. We also walked quite a bit for about 2 hours at the zoo last night. It was cold, but we dressed well for it and went inside several buildings along the way.

I should have gone out running this weekend, too. It was a chilly weekend - the first we've had that was consistently cold this season. However, several days it was sunny and looked beautiful outside. If I dressed wisely, running would have felt great, I'm sure. Oh well, it was better to spend with the family and be hostess. I enjoyed orchestrating all the meals and snacks and schedules. It was great seeing everyone and having a break from our daily crazy schedules.

Somehow in the craziness I almost missed a milestone. I was reminded by Ken and Jan that a year ago I was just out of surgery. I had just chosen the bilateral mastectomy and had the surgery on Nov 23. Although this was certainly a significant date in my life, the real anniversary for me was the day I found out about the cancer. I'm not sure why that day was more important for me to mark than the surgery. Maybe I'd just rather forget the surgery ever happened. Or maybe since I was on pain meds and pretty much "out of it" for several days around this date, I don't remember much about it anyway.

Anyway, I haven't had time or focus to dwell on what was going on last year at this time. I suppose that is good. It certainly is a much better time this year. I've come a very long way since then. Thank you all who have helped me do so!

Swim meet

2010-11-21T22:38:00.000-05:00

We had a very busy week and weekend. Our first OSU-sponsored swim meet was this weekend and we were at the pool from about 11:30am to 9pm on Saturday and Sunday. Friday we were at the Worthington pool for a relay-only swim meet from 4:30pm to 8:30pm.

Since I officiated, I was on my feet a lot and my back has been complaining quite a bit. I tried to run a little today before the meet and realized I couldn't/shouldn't. My back might have loosened up if I'd kept at it, but after just a block, I decided it wasn't worth making it worse right before I had to stand on deck for 8+ hours.

The kids did very well at the meet. Val has the advantage this year because she is 12 in the 11/12 age group. She made it to the finals and placed (earned points for her team) in every event she swam (free, fly, breast, and IM). She also improved most of her times. Most notably, she took 2.5 seconds off her 50 breaststroke.

Jason is 9 in the 9/10 age group and there are 5 boys in his age group who are ranked at the state level. And those 5 are all OSU Swim Club members (our team). There were also state ranked boys from other clubs who attended this meet. Very tough competition for the 9/10 boys!

Jason beat most of his previous swim times. His most impressive drop was almost 4 seconds on his 50 backstroke, which was already his best stroke going in to the meet. In his back and freestyle events, only 1 or 2 nine-year-olds beat him. Unfortunately, the meet only took the top ten 9/10 year olds for finals, so Jason did not get to swim in the finals. He was an alternate (#11 and #12) twice, though; for the 100 IM and the 100 free.

We have to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week and then have 24 coming for Thanksgiving on Thursday. We'll have a crowd, but everyone is bringing something, so we should be just fine. We're setting up 4 tables for 6 and putting the food out buffet style.

I'm really looking forward to the long holiday weekend with no work, no swimming, no church school, and no basketball. It will be good to get a break after such a tough week.

5 miles and ended strong

2010-11-17T22:09:00.002-05:00

Work has been getting me down lately, so it was great that I got out to run this evening. Though it was getting dark by the end, I was glad I decided to run outside. It was a bit chilly today, so I broke out the running tights for the first time this year. I wore a long sleeved t-shirt and gloves and a hat. The gloves came off before I finished the first mile and the hat lasted just a few minutes longer.

It turned out to be a good run. I was surprised during my last 15 minutes or so because I got in a zone and felt like I was running with momentum. I usually feel like I'm forcing myself along in an ungraceful fight against gravity and the urge to walk. But toward the end of the run I was just gliding right along. And it wasn't just downhill, either; most of it was flat but I also ran up a couple small hills.

My miles today were 10:39, 10:38, 10:47, 10:01, and 10:13. I could have run a couple of miles further at least, but it was already dark and time to cool down, get a shower, find something to eat, and then pick up Val from swimming.

By the way, I'm impressed with the food at RPAC. It's semi-healthy and very good. Tonight I had a Mexican style salad with a full grilled chicken breast on it. Yum.

10K in 1:07:22

2010-11-14T19:16:00.000-05:00

I did another 10K this week, but it was a minute slower than a few weeks ago. Today my miles were 10:50, 10:58, 11:07, 10:54, 10:41, and 10:57. My 5K was 33:50 and I hit 10K at 1:07:22, so I was fairly even paced for each 5K. I did a walk-run-walk pattern at 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking throughout.

On Thursday, I put in 3 miles, but I walked most of it. I was nervous about running 3 days in a row, especially given the fast 5K I put in on Wednesday. I think it was a smart decision. I wish I had gotten out to run a little on Saturday, but we spent the day at OSU. We went to the OSU Marching Band's Skull Session before the game and then hung out with friends. It was a beautiful day. I probably walked 3 miles or more at OSU, so I suppose that should count for some exercise.

If I was more consistent with my training, I'd increase distance or speed, I'm sure. However, my life schedule is anything but consistent, so I'm doing what I can, when I can. Besides, I'm not a very effective "maintenance" type person, so my personality doesn't lend itself to the daily run routine, either.

We're headed out in a few minutes to put in 90 minutes of volleyball. My legs certainly are getting a great workout today. I'll probably be a step slower on the court tonight because I was pretty tired after my run. Also, my knee was acting up a bit toward the end. Hopefully all the parts will cooperate tonight and I'll have a good game.

Ken is tired too because he spent the day cleaning and doing home repair/upgrades on our basement. He sanded some length off two very heavy solid core doors and painted the stairs. Aside from taking the kids to swimming, buying Jason a Beyblade stadium, and running, all I got done was cleaning the oven and I did most of that last night. Oh well.

Great 5K

2010-11-10T23:22:00.002-05:00

I was able to run while the kids were at swim practice tonight. Since it was dusk already, I kept to the stadium and ran around it 6 or 7 times to get in a 5K in 30:50. I didn't watch the clock at all, but I heard the beeps as my Garmin counted the miles. Later when I downloaded the stats, I learned my miles were 10:00, 10:05, and 9:55. That's really good for me! I set out to run just the 5K, so I didn't walk at all this time. I ran the full 5K, which included 6 little but steep hills and was otherwise flat. The weather was perfect too; sunny/dusk and upper 60's.

After running, I stopped off at the weight room and did about 20 minutes of upperbody work - some benching (just the bar), biceps, and triceps.

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and OSU is closed. The kids have the day off, too. I'm really looking forward to sleeping in. Ken was talking about maybe going to the Hocking Hills area for a hike. At some point, we should also begin some planning for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to a large group of family and friends celebrating with us at our house this year.

Motivation

2010-11-09T20:51:00.001-05:00

Well, I didn't get to run on Monday as I would have liked, but I got out there today. It was an incredible day, sunny and 67, and it felt good to be out there again because it's been almost a week since I last ran.

The run itself wasn't much to write about though. I felt like I weighed 20 pounds more than I felt last week. I was just pulling myself along and getting winded quickly. I did the run-walk-run method with 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking pretty much throughout the run. My miles were 10:39, 10:35, 9:59, and 10:14. The 5K was 32:00. I followed the run up with a 10 minute walk and put in 4.5 miles overall.

Work has been very busy and no end to the craziness is in sight. I've got a lot on my plate because of a reorganization which resulted in 2 new manager positions that are unfilled and much transition work between staff members who are changing roles. Until the new managers are in place and the staff is trained on their new positions, I'll be providing direction, supervision, training, and doing much of the work that others will eventually take independently. In the meantime, I also need to be doing my Director job which has significant responsibilities and expectations. Obviously, I won't be able to do everything well. I'll just have to do what I can and hang in there until we can get past this transition.

I've been a bit stressed about it all and want to relax when I get home, but things are busy here too. The kids both have swimming, church school, and regular homework. Jason is also starting basketball. I feel much more relaxed and on top of it all when I can get out to run regularly. Since I know that's true, why is it so difficult to force myself to take the time? A friend told me today that I need some motivation for running. With no races or challenges scheduled for at least 6 months, and then it's only a 5K, I'm not really training for anything right now. I'm afraid to commit to anything, though. However, maybe that's exactly what I should do.

Insane weekend

2010-11-07T21:46:00.000-05:00

Friday night wedding reception for Ken's trainer at the gym; a good time had by all.

Saturday and Sunday mornings (and Saturday late night) we had to work on a major school project for Val. Then in the afternoons and evenings the kids had a swim meet and I officiated. Val improved her time on 50 free, 200 IM, and 200 free. Jason improved his time on 50 free, 50 back, 100 IM, 50 breast, and 100 free. Both kids had some major time drops, too. Val dropped 12 seconds on her 200 free. Jason dropped 8 seconds on 100 free and 13 seconds on a 50 breast. Usually time improvements are less than a second. Even 3 seconds is a big time drop.

The competition at this meet was fierce compared to most meets we've attended in the past. The top 4 or 5 heats of each event had very little difference between the swimmer times. Val was close to the top 25% in 50 breaststroke and 50 free and in the top 40% in 200 free. She was about in the middle of the pack for the other events. Jason is only 9 in the 9/10 age group. He was in the middle of the pack for every event but when we look at only 9 year olds, his stats are quite a bit better.

It was a tiring weekend and now my week looks just as bad. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I'm book solid all the work day, including meetings over lunch. Thursday we have off for Veteran's Day. I'm looking forward to that day off!

I didn't get any formal exercise in all weekend. The dancing on Friday night should count for something though; as should being on my feet for 7 hours officiating the swim meet. I hope I get to run tomorrow during swim practice, but I have a 4:30pm meeting, so I might not make it to RPAC with time to run. We'll see how it goes.

Losing count on laps

2010-11-03T22:27:00.001-04:00

Since I ran a 10K on Sunday and then played 90 minutes of volleyball, I decided to give the joints a break and lifted weights while the kids were at swimming on Monday. I did 35 minutes of rigorous weights, mostly upper-body, but a little leg press and core work. I'm still just benching the bar, but it's easier and I can do several sets (5-6) of 10 repetitions pretty much back to back. I wasn't sore on Tuesday afterward, either. So I think I'm making some progress.

On Tuesday, I took the day off from exercise and instead met up with a friend I haven't seen in over a year. She saw Ken in the grocery store and learned about my cancer scare and subsequent surgeries. She has had her own issues this year and we caught up on all that was going on. It was great to touch base again. We won't let another year go by without getting together, that's for sure.

Today, I ran a 5K. Well, at least I think I did. I got out of work late and had to hurry to get in a workout before the kids were out of swimming. So I did the most expedient thing and ran inside on the 1/8 mile track at RPAC. I think I did a 5K in 29:43, but I might have been off a lap - I lost count. If I was off a lap, then I did 3 miles in 29:43, which is still movin' right along for me. I know I did the first full mile in just over a 10 minute mile but my last 1/8 mile lap was at a little more than an 8:00 mile pace. I think I was speeding up all the time throughout the run. I didn't wear my watch, though, so I was just sporadically watching the digital clocks hanging over the track.

It wasn't a great day at work today, so I really needed to get the run in this evening. It helped quite a bit so I'm glad I didn't skip it. Work is a bit unstable right now as leadership/direction keeps changing and it's tough to strategize next steps with this dynamic landscape. At this point, it feels more like luck if I'm headed the right direction or not. I used to figure out the lay of the land by listening and envisioning and planning.

I'm interviewing candidates for a new manager position in my area and even that is a bit tough. Again, the vision for the future is unclear, so I hope I'm making the right decisions about what skills to hire. The budget situation is going to be tough for OSU next year and hope the position we got funding for is the one we need the most right now. I guess that decision is really out of my hands - I have nothing to do with funding of FTE, so all I can do it make the best, most versatile hire.

The update on the Lymphedma front is less encouraging than last week. I was noticing a drop in swelling last week, but it's back to a 4 or 5 out of 10 most of the time now. My pointer finger has decided to get back in the swelling game, too. It must have felt left out as I was typing about it's neighbors.

10K in 1:06:14

2010-10-31T18:39:00.001-04:00

Today's another Sunday with much activity. I took Val to swimming this afternoon and ran a 10K in 1:06:14. My miles were 10:55, 10:47, 10:52, 10:42, 10:27 and 10:51. I used the pattern of running 4 minutes and walking 1 minute throughout the entire 6.2 miles. I usually run 3 and walk 1, but it was a bit chilly out and I was in shorts and a t-shirt, so I needed to do a bit more running to keep warm.

I felt great during the whole run today. I didn't have to do the pleading with myself that I often do when running: "Just 45 more seconds and you can walk a minute, hang in there." There was no time when I just wanted to stop short of the 4 minutes. I think I cut the walk short once - I assume during the 5th mile since it was faster than the others - but I don't remember why - some environmental reason like dogs or cars or something annoying me.

After the run, Val and I went shopping and got her a bunch of sweat pants, a shirt, and some ski pants. We couldn't find a winter coat that worked.

Tonight, Ken and I have volleyball. I'll be running around for 90 minutes, trying to get the second hit of each play, so I'm sure I'll get a second great workout in today.

I haven't given an update on the Lymphedma in awhile, so I should tell you that a couple of times this week, I would rate the swelling in my hand as only a 2 or 3 out of 10, which is much better than it has been in a month or so. It had been running consistently at a 5 or 6. To fight the swelling of the past month, I've been wearing a compression glove or wrap to bed each night and much more often during the day, too. I took off the custom glove after my run today and it hasn't gotten any worse this afternoon. I'd rate it as probably a 2 or 3 today. My pointer finger rarely swells anymore. My middle finger is still an issue, but not too bad today. Most of the swelling now is in the back on my hand, from the bottom of my fingers to my wrist.

I went to out dinner last night and visited with some friends who I haven't seen in a long time. It was wonderful to reconnect.

Running in Bexley

2010-10-27T21:09:00.005-04:00

I put in 4.23 miles today. My miles were 11:11, 10:45, 10:10, and 11:10. I ran in Bexley, my favorite place to run in Columbus. Bexley has lots of shade, not many cars on the side streets, and great houses. It's also where I had my first job in Ohio (Capital University in 1988) and bought my first house (1994).  Ken and I lived there for a year or two after we got married and we used to ride our bikes throughout the neighborhood. That's how I found my favorite street, Parkview. My good friends, Jeff and Jen, still live in Bexley and I love to go visit them. I often park at their house when I run in the area.

Today, I parked at Capital University and ran North past Jeffrey Mansion on Parkview.   I started by running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute, but that didn't last long. I had to stop at the light at Broad Street and also lost track of time looking at houses and such. Thus, my walk breaks weren't at even intervals, as is obvious by my splits.

I saw the Bexley High School boys' cross country team several times during my run. During my third mile, they came up from behind me, engulfed me, and then left me behind - all in a matter of 10 seconds or so. It was weird; like I was a rock and they were the river. They were running easily and relaxed, but fast. And they were talking and moving around to change who they were running and talking with. I'm a solitary runner so it was foreign to me to see them running together like that. Surely some of them are a lot faster than others, yet they were putting in lots of miles together as a group.  I got nervous as they approached and I worried that I was in their way. But it didn't seem to bother them at all that I was on the sidewalk and going slowly. They just ran around me and were nice and relaxed and comfortable with sharing the space. Interesting.  I have read and heard about community aspects of running but I had never really seen a running community in action until today.

Geeky old lady in the weight room

2010-10-25T21:42:00.002-04:00

I thought I was coming home after work today, but right before running out the door this morning I decided to pack my gym bag, just in case. Then it turned out that Jason had lots of homework so Ken took him home from swimming early and I waited at RPAC for Val.

Since I was at RPAC anyway, I decided to do a weight-training workout. In my gym bag I found my compression shorts but no shorts to go over them. I also found the above-the-ankles socks instead of the shorter ones. Great. Oh well, I decided I wouldn't be a slave to fashion (or embarrassment), so I went to work out anyway. I wore my longest compression shorts (almost to my knees), a short-ish OSU v-neck tshirt, above-the-ankle socks folded down, weight lifting gloves, my Ironman watch (I thought I might run afterward), and my running shoes. I laughed as I walked into RPAC knowing I'd be "that geeky old lady in the weight room."

To match my geeky outfit, I decided to listen to the Wicked soundtrack on my Blackberry during the workout. I did all upper-body work, including several (5 or 6) sets of 10 benching the bar (45 lbs). I also did lots of curls, some triceps, obliques, and smaller arm muscles. As I was finishing up, Dan, one of my staff members, came over and said hi. He had seen me at the bench press. Great. Dan is 20-something and very strong, athletic, and active. So now I'm the geeky old boss lady in the weight room. I was quick to tell Dan that I used to bench 105lbs but since they cut both pecs in half, I've just started benching the bar. He was great and said "Well, hey, you have to start again somewhere." You are so right, Dan. Thanks for being genuinely supportive.

Aside from my attire in the weight room, the "funny" for the day was Val's conversation with a friend. Her friend asked what Val's favorite subject was in school. Val said she liked Language Arts/English the best. Then she qualified that statement with "well, except I don't like the words."

Busy weekend

2010-10-24T18:52:00.003-04:00

Happy birthday to Michelle Z and Lee Ann!

I ran on Thursday this week, but didn't get a chance to log it because of the mad dash to get the basement ready for carpet installation on Friday. I ran while the kids were at swimming and had to force myself out there. I really wasn't up for it, so I decided to do 30 minutes easy and outside. I didn't realize it was incredibly windy and that half of the run would feel like running up a steep hill as I fought the wind. Yeah, I know, I'm a wimp. Anyway, on Thursday I put in 3.37 miles by running around the stadium 6 times. I ran the 5K distance with the miles at 10:22, 10:13, and 9:48 and finished the 5K in 31:21. Then I walked 5 minutes or so as a cool down.

Today I ran slower and longer. I put in 5.32 miles with the run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute pattern throughout, except for the last mile in which I walked more. My miles were 10:57, 11:06, 11:20, 11:15, and 11:42. My legs were pretty sore and my hips tight toward the end. I wore cushier shoes this time, though, so my feet didn't hurt.

As I was getting out of the shower after my run, I realized that I have to play 90 minutes of competitive volleyball tonight. And we've been playing a 5:1 (5 hitters and 1 setter) with me as the setter. So I'll be running like crazy all over the court. Oh well, I need the exercise.

So we did get the basement floor completed this week. We haven't gotten the furniture and such put back in place yet, though. Yesterday I was shopping for a big TV stand/console for a big screen TV we don't have yet. Ken is out researching the TVs today. We'll be getting surround sound and a blue ray and I don't know what all else, too. So it will take awhile to research before we pull the trigger. We did decide on the furniture piece though. Our TV stand/console should arrive in a couple of weeks. We bought it discounted at American Freight. I hope we can get all this stuff done before Thanksgiving. We expect company and it would be great to watch the football games on our new system in our almost-done basement.

Yes, I know, we've been working on the basement for years and years. Probably 13 years. It's getting close now. We just need trim/baseboards, some doors sanded, and finishing solutions for the stairs, stairway wall, and ceiling area there.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2010-10-19T20:59:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday, Dad!

For Dad's birthday, he witnessed the ground-breaking on a college facility that he was instrumental in bringing to our small town in Nebraska. Dad is running the county's community college presence out of a small office tucked away in the public library and he begs and borrows classroom facilities where ever he can get them. This new facility is Dad's legacy to the community. Although the credit for it will go to those who raised the money, he was the one who sold the college on the need for it and laid all the groundwork. If all goes as planned, he will manage the new facility for a few months after it opens next year and then he'll retire and move to Ohio. The timing of his retirement is not set in stone, so I hope he'll get some time in the new office since he has worked so hard to make it happen.

I did a tough run today. Though I would normally lay off running the day after a fast 5K, I had the time and the weather was perfect for a "long" run this evening. I ran 5.5 miles in an hour. My miles were 10:51, 11:04, 10:46, 10:24, and 11:13. I did the distance with a 3 minute run and 1 minute walk pattern throughout until the last few minutes which I walked as a cool down.

Since I've been running while the kids are at swim team practice, I've been running at OSU quite a bit. When the weather is bad, that's great to be at OSU because I use the 1/8 mile track in RPAC and am quite cozy while my suburb friends are fighting the rain or running on treadmills. However, when it is nice, I'm often uninspired when forced to run on campus. It's just too city-like and full of people and cars and such. So today I decided to do a longer run and set out on the Olentangy Trail through the Tuttle Park, Clinton and Northmoor areas. I just did a simple out-and-back plan: I ran 27 minutes away from RPAC on the trail and then ran back to campus and around the stadium to finish up a full hour of running.

Val was beginning her post-swimming dryland workout when I returned, so I headed over to RPAC to do a few weights. I benched the bar (which isn't 40 lbs as I previously asserted, but 45lbs.) 10 times and did 3 sets. I also did some obliques and curls before cleaning up and picking up Val.

I haven't eaten well lately, especially today, and it caught up with me. I wasn't feeling great after the workout and Val took care of me when I got home. I picked up some comfort food (broccoli cheese soup from Panera) which helped some. Then a little later Val surprised me with a glass of hot chocolate and told me to put my feet up and read. She takes good care of me.

The bottom of my feet were sore during the last mile or so - and are sore even now as I walk around in my socks at home. I guess I'm unaccustomed to 5 miles. I think I'll go take my daughter's advice.

Volleyball and 29:45 5K

2010-10-18T22:11:00.001-04:00

Ken and I started our volleyball season last night. It was great to be on the court again and I got a trial by fire, certainly. We had a more experienced group, so Ken suggested we run a 5x1 - that would be 5 hitters and 1setter all the way around. Any guesses who the setter was? Yep, the short one.

I ran all over the court getting the 2nd hit almost all the time and setting up the balls to be whacked over by the hitters on the team. It was really fun - like old times. We lost the first one by 4 points, but were rallying toward the end. The second game we won by 8 or so. Unfortunately, we ran out of time after just a few minutes in the third game, so we had to take the loss since we were down something like 4 to 2. That's okay, though. It was our first time playing together and it seems like we'll be a pretty competitive team in this league.

I didn't wear a glove when playing volleyball and my hand didn't swell noticeably any more after or during playing. It's swollen all the time now from the lymphedema.

Today it was cold and rainy while the kids were at swimming, so I ran around the little track at RPAC. I ran a 5K in 29:45 and only walked a little when I stopped to get a drink of water from the water fountain after my first and second miles. I was pushing pretty hard the last mile, and especially the last half mile. I was just trying to hold on to the pace which was on target for the sub 30 minute 5K the whole run. I was listening to music which helped keep me moving. Still, the last mile, I had to be intentional about distracting myself from the desire to slow down or walk. I was very happy with the success of this run which was probably my fastest or at least my second fastest 5K ever. I followed the run by a mile walk as cool down and a little stretching.

I wore my custom glove when running and afterward I noticed a bit more swelling in my middle finger than before, but it went back down to normal swelling after the walk cool down.

The back of my hand, my wrist, and my middle finger are always swollen now. I'd rate the swelling overall as a 5 out of 10, sometimes reaching to a 6 when the middle finger gets really tight above the middle knuckle. The palm of my hand seems to be a little swollen too, but that may come and go and is difficult to see. Ironically, the pointer finger which started all this mess does not get swollen much anymore. I guess it has delegated that responsibility, perhaps pointing here and there where there is room for more fluid.

Ran yesterday

2010-10-14T21:26:00.001-04:00

I ran yesterday but didn't get logged in to the blog to do a post. I was at RPAC while the kids were swimming and it was so nice out that I decided to run outside even though I forgot my Garmin. I know . . . how sad is that? My first thought was that I would have to run inside because I didn't have the Garmin. Then I thought how silly that was. Who cares how far I run? It's not like it's a training run, just maintenance. And even if it was a training run, I could estimate speed and measure time.

So I ran 35 minutes (I had my ironman watch) and I'd guess I was running about a 10:15 pace or so overall because I did the run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute routine. I ran around the stadium over and over again. I'm not sure why I did that. I intended to do a lap around the stadium and then head on out into the rest of campus, but I got stuck in the lap rut. I guess my mind was occupied because I was catching up on Steverunner podcast episodes (Intervals and Phedippidations). I've been running with music sometimes lately and have gotten behind on what's going on in Oxford, MA.

I took the kids to swimming today too, but I couldn't workout during that time today. I had to officiate a mock swim meet for the younger swimmers on our team. I was impressed with the group. Even though it is pre-season and many of the young swimmers are inexperienced, they did a very good job overall. We didn't have nearly as many disqualifications as in the summer league or even as in the official B meets early in the season. Go OSU Swim Club!

My lymphedema hasn't changed much. The back of my hand is still swelling, along with my knuckles and middle finger. I think the palm of my hand is getting into the game too. I've been wearing a glove or wrap almost all the time except in the shower and when preparing food or washing my hands. And the swelling doesn't seem to react to anything in particular like exercise or eating habits or sleep or wearing the custom vs. cotton glove vs. wrap. I can't find anything that consistently makes the swelling better or worse. I got a wide Velcro support for around my wrist since the glove is too big there, but that hasn't made a noticeable difference either, regardless of how tight or lose I make it. I know I need another appointment with the PT. I'm just discouraged with it all. The appointments don't seem to be make a difference either.

Bench Press Victory

2010-10-11T22:06:00.000-04:00

I benched the bar today. That's 40 pounds. And I did it after completely tiring out my pecs (pectoralis major muscles) by benching 6 sets of 20 with 10 pounds, 1 set of 5 with 15 pounds, and 1 set of 5 with 20 pounds. Even my tired pecs could bench the 40 pound bar 10 times despite spending the previous 30 minutes doing significant upper body weight training. That's really great! I almost cried when I benched the bar. I've been so afraid to even try it. When I have a spotter around, I may put weight on the bar next time. Woo Hoo!

To understand my reaction, you'd have to know that I've always been really strong in my pec muscles and upper body in general. I've been able to serve a volleyball over-handed since the 3rd grade. My best swimming event was breaststroke. As a sophomore in high school, I beat a star football player in a fingertip pushup contest (real ones, not with the knees down). More recently, about 6 years ago, I could bench over 100 pounds. Then I got breast cancer and in addition to losing both breasts, the doctor had to cut my pec muscles clear through to put the expanders behind them. Now my pecs are no longer along my chest wall. They are now curved over my B-cup sized implants. So, in addition to the trauma of losing my breasts, I also lost a significant source of pride; my upper body strength.

So it was great today to see that I'm starting to get some strength back. I'm sure I over-did the upper-body workout today. I'll be really sore tomorrow. However, I'll be smiling. I benched the bar.

Worldwide Festival of Races

2010-10-10T22:46:00.001-04:00

Almost. But I blew it. I went out too fast and didn't have the mental toughness to hang in there. Today, I did the Kick the Couch 5K for the Worldwide Festival of Races in 30:26. Just 26 seconds slower than my goal. And I walked twice in the last half mile. I was so spent - just done.  When I saw I wasn't going to make it, I gave up and walked the last 10 yards or so to the finish. My legs were wobbly and I walked another half mile afterward to cool down.

My mile splits were 9:27 (unheard of for me!), 9:55, and 10:01. Dang, 30:26. So close.

It was hot today so I waited until the sun got low enough to allow the houses to cast shadows on my route. It was still hot, but shady most of the way. I've been having a lot of hand swelling caused by my lymphedma, so wore a custom glove with an ace bandage wrapped around it and up my forearm to my elbow. During the second mile, I couldn't stop focusing on the heat under the wraps and the throbbing. The throbbing may have been perceived and not real, but it annoyed me. My mind was not cooperating with the mental state I needed for this race. During the last mile, I could only think of hanging on . . . and instead of believing I could, I was pretty sure I couldn't. If I could have distracted myself, I know I could have made up the 26 seconds because I would have been able to run more and walk less. Grrrrrr.

Oh well. It was a good run. Today was probably my second fastest 5K race ever, just behind the Race for the Cure in 2008 when I finished in under 30 minutes.  Actually, my run today was among the 5 fastest 5Ks I've ever run, including in training, so I know I should feel pretty good about it.  And I do.

Earlier in the day, I put in a good hour or more of volleyball. We played parents against Val's 7th grade volleyball team.  The parents won the first game and kids won the second. We didn't get to play a third because it was time for pizza and the award ceremony. The awards were a certificate and a patch with Ridgeview Jr High around the outside and a volleyball in the middle. They didn't have individual awards because it's a team sport.

After I ran the 5K and got my legs to stop wobbling, I changed out of my soaked clothes and mowed half of the lawn. I had to stop because it was dark.

Whew! What a long day. Now it's bedtime. Good night!

Progress at work and home

2010-10-08T20:59:00.000-04:00

I took a vacation day today and worked on home improvement projects. I intended to do office work too, but didn't get around to it, so this will be a full day's vacation. It was worth it, though. I got so much done. I helped Mom and Dad finish the insulation project in their basement and then we went to a carpet place and chose carpet for our basement. I can't believe we'll have finished floors in our basement by the end of October. It's been a long time coming.

Mom and Dad took the kids out for ice cream and Ken was out at a friend's surprise birthday party tonight. So, I stayed home and got in a run. I did 5K in 32:02 using the run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute pattern throughout. My miles were 10:28, 10:35, and 10:10. I finished up with a 6 minute walk for cool down.

My Lymphedema has been a problem for several weeks now. My hand is swelling and not going back down. I've been wearing different gloves almost all the time (even during sleep) and trying different combinations of gloves. Tonight when I ran, I wore the custom glove, wrapped the wrist with tape because it's too big, and then put on the ace bandage wrap around my hand and up to my elbow. The wraps seem to help during the run, but after I take them off to take a shower, my hand swells again. Now I've got the glove with the bean bag back in it to push down the swelling. It usually works pretty well on the flat part of my hand, but not on my joints that attach my fingers. Grrrrr.

Oh well, other than the swelling, everything is very good. We're moving along with a much needed reorganization at work and I'm very hopeful we will be more effective and productive as a result. Work is always much more fun when we are doing well as a group. Tomorrow is Val's last volleyball game of the season. Actually, it's several games. We have a tournament that starts at 8am. That's almost as bad as a swim meet!

Go Tigers!

2010-10-06T22:05:00.000-04:00

Val had the big rivalry volleyball game tonight. Pickerington Ridgeview Jr. High played at Pickerington Lakeview Jr. High. Although they beat us in a tournament last week, we won tonight. The coach started our top six players for each of the 3 games. Val came in very early in the 3rd game, though and played the rest of the game. She played well, had several hits, got her serve over, and even made the winning point. I didn't stay for the 8th grade game, but Val reported that they won in 3 games, too. It was a great night for Ridgeview Jr. High Volleyball.

After the game, I intentionally had an easy run this evening. I did the 3 minutes run and 1 minute walk pattern for 2 miles (10:21 and 10:23) and then LeeAnn called, so I walked another mile and a half at about a 17 minute mile pace and chatted with her awhile. In all, I put in 3.6 miles in 48:55.

Mom and Dad are visiting from Nebraska right now. We're working on their house and our house both this trip. Their house is getting insulation in the basement and some lawn work. Ours is getting a new light in the pantry and a head start on some flooring in the basement. We're going to try to use Allure vinyl planks that look like wood. We'll buy some boxes and put it down to ensure it doesn't look cheap next to our nice kitchen and other finishings. If we like it, we'll go with it for the floor and then get a huge bound carpet for the center of the family room.

Ran again

2010-10-04T23:13:00.001-04:00

I know I shouldn't have, but I did. I ran again tonight. It was a cool night but with no rain, so I ran Valerie's overdue book to the library and then detoured around the neighborhood to put in at least 30 minutes on the road.

I did a 5K in 31:02. I ran the first mile (no walking) in 10:13 and then walked 1 minute. Then I ran another mile and walked another minute. I'm not sure if I walked during the third mile or not. My miles were 10:13, 10:10, and 9:44, so I'm guessing I didn't.

Now I'm sore. Actually, my quads were a bit sore before the run. My calves were also tight. Now my calves are very tight. My quads loosened up a little, though. I guess my IT bands took their place because now they are saying "uncle." I know I shouldn't run two days in a row when I'm not used to it. I also shouldn't run 3 miles every time I run. I should go back to the measured 3 minute run and 1 minute walk to avoid injury. But, hey, it was a great night for a run. And it felt pretty good. And it was a little chilly for walking. I'm sure I can find all kinds of excuses for the poor choices. But, hey, I usually have excuses NOT to run, and today it's the opposite. I'd say that's progress.

My hand is still swelling a lot. I'm rotating gloves and wraps to try to switch up the pressure areas. Each glove/wrap has its advantages, so I'm trying to get the best compression out of each of them at least once daily. Tonight I'm wearing the full wrap again.

Val had a great volleyball game tonight. She didn't miss a serve. And she served 5 in a row before the team got a side out. We won tonight in two sets. Wednesday is the big game, though. We play the other Pickerington team (dreaded Lakeview) who beat us pretty bad in the Volley for the Cure tournament that didn't count for league play.

5K in 30 minutes

2010-10-03T20:09:00.000-04:00

I did an indoor track workout at RPAC today and ran a 5K in 30:00! My miles were 10:00, 9:50, and 9:13. I walked three times, but only once for a full minute. The other two walk breaks were about 40 seconds or so.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've run a 5K in 30 minutes or less. I did it once on that same RPAC track while training for the Race for the Cure in 2008 and then during the actual race. And I did it today, despite including a little walking. I'm not even in serious training. I haven't been doing speed work or anything. Well, hmmm, maybe this run-walk-run thing is sort of like speed training for me. I don't intentionally push the speed, but I have been running faster when I know I get to walk in just a few minutes.

Today I listened to music instead of podcasts, so I'm sure that sped me up a bit. Although I intended to do an easy run, the music and the digital clock hanging over the lanes at three places over the track, encouraged me to do otherwise. It felt great.

My hand has been swelling more this past week. I'm always at a 3 out of 10 and sometimes a four or five. I'll wear my glove more consistently this week and see it that helps. I stopped wearing a glove at night, but will probably reinstate that practice. I may even do the full wrap thing tonight. Yuck.

Yesterday I returned from another fabulous HR Technology Conference and now want to find time to synthesize all these ideas and learnings into goals or actions. I really need to slow down a bit and take some time to think and organize and plan. I'm getting caught in the do-do-do-do cycle and can easily get caught up in the busy and forgot the important.

One year

2010-09-30T11:20:00.000-04:00

It's been one year. I found out that I had breast cancer on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.  I'm not sure whether it's time to celebrate, reflect, or lament. Maybe a bit of all three.

Below are the top 10 things I've learned since then:

10. Blogging can connect people who need each other.

Beth in Colorado found my blog. She was going through a bilateral mastectomy just a few weeks before me and was a great source for learning and encouragement. I also found great insight and knowledge in other blogs. Personal stories are much more meaningful than research statistics. So, here's a big thank you to the thought leaders at HR Technology Conference and Steverunner who inspired me to stop lurking in the new media world and start contributing.

9. Just because they find cancer early does not mean it will be easy. As a top 100 fundraiser for the Race for the Cure, I'd been to many events celebrating the advances in breast cancer research. I thought I knew a lot about it. I thought getting the cancer out was easy if it was caught early. I had no idea I'd get a bilateral mastectomy with cancer that was barely stage 1 . . . and Beth was stage 0.

8.  ILC is hard to find and often hides until it's big enough to spread.
Not all breast cancers are easy to detect. Luckily, my digital mammogram showed grouped calcifications which warned my doctors to do a biopsy. If I had chosen a lumpectomy, a recurrence of ILC could go undetected until it had spread beyond my breasts.

7. Healthy, active, young women can still get breast cancer.
This year, I've read about many healthy, active women in their 20's and 30's who had breast cancer. I also have a friend whose wife was diagnosed in her 30's. It's not as uncommon as you'd think. I was 43 and a runner.

6. There are different types of breast cancer and different risks for treatment options.
Breast cancer does not have one obvious treatment. Statistics are all over the internet and different doctors present them differently too. No one had a clear cut, obvious data set that I could use to make treatment decisions. I did lots of research, got a second opinion, and even stepped out of the linear process the doctors wanted me to follow in my decision-making. In the end, it came down to this: I put myself in the place of a woman who had cancer spread throughout her body. And I heard myself begging "Can't you just cut it off? Get it out of me, now!" Well, that was the opportunity I had. And I took it.

5. Deciding to lose both breasts is a tough, emotional decision.
Many said it would be a no-brainer for them. If they got breast cancer, they would cut them off.  I'm a poster-child for that concept. I don't wear makeup. I'm a feminist.  I spend 20 minutes getting ready in the morning and 15 of that is in the shower. So, I was unprepared for the emotion involved in this decision. Even now it brings me to tears to realize that a year ago, I still had my real breasts, with working nipples and everything. I still look very similar in clothes, but very different getting out of the shower. I wonder when my reflection in a foggy mirror will not cause me to wince.

4. We all react differently.
In my mind, surgery was by far the best treatment option, especially if I could avoid chemo, radiation, and 5 years of Tamoxifen. A friend who has cancer was fine with chemo and radiation treatments but terrified of surgery.  Physically, we react differently, too. Although I was not a high risk for lymphedema and just 6 lymph nodes were removed, I developed lymphedema in my left hand about 5 months after the mastectomy. I have no idea how or why this happened.

3. I am strong and resilient.
As a comment to my first blog post, my parents wrote that they had all the confidence in the world that I have the tools needed to get though this myself -- "strength, wisdom, determination, and goodness." My brother also told me that he thinks of me as an incredibly strong woman. I was able to reach deep inside and find the strength my family knew was there. Now I know it is there, too.

2. I am blessed with incredible family, friends, and colleagues.
Thank you to all who have helped me get through these challenges. I had advisors, listeners, food preparers, care givers, pray-ers, and many people who just helped me get on with life. My boss was incredibly supportive, as were my staff and colleagues. Friends (including Lee Ann, Michelle, Jim, Eunice, Bethany, Becky, David, and many others) were instrumental in getting me though this. Family sent cards and called. Michelle, Jan, Jim, and my parents, Don and Rosemary helped care for me and my family when I most needed them. Thank you all!!!

1. I have the best husband and children in the world.
Yes, I know I'm biased. But I also know I'm right. My children are wonderful - caring, loving, supporting, strong, and helpful. My husband is beyond amazing and he loves me for who I am and finds me sexy and beautiful with each set of breasts I've had this year (real, expanders, and now implants). I thank God for my family each and every day. And, through this ordeal, I have learned that I should never wait until tomorrow to show them I care and I will never take them for granted. I love you, Val, Jason, and Ken!