Tuesday, November 30, 2010

shake your derrière

i came across this article on monday and it was a little frightening. granted you have to take men's health magazine for what it's worth, but still - it definitely inspired me to get up and move more often throughout the day at work. i am pretty sure i have "caught" the chair-butt disease from my desk job (you know, where your butt starts to fill out the chair).


in further derrière news: tonight is the victoria's secret fashion show. yes, those women could afford to eat a hippopotamus or two, i won't deny it. i still love watching it though. i *used* to practice walking around in high heels like i, too, was prancing down the runway in my underpants with enormous wings on (except i had clothes on over my underpants and no wings of course). i'll see you there - 10/9 central on cbs; i'll bring the water, you bring the ex-lax?


november 2010
total mileage: 128.08
time spent running: 18:11:25
days off: 12
abs/yoga: 11 ab workouts/4 yoga sessions
avg temp: 59.52*

november goals: A
30-min everyday: 29/30, A
bike: 64.55/90mi, C+
tempo runs: 4mi, 5mi, extra credit for 6mi, A+ (no extra credit)
speed work: 6x800, 3x1600, A+
long runs: 12mi, 13mi, A+
abs: 12/15, B+
yoga: 4/5, A
weights: 7/7, A+

i wish i had been better about getting out and biking this month, but i was wimpy about 50 degree weather on the bike. i squeezed in one last "ride" today on the trainer during the flash-flooding and tornado watch (not like i was gonna get out for a run). afterwards, i had some pretzels dipped in chocolate-mint gu. not quite the supermodel diet but it was actually pretty good.

Monday, November 29, 2010

is your house on fire, clark?

week in review (11/22 - 11/28)
total miles: 37.55
time spent running: ~ 4 hrs 57 min
avg pace: 8:58
off days: 1
  • mon: easy 5mi
  • tue: weights, yoga; 1mi in vibrams
  • wed: 3xmile at the track
  • thu: easy 3mi before dinner #1
  • fri: weights & abs; easy 3mi on xc course
  • sat: hike 3.5mi with the fam
  • sun: 12mi with tempo
boss let us leave work early on wednesday (because he wanted to leave), and i took advantage of the afternoon daylight for a medium-long run with speedwork. typically i am unfaithful to warm-up and cool-down miles so i made myself run to the middle school track (2.5 miles away) for mile repeats.

as i write this, i'm looking back on the last few times i did mile repeats, and i almost started feeling like i didn't run hard enough. i quickly reminded myself that i am still "rebuilding" and only recently started enjoying life without daily nausea.

anyway, the repeats went well. i haven't obsessed over the calculators to see what paces i should be aiming for so i set the bar low (out of fear/disbelief, i think). i surprised myself by putting together three strong miles and probably could have gone harder, but we'll "save that for next time".

wednesday (11/24) afternoon run: 9.5 miles, 1:20:27 w/ 3xmile (7:10, 7:05, 7:02), 67*

as for my thanksgiving weekend, here's a brief summary:
  • slept-in; short runs.
  • ate dinner #1 around 1pm.
  • watched a james bond movie.
  • went to my parent's for dinner #2; ate too much.
  • played a game of quelf.
  • slept til 10:30 on friday (yikes).
  • late-afternoon run.
  • went back to my parent's for dinner (too lazy to cook).
  • watched the new version of karate kid.
  • hiked saturday morning.
  • met up with bailey/irish (and wilson) for coffee!
  • went back to josh's house to watch the clemson/carolina game (tried to convince him it was a waste of time).
  • slept-in yet again sunday; late-morning long run.
  • raked *some* leaves.
  • hung christmas lights, blew a fuse clark griswold style.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

sunday funnies

one of three large oaks that dump on my house/yard every fall

where i live, we don't have friendly curb-side leaf sweeping/pickup. sad times. you are supposed to bag/haul them off yourself and the landfill charges you for dropping off yard waste (boo landfill)!

how to postpone having to rake leaves:

half mowed, half not

1) mow over them. this chops them up and makes them practically invisible. it also buys you at least a couple of weeks.
2) toss a tarp-load in the bed of a truck and go for a drive. the leaves will fly away on their own! note: you can't fill the bed too much or cops might get suspicious.
3) rake them down into the street and let the cars driving by re-distribute them.
4) rake them into your flower beds. "leaf mulch" is not the most attractive, but it does make for some fertile soil in a few years.


running
since i'm running out of days in the month and still have a few more goals to check off, i combined my long run with a tempo today. it went well, although i did have to stop at mcdonald's for some water. there were too many fat people in line so i ended up helping myself to ketchup-cup-shots of water.

sunday (11/28) am run: 12.05 miles, 1:42:49 (avg pace 8:32), 43*
6mi easy, 5mi tempo, 1mi easy

7:38
7:35
7:33
7:40
7:28
(not that you guys care but i like having the stats to look back on; or other random things - like how two years ago i was wearing under armor already and this year i'm still in shorts and a t-shirt)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

and the grammy goes to




[and now that you're ears are bleeding] --

three-month supply of honeymilk goes to
karen / working it out

winner of one-case is
jason / life of an aspiring triathlete

and the winner of another case is
misszippy

email your contact info (mailing address) to lindsay at chasingthekenyans dot com by 10pm wednesday (11/24) and the good people at honeymilk will ship it out to you!

album in stores this friday!

Monday, November 22, 2010

reebok, take 2

i posted about this awhile ago, but it's going down again! reebok is once again looking for more product-testers.

periodically, a reebok representative will email you in regards to testing a pair of shorts, an athletic top, a sports bra, shoes, etc. you reply back (quickly) to get dibs on a sample, and they mail it to you with the test instructions. you then wear the gear for however long the test period is for (sometimes a few days, usually a couple of weeks), fill out the forms as necessary, and mail it back to them. you do have to pay for the return shipping, but what's ~$5 for a running top or shorts? after they collect their data, they will mail the garment back to you for keeps. shoe testing works a little differently, but you still get a free treat in the end.

non-us residents, i am not sure if they have set boundaries, but it's worth a shot!

of course, you must meet at least one of the following requirements:
men - clothing size medium and/or shoe sizes 9, 11, 12, 13 (basketball footwear only for sizes 11 and 13)
women - clothing size medium (and/or) shoe sizes 5, 7, 9

so, if you're interested shoot me an email and i'll send you the reebok contact info, and hopefully you can score some free running gear!

disclaimer: i do not work for reebok. i am pretty sure i don't get any benefit from you signing up.

let me google that for you

i have been envious of many of you for some time now, but i finally have random searches for my blog. for the longest time i had standard, boring, running/lindsay/kenyan related searches like "gu chomps" and "mile repeats". here are some folks i am sorry to have disappointed:
  • aren't u tired of chasing pretty
  • maternity giveaway 2/23/10
  • fat man doing a snow angel in a speedo
  • cret uro own fish baet - i'm not sure what language this is
  • lindsay eats after how many days
  • given choice between possible death and inconvenience - i think i'll take inconvenience.
  • crack cocaine crescent city florida susan - it doesn't sound like susan is in a very respectable career.
  • old sunbather wearing thong - a frequent topic here on ctk.
  • how is lsd on the streets if it's so hard to make - good question! i'll let you know once i get my lab going.

it appears i need to stop talking about my addiction to m&m's.


week in review (11/15 - 11/21)
total miles: 33.06
time spent running: ~ 5 hrs 1 min
avg pace: 9:10
off days: 2
  • mon: easy 4mi
  • tue: easy 6mi with josh
  • wed: insanity - plyo cardio circuit
  • thu: runmute 7mi
  • fri: bike 18mi, yoga & abs
  • sat: easy 10mi with josh
  • sun: 0.8mi in vibrams, 4mi easy in mizunos

photo from thursday's runmute

see jenn? not everything i run by is scenic. here we have some lovely kudzu, the south's finest landscaping. no it's not dying, just hibernating for the winter. this stuff is impossible to kill.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

sunday (not-so) funnies

back in like march, my brakes started making a grinding noise. they didn't do it all the time so i didn't think much of it, even while making my bi-weekly 600mile trips between ky and sc. at first i thought it was mud from the jobsite, but it didn't go away after getting the underbody sprayed at the car wash. i also figured it wasn't that bad because they never squeaked like i (wrongly) assumed brakes would. eventually they made these awful noises every time, although it still took another 3.5 months before i did anything (read: convinced josh they needed attention).

so now it's november, and we finally decided it might be wise to put new brakes on.

new brake / old brake
notice a difference?
old rotor / new rotor
see the chunk missing out of the old one?

i think i was about one brake-tap away from either sparking a fire or rear-ending everyone on the road. do not repeat this behavior; it's not smart.

495 inappropriate words later, josh had my car good-to-go again. [nothing like having a blog to document these exciting weekend activities!]

Friday, November 19, 2010

my new boyfriend

although i took sunday off from running, i still wasn't sure how my legs/ankles felt after saturday's trail run so i allowed myself to run super easy on monday. it was much-needed because i felt slow and uncoordinated.

monday (11/15) pm run: 4.64 miles, 44:18 (avg pace 9:33), 55*

i still felt funky on tuesday and since i've actually learned to not be so hard-headed (like the old me), i decided to take the whole week easy. another easy run, legs still sluggish. there was (heat) lightning, and i felt pressured to run faster but my legs didn't show any concern.

tuesday (11/16) pm run: 6.10 miles, 58:00 (avg pace 9:30), 64*
it was warm enough to wear a tank top, but before you get mad at me remember that it's karma for having put up with 5.5 hot and humid months of running in 90* and 100% humidity.

with two slow, cement-legged days, i took wednesday off from running and did one of my insanity dvd's instead. i haven't done them since early spring, and i decided i still don't like them.

{continue reading after the jump!}

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

rocks, roots and horse manure

one year ago, i ran my first trail race. per my m.o., i went out too fast and hated it. i'm sure i said i would never do it again, but i also said that about marathons after my first.

the pain from my previous trail run had slipped far enough from my mind for me to have the brilliant idea of signing up for another - a half-marathon this time.

i didn't go out as fast as i did last time, but i still went out too fast. two of the xc girls were running the race and i so wrongly assumed i could hang with them (they ended up placing 2nd and 3rd overall).

i made it to the first aid station (somewhere between miles 4-5) and stopped to gulp down some gatorade and water; i was beat. when i started up again, i tucked in behind some guy and settled into a cruising pace. i need to learn how to run a trail race effort-wise. cruising felt fine, but i could've ran harder as i had plenty of energy left over.

{continue reading after the jump!}

Monday, November 15, 2010

Sunday, November 14, 2010

sunday funnies

just some random videos i came across this week, for your entertainment




Track And Failed

also, i'm slowly working my way up to oprah's book club. check out my first guest post on the honeymilk blog! rolling and i have become very close, if i could update my facebook relationship i would (sorry josh, but you're never exactly excited to massage my shoulders). unfortunately though, "foam roller" is keeping it's relationship options open.

Friday, November 12, 2010

runmuting and rule #20

first of all, my apologies for any undue stress i caused by alerting you to the chocolate shortage. we'll have to organize a support group in a few years.

i am back from a two-day training session on federal acquisition regulation (linking because i *know* you want to go learn all about it too). riveting! i think i may have a giveaway for your very own copy, anyone?

it wasn't that bad really, the instructor was personable and humorous; i was actually less bored in class than i am in the office. major bonus: he let us out at 4pm instead of the usual 5:30pm, so i took advantage of the shorter workdays (and daylight!) and ran home.

on wednesday i took the direct route home which has little-to-no shoulder for 2.5 miles and had me jumping in the ditch for passing cars. my ankles were all kinds of dirty when i got home.

wednesday: beating the sunset home

thursday i stuck to the sidewalked streets for a slightly longer run. i know i am preaching to the choir here, but seriously, do people not remember the "left, right, left" driving rule when pulling out into the road? on this run home i had to stop three times in the span of a quarter-mile for morons who's necks don't turn right.

then as i ran up the last big hill i almost wiped out on more of those darn acorns.

here in s.carolina we don't have dirt, we have red clay

i really enjoyed run-commuting home from work, but maybe that was just joy from getting out of work early. it was nice to get home and have the rest of the evening to relax, whereas normally i get home and still have to head out for my run. if only i could have a closet at work for my work clothes, and some leniency regarding what time i arrive/leave, i would just run to/from work everyday.

wednesday (11/10) afternoon run: 6.35 miles, 56:27 (avg pace 8:53), 71*
thursday (11/11) afternoon run: 7.15 miles, 1:03:55 (avg pace 8:56), 70*

Thursday, November 11, 2010

my two run run run

(you know, like biggie)

tuesday i got in a few miles over lunch and a speed workout (6x800) after work. i kept the lunch run easy because a) i needed to save my legs for the evening workout and b) i didn't want to cut my lunch break short in order to shower so i ran slow to prevent sweating. i did take a mexican shower with some body spray, just in case.

lunch run: 4.12 miles, 37:40 (avg pace 9:09), 72*
pm run: 7 miles w/ 6x800, 1:00:14 (avg pace 8:36), 63*

my main motivation for doing speed work was to hear garmin play the super mario song when i successfully completed the workout. my goal pace for the 800's was 3:30-3:40 and i am pleased to see that none of them were slower than that. i also did these on the streetz (of suburbia...) again so the terrain was rolling, but i thought i was "finding" the pace better than last time. as i ran, i pondered about the benefits of doing intervals on the track as well as the road. sometimes it's nice to see the finish line ahead, but training in race-like conditions is pretty beneficial too. avg pace for the 800's - 7:09 (last time - 7:17).

learned some horrible news on tuesday as well. i'm off to stock up before world war 3 breaks out.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

our holiday mugs

no not this kind of mug
although doesn't he sound like a keeper?
beth you may want to keep an eye on your husband...

josh and i are slowly cranking out thank you's for wedding gifts (hey, everyone keeps telling me we have up to a year). part of the initial delay was waiting on our pro pics. once we got them in, i uploaded the "runaway bride" photo online and ordered a bunch of 4x6's to include with the notes.

check out our dance skills

with my expertise at procrastinating, i know i should start on our christmas cards soon (and finish up the thank you's of course). shutterfly has a huge variety of christmas, holiday and new year's photo cards to pick from. the extensive selection doesn't help my indecisiveness, but at least if i am late i can send out new year's cards.

uploading pictures to shutterfly is easy, as well as selecting and ordering prints. their prices are great as well, and you can often find a coupon code to knock a little more off. now i just need to make up my mind on which ones to order...

disclaimer: i scored 50 free holiday cards for posting this. you can do it too! just go here to receive your instructions - easy peasy.

(thanks kovas for reminding me to do this; i was procrastinating again)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

bike 'n hike (and run)

week in review (11/1 - 11/7)
total miles: 19.70 (pathetic running-wise)
time spent running: ~ 2 hrs 23 mins
avg pace: 8:48
off days: 4 (!!!)
  • mon: yoga
  • tue: easy 4.3mi
  • wed: 6mi w/ 4mi tempo (a bit off goal pace), had to use inhaler
  • thu: weights and abs
  • fri: easy 6mi, had to use inhaler 3 times
  • sat: spectated xc meet; biked 30mi
  • sun: went hiking up mt. vesuvius; 3.4mi
i'm aware this is no big deal to a lot of you, but it was a hard hike!

while i'm doing decently at my 30-minute rule, i still need to step it up a bit and run more mileage. this week i chose to tell myself that the bike ride could count for another 10 miles into the total.

because i don't have much to say about the workouts (other than maybe using my inhalers too many times) - here are some pictures from the bike ride and hike:

gotta love iphone camera quality

typical country road, makes for a nice quiet ride


hiking falls creek falls (jones gap)

at one point, the trail forks - you can go left (flatness)

or you can go right, and climb up a wall
we went this way of course

yes i know, my shoes need to invite my pants down to the party
(shirt from patrick!)

falls creek falls, about 100ft high per the trail map

view from the waterfall

Sunday, November 7, 2010

from dns to victory

a) where i was this time last year
b) where i was supposed to be this year
c) where i actually am this year

my very first dns - the fresno 50k. i decided back in august that i was not in shape for it and it was highly unlikely that i'd get in shape in time. for once, i exercised a bit of intelligence and decided i'd rather take these months easy and enjoy running instead of possibly making myself worse (those dizzy spells haven't exactly cleared up). so anyway, i'm not an ultra-runner yet.

instead of heading across-the-country, i went to the state cross-country meet and watched my amazing hs girls win! way better than a 50k. three ladies made all-state, four finished well under 20:00, and the "slowest" time was sub-21 (the team is speedy - i would have to fight for a spot on jv). so proud of them!



good luck to all the nyc marathoners today! best race ever!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

no-vember

this is it. don't get scared now.


i know i am starting to sound like a broken record, but i really do need to tighten up my eating habits. i have hereby proclaimed the month of november to be sugar-free. that's right, we're taking this one step further from february and eliminating all sweets. part of my problem in february was that i said "no m&m's" but proceeded to increase my intake of every other form of chocolate.

*most* of the m&m's consumed at work in aug-oct...
this does not include the bags eaten at home.
(ridic, i know)
i'm just getting my feet wet with 2 days of no-sugar/sweets, but i fully intend to keep this up even through thanksgiving dessert. hopefully i can convince my mom to bake something with splenda.

what are you saying 'no' to in november?



(in line with the past few months) - november goals:
30-min everyday
bike: 90mi (let's see if i can hit it this month)
tempo runs: 4mi, 5mi, extra credit for 6mi
speed work: 6x800, 3x1600
long runs: 12mi, 13mi
abs: 15x
yoga: 5x
weights: 7x

Monday, November 1, 2010

spectating the spinx runfest

on saturday i set a pr in race spectating. until now, i've only spectated for a couple of josh's 5k's, but this weekend, he, my sister and a friend (kristen) ran their first half-marathons and i served as the sherpa. kristen was concerned that i would mind holding her sweats for her but i reassured her that it has been done for me many times and it's the least i could do.

the two hardest parts of spectating are finding your runner(s) and coordinating other spectators in your party. i don't know all the roads downtown so i was a little harried in the beginning trying to give directions over the phone. luckily it was sorted out quickly so we could get on with the spectating.

after sending my pupils off to the start line, i headed off for my first spot. unfortunately the course isn't set up to catch too many spots either by walking or driving (in my opinion). i only caught the runners in the first mile and again after mile 3, before boogying over to catch them again in mile 11.



i labored on some signs friday night but was too shy to unfold them at my first stop. lame, i know, but i was also the sherpa and photographer so that was my excuse. once my parents got there i was able to hand off one sign to my mom which made it at bit easier. "her" sign got more comments from the runners; one guy even said "today is looking like that day", but most of them said they loved the sign or "that's right (their age) and still going!"

quote on pink sign from frayed laces

i only held the white one up at mile 11.5-ish when half-marathoners were running by. obviously the full-marathoners would not have appreciated it, and no one would have liked it at mile 1 or 3. at my 11+mi station i also saw fellow blogger kathrin running strong and an old rowing teammate (now avid cyclist, dabbling in marathons). due to my lack of juggling posters+camera skills, i didn't get photos of either of them. i also completely missed seeing my co-worker who blazed his way to a 1:59, after talking all week about hoping for a 2:15 "best-case scenario". sandbagger!



josh is all decked out in sugoi; courtesy of his blogging wife

anyway they all ran excellent first-half-marathons and even claimed they enjoyed themselves; kristen did admit to wanting to cut the course at one point where the course loops back on itself. even though it was only his first marathon, josh set multiple goals for himself (i've rubbed off on him) but he achieved his "a" goal running a 1:49! jocelyn was hoping for a 2-2:10 and ran a 2:08, and kristen didn't want to end up in the medical tent - she ran a 2:20 (those are gun times, chip times are mia). great runs all around!


as for my own running - i was a little short on miles for the week but again, the mucus factory was pulling overtime.

week in review (10/25 - 10/31)
total miles: 22.60
time spent running: ~ 3 hrs 30 mins
avg pace: 9:23
off days: 3
  • mon: sick and tired
  • tue: easy 4.1 on the golf course
  • wed: weights and abs
  • thu: easy 6.3 trying not to choke on mucus
  • fri: easy 3.2 squeezed in a busy day
  • sat: umm "walking"; aka spectating at various spots for ~4 hours
  • sun: long run - 9mi; saw an enormous spider and set a new world record in the high-jump

october 2010
total mileage: 112.45
time spent running: 17:27:00
days off: 11
abs/yoga: 11 ab workouts/2 yoga sessions
avg temp: 69.81*
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