Wednesday, August 31, 2011

august 2011: a new kind of pr

august 2011
total mileage: 0.0000000
time spent running: 0hrs 0min
days off: 31
avg temp: doesn't matter
pounds gained: don't even want to know
trip of the month: new york/tour of the eastern seaboard

this was the first full month (technically 5+ weeks when you add the end of july) where i did not run/workout since 2004. well, technically i did go for a 1.5mi leisure walk one evening and i also did a ton of walking around nyc but i wouldn't consider either of those a workout. oh, and i took the stairs (3 flights) at work at least twice a day which should be considered a workout because it left me winded every time. pathetic.

i was initially taking some time off because my skin hurt to move, period. it still isn't much better, but i'm not in constant pain anymore.

i also started having trouble sleeping through the night, and then i started not falling asleep at all. there were too many "nights" this month where i would fall asleep at 4 or 5am, only to wake up at 6:30am for work. i never feel tired later in the day either. there was also one night where i never fell asleep, and stayed awake the next day until 10-11pm. freakish.

so, i decided to extend my running break to the whole month of august (initially i figured i'd take two weeks off). it's always hard to take time away from running, but this was a fairly easy break for me with the random health concerns. i think i also needed a break mentally after many weeks/months/years of stressing over weekly mileage and running workouts.

in lieu of running, i went to a few local minor league baseball games.

view from the box

seats behind home plate at the greenville drive

a stranger handed us these tickets at the gate

i checked out the local flea market (not worthwhile).

you know you want one. giveaway coming soon.

i sampled my first kombucha but only drank half the bottle because i was too afraid of the floaty things.

synergy: cosmic cranberry flavor

and bought a pair of jorts meant for a 13-yr old because they told me i was a size 4 (after a month of sitting on the couch). they were $11 on clearance and josh said i should have been paid to take them from the store.

planes, trains and automobiles

or, touring the east coast with irene.

thursday, woke up at 3:30am (well, technically 2am) to fly to nyc.

30 minute nap on tarmac in dc for "weather", though it wasn't raining or anything.

arrived in nyc. dropped luggage at hotel. ate lunch at schnipper's quality kitchen.

it started pouring. i had my super awesome rainproof columbia peak power shell; josh had to buy a rinky dink umbrella.

took subway to the bronx, yankee stadium. picked up tickets at will call.

waited out a 2+ hr rain delay to watch the yankees beat the a's 22-9, with three grand slams (josh is the yankee fan; i prefer heartache and root for the mets).

back to manhattan for dinner with college friends at brother jimmy's.

walking back to hotel, had a unique conversation with an 8-foot tall guy (ok maybe just 7-feet).

friday, padiddled around manhattan. seriously we probably walked 11 miles, at least (i guess i can claim i did some exercise this month).

friday night, amtrak called canceling the train from nyc to syracuse "due to the weather". still not sure why a train can't continue west when a storm is coming from the east.

saturday, took amtrak to albany. rented a car and drove to syracuse.
hung out with josh's friends all day/night.

united cancelled our sunday flight home, and it was rescheduled for tuesday. walked home from bar (~1mi) just before irene (what was left of her) moved in sometime after 3am.

sunday, slept in. decided to drive home - the exorbitant one-way car rental fees were the same whether we drove 800 miles or not.

sometime after 2am monday morning, pulled in driveway, collapsed in bed.

*i am not whining or "woe is me-ing". it was an adventure of a weekend and these were such minor, minor hassles compared to what so many others are still dealing with.

tearin' up my heart

my heart is not fully n'sync.

back in late july i had a follow-up appointment with the cardiologist to go over the findings from the event monitor (which btw, cost a mere $1,200 for 30-days of use) and my echocardiogram (~$550). sadly they don't give you a picture of the heart ultrasound like you get when you have a baby ultrasound. the echo was cool though and i will be tagging along with all my friends to their ultrasounds so i can watch.

it's... twins!
just kidding. i'm not growing babies in my heart.

anyway. the doc said i had a sinus arrythmia and premature ventricular contractions (pvc's). he said that these are "common" abnormalities to have and not life-threatening. you can take medicine for them but it's a pill (or two) every day for the rest of your life (a beta blocker maybe? i don't remember), and you can't take them anyway if you have asthma (like me). my doctor said that i didn't need to take anything unless the episodes were interfering with my quality of life, so i'm glad i don't have to get any new prescriptions. they still wake me up in the middle of the night from time to time but happen less often overall.

i am still taking a magnesium supplement (500mg) daily; i started doing this after i had to have an iv of magnesium in the emergency room. a quick googling of "running+pvc's" landed me on the in motion blog. the runner (john) noticed his in the hot, humid weather and found that his magnesium levels were also low. low magnesium does not necessarily cause pvc's, but let this be a reminder to keep all of your electrolytes in check no matter what time of year!

in summary, i'll survive. hopefully these things will continue to subside and maybe even stop altogether one day. thanks for all the kind thoughts and prayers this summer.

easy canvas prints

almost 5 months ago (see, procrastination) the lovely megan of build-a-sign contacted me about trying out a custom canvas print from easy canvas prints. immediately i knew i wanted to have a photo from the honeymoon printed (we still haven't gotten around to making our wedding and honeymoon photobooks). i clicked my way through the photo-uploading and ordering on their website and within a week had a package on the porch!

i ordered a 16x20; the plan is to frame it and actually hang it on the wall... i also need to stain the table that it currently sits on, but that's a different story. friends and family have raved over the print in real life and i love it! i only wish there was a little more grass showing at the bottom, but i think once it's framed i won't notice/remember.

canvases are a popular home decor piece these days - i've seen them popping up everywhere in the months since receiving my print! thank you megan and easy canvas prints for forcing us to at least get one honeymoon photo printed out.

disclaimer: in case you couldn't already tell, i was given this canvas print in exchange for posting a link on my blog. i added the link back in april over on the right, as i was initially waiting to post a review until i had the print framed and hung. clearly that process may take me longer than a year

anyway, the product was free, but i do genuinely love how the canvas turned out. easy canvas prints prices aren't bad either. however, you can get 35% off and free shipping through this link. offer expires 8/29/11.

another disclaimer: the coupon link was emailed to me. i receive no benefit from any sales at easy canvas prints.

a's to the q's (part 2)

the second installment of the q&a meme from way back when. funny how i'm not running, yet can't convert my extra free time into blogging...

Tania of corre tania corre said...

Has not crossed your mind to do a triathlon??
it has... actually back in 2009 when my employment status was up in the air, i decided that if i got laid off i'd spend my free time training for a half ironman. have i done a triathlon before? no. do i like swimming in lakes/oceans? no.

needless to say, i didn't get laid off so i haven't had to own up to that yet. as i mentioned in the previous set of a's to the q's, i would probably do a triathlon with a pool-swim, but who knows if i'll ever conquer the open water.

TNTcoach Ken of eastside stoney creek said...

What is the closet you've been to a Kenyan?????????

this close
me and wilson kiriungi, founder/ceo of "run with kenyans"

i met the guys of "run with kenyans" at the boston marathon expo earlier this year (they contacted me because of my awesome blog name). they're a unique organization in that they host "running camps/safaris" in kenya. it's an opportunity to run with kenyan champions like cheruiyot, and the 9-day 'vacation' culminates with a kenyan marathon! stop by their booth at the chicago and nyc marathons this fall for more info.

(sorry for totally sidetracking on your question ken)

MaUrlene of mission to a(notheUr) maUrathon said...

What is your favoUrite m&m coloUr?
brown. because as matthew mcconaughey once said, "less artificial coloring, 'cause chocolate's already brown".

FavoUrite kind?
plain. pretzel is pretty good too. coconut is a huge disappointment because there's no actual coconut in them... (check the ingredient label next time you're shopping)

Have you been studying your celsius/fahrenheit and mile/KM conversion charts?
no. i'm american - we're not supposed to be bilingual, duh.

How long does it take you to get ready for work? (wake-up to out the door?)
about 40 minutes. pee, brush teeth, insert contacts, play pending moves on "words with friends", shower (sometimes), moisturize, get dressed, make lunch, run out the door.

What about a run?
a morning run? 10 minutes or so. wake up, pee, insert contacts, get dressed, find garmin, run out the door. i don't brush my teeth in case i should run into a bad guy - my morning breath might scare him off. i do brush them after the run of course.

When are you coming to Toronto?
do i get to stay at the maison de maurlene? either way, the exact date is unknown.

Diana of my life with kettlebells said...

Will you ever pick up a kettlebell again?
i plan on it! i've been hemorrhaging money on doctor bills/dentist visits so i feel guilty spending money elsewhere.

macnic of i've always been a joiner said...

What happened to your awesome art?
good question. just haven't felt as artsy lately i guess. i will try to get back in the habit of ms painting!

what i've been doing instead of ms painting and running

Kim of somewhere in the sun said...

Is geology the best way to do science in college or what? (I did the same!!)
i was too cheap to actually buy the required box of rocks, that made all those lab assignments and quizzes kind of hard. my class was the definition of "rocks for jocks" - too many football/basketball players. i was never big on science in high school (got a 1 on ap physics exam) so i figured i should avoid bio and chem. looking back, bio probably wouldn't have been that bad.

The question I keep asking everyone - what is your dream race that you have yet to run?
these aren't really races, but i'd love to do one of the andes adventures run-tours. i've had my eye on them for 5-6 years but can't quite bring myself to swipe the credit card ($2,500-$5,000).

Amanda of runninghood said...

Did you get in trouble a lot as a kid or were you a good girl?
as a kid i was pretty good. i was definitely rebellious though when high school came around... bad influences. i try to make it up to my parents now, they put up with a lot! :)

How did you get into running?
high school cross country. i believe my friend just told me i should come out and run on the team, so i did. i also played soccer and basketball in high school, but dropped basketball when i took up xc.

can you find me?

How many siblings?
3 sisters, 2 brothers-in-law

Gracie of how i complicated my life today said...

What's your favorite distance to race?
i usually think of the half-marathon first. long enough to burn a good amount of calories and earn the right to pig out a little, but not so long that you're sore and hobbling for a week. i'm also very comfortable with/enjoy the training load required for half's. i used to hate 5k's, but now that i've learned how to properly run them (ie: don't sprint the first 800 meters) they're not that bad. i think 10k's are probably my least favorite, not that you asked.

Thomas Bussiere of don't become a routine - change your course said...

Why do you run?
i run because it's who i am. i've just always ran since college. when i catch up with old friends some of the first questions i'm asked are "what marathons have you done recently" or "when's your next marathon?". my parents introduce me to their friends as "lindsay, the runner". my co-workers all know me as "that insane person who runs 26 miles for fun" (although some have supported me in the past!). it seems almost everyone defines me as "the runner". this is all fine by me because i enjoy running, most days. sure sometimes it feels like a chore but ultimately i cherish having the ability to run. i can't imagine life without running.

What drives you to perform when it gets tough during a race?
as long as it's just tired-tough (and not injury/sickness-tough), i'm motivated by the challenge against myself. i dig into a "leave it all on the course" mindset. you learn a lot about yourself when you push through those rough, painful patches like hitting the wall or mentally checking out of the race and forcing your mind back into it.

i wish i could say i think about people who motivate me, or recall stories of others overcoming huge roadblocks, but my mind doesn't function well enough mid-race to dig up those facts.

Jill of run with jill said...

When are you going to have kids?
8-ball says: ask again later. who knows. you already read this answer in the previous a-to-q post anyway.

Are you going to run Pikes Peak next year?
i don't know... i feel like i won't be in good enough shape for such a feat by next august. eventually... hopefully.

How many iPhones have you had this year?
3 i think - mine (broken), then josh's old one (broken), and then a completely new one (so far, not broken).

Do you want to run Boston again?
it depends. sometimes i think i should run it again, other days i think i'm done with it.

Do you want to run a marathon overseas someday?
heck yes. when are we going?

Just don't answer until I get back from California next Saturday (30th) cuz I can't read them before.
i hope this 4 week delay was sufficient.

Jenn of running sane said...

If you were on Survivor and could only take one item with you what would it be?
bug spray. hah. i love an adventure, but am such a girl about bugs (and reptiles...)

Does Josh have the same off the wall sense of humor as you?
he is funny but he is not as funny as me (if i do say so myself). he's witty, but less facetious than i. sometimes i think my boss doesn't realize that my humor is sarcasm and is offended - i'm trying to cut back on sarcasm in the workplace.

Will you mail me a loggerhead turtle in return for some hotdish on dry ice? My son would like one. Thank you.
i am pretty sure that tampering with the loggerheads is illegal, but in exchange for hotdish... well that is worth breaking the law!

one more batch of questions to go...

a's to the q's

i'm still not running, but i am finally answering some of your burning questions from the q&a call a couple weeks ago.

a.m. of running tri-ing living said...

Do you want to have kids? Why? If yes, how many?
no/not right now. i'm definitely not ready. this may be a selfish reason to some, but i still want to be able to do what i want when i want. also, i'd never wish my various immune deficiencies on anyone else and i'm afraid of passing any of them on to any offspring (they're not contagious).

What would be your ideal work situation?
not working? :) i'd probably get bored, eventually... i think it would be cool to research/experiment with the effects of nutrition to cure diseases or to charter sailboats but that'd be kind of hard to get a run in everyday. i know, two very not-related jobs.

Josh seems like a super guy! How did you meet?
our story is fairly bland -- we met at work in '07. i chatted him up on the work instant messenger (and in person) for a couple months before finally convincing him to hang out with me outside of work. i somehow managed to delete the "recycle bin" off my laptop at home so he came over to fix it and then we went ice skating. i also drew on his marker board which his boss sometimes commented on (and josh agrees with you on his superbness).

josh's marker board, circa 2008
the runner/elevation 'chart' was used to convince him to run his first race
and yes, there is a milkshake bringing all the boys to his marker board

Any running dreams?
of course. i want to run the marathon in the olympics. medaling would be ok too. i only need to shave at least 1hr20min off my time, no biggie. i've also always wanted to run across the us (before all these books came out making it more well-known). my dad biked across the us when he was 18, maybe it's in my genes.

Pants or dresses?
both... work keeps the a/c cranked up so even in the 100 degree summer i typically wear pants and long sleeves (oxford, cardigan, fleece jacket). i do like a cute, flowy dress in this south carolina heat/humidity too.

Favorite place to live?
the beach. a laid back one, not a miami-style one.

Any weird habits (e.g., I love to eat the chips from the chocolate chip ice cream)?
hmm. i actually saved all the chips/cookie dough bits/etc until after i ate the majority of the ice cream. i'm sure i have plenty of other weird habits... i leave my empty cereal box on top of the trashcan.

jeff of detroit runner and lauren from on the run both asked...

What your longest run ever at one time?
a marathon, 26.2. if we go by what garmin has recorded during a marathon - 26.5 or so. my longest training run was 22.7 miles.

lisa of chasin' bunnies said...

what is your favorite food (m&m's don't count!)?
from the ages of 10-22, ramen noodles. in middle school i'd eat it as an afternoon snack!! what a fatty. now i splurge on the $1.30 organic ramen-like noodles (koyo brand) from whole foods/earth fare occasionally. i also like chocolate chip cookies, but i also have a regular hankering for a mountain-sized salad.

jason of cook train eat race said...

Have you been contacted by Death Row Records?
unfortunately for them, no. but i would still entertain an offer because i'm nice.

Does Pink know that your song is better than hers?
with 174 youtube hits, she ought to be raising her 'ade!

When is your next marathon?
unknown. it's looking like 2012, unless i throw another half-ass attempt in later this fall (we all know how good i am at those!). i'm going to try to be good and resist until i am back in marathon-shape.

Are you going to be getting into triathlon at all?
probably not a "real" one. i'm soo skeeved out by swimming in water with unknown/unseen creatures. at summer camp in 5th grade i begged the counselor to let me be in the "guppie" swim group because i didn't want to have to jump off the dock and take the swim test. they must have ~~pushed me off the dock~~ convinced me to do the test because eventually i did get in and swim (and qualify for the highest level group, whatever it was). a "non-real" tri where you do the swim in a pool is quite possible.

ajh of age groups rock said...

What trashy tv show do you recommend?
i'd like to think i'm not *too* trashy, but i do enjoy lame tv shows -- teen mom, keeping up with the kardashians, giuliana & bill, greek. i watch tv via netflix, so i'm usually behind the times, but i love not having to suffer through commercials.

What is the longest you have gone without eating M+Ms?
documented? one month. i may have gone longer without them in college... i was busy spending 20%+ of my food allowance on not-groceries.

mike of failure to detect sarcasm said...

um. How are you?
i'm alright. i could be better, but i could be a lot worse too. work is slow this week, i haven't been sleeping well and i'm still not running/exercising, but my skin is feeling 2% better. every morsel of improvement is nice.

ginny of happy feet 26.2 said...

Which marathon do you want to meet me at, Tupelo, MS; Mt. Desert, ME; or Baton Rouge, LA?
i haven't run any of those states yet, so all of the above?

teamarcia of the studly runner said...

How many marathons have you done? 10
Which ones are left on your bucket list?
i've never actually made a marathon-bucket-list. while training for my first marathon back in 2005-2006, i got a wild hair and decided i wanted to run one in every state. so, i guess the remaining 40 states (+dc) are on my 'bucket list'. it would be kind of cool to run all the world marathon majors (especially in one "season"). one marathon that i definitely want to run at some point is the texas marathon, simply for the enormous medal.

kevin of ironman by thirty said...

a.m. beat me to it, but since you give me so much crap about it, I figured I'd ask you too. Kids? When? How many?
no/not right now. unknown. 0-unknown. (for a longer answer, scroll back up)

lauren from on the run said...

Do you have pets, if so, what?
i do not. i am allergic to cats and dogs (and rabbits and hamsters... etc etc). i had a dog at one point, a schnoodle, he now lives with my mom and dad. my mom loves him, my dad claims he doesn't. back when i used to go to the gym before work (what a concept) it meant putting him in a crate from ~5:30am until ~6:00pm. i didn't think it was fair for him to spend so much of his life locked up in a crate.

buddy circa 2007, i think?

When did you begin running as a habit?
as a habit - i would have to say around 2004 with a college roommate. started logging basic stats (time and distance) in 2005 and haven't looked back since.

Do you have a favorite ice cream, if you hate ice cream, how about desserts in general (besides M&Ms)?
mint chocolate chip! or chocolate chip cookie dough. now that i'm (mostly) dairy free - rice dream makes a "mint carob chip" that isn't too bad. i'm definitely a sweet-toothed person, but i have gotten a little "snooty" and am no longer tempted by grocery-store baked goods. homemade chocolate chip cookies are so much better! (josh makes me these vegan ones)

Favorite marathon? / Worst marathon?
it depends in what sense...

my first marathon, myrtle beach, was painful. i was undertrained for the distance and my muscles ached. but then again, it was my first and that has to hold some water.
baltimore i don't remember much about. it was overly crowded at the finish, but someone gave out gummy bears around mile 22 which was awesome.
sunburst (south bend, in) was hot, but it was also my first sub-4 and the finish is on the 50-yd line of the notre dame field.
chicago was fun because i did it with my best friend and we had shirts made at niketown, but it was hot and technically the race was canceled.
atlanta was my first bq and held on thanksgiving day so i could eat whatever i wanted. however, we had to rush off after the race to get home in time to eat both thanksgiving dinners.
disney was interesting because i'd just run a half marathon the day before, but it was a lot of fun to stop for pictures with the characters.
new york was great because it is my current-pr, but i also threw up during it.
boston wasn't fun because i didn't feel good and spent the majority of the race trying to convince myself to not-quit, but it's a race with history and the crowd support was phenomenal.
kentucky derby was interesting because it was 5 days after boston, but it was cool because it was 5 days after boston and i ran a better time. it was also cool to run through churchhill downs.
green bay sucked because of the insane headwind from miles 16-23, but i did get to run on the packer's field, wear a bedazzled sweatshirt and spend a weekend with a good blog friend.

so i guess i'd have to say atlanta is my favorite, though disney and nyc are also special to me. worst? chicago and boston. chicago organizers should have been more prepared and boston, well i wish i'd felt better in the months leading up to it.

alright. enough for now. more to come later! feel free to ask more questions.

great greenville race

back in july, kathrin saw a living social deal for a team entry into the "great greenville race". inspired by cbs' "amazing race", ggr is a scavenger hunt around downtown greenville (sc). you must successfully solve trivia questions, riddles, puzzles and special tasks to find your way to the finish line. we put together an all-girl team, the "awesome blossoms". i attempted to study before hand like marlene did for her toronto city chase, but ultimately was too lazy.

(sidenote: i was googling "awesome blossom" for t-shirt ideas and found the urban dictionary definition. these are not quite the definitions we had in mind)

this was before running around in the 99 degree humidity

jess and i made team t-shirts. the puff paint was more subtle than we wanted it to be though.

a few days before the race, the organizers sent out a riddle that you had to solve in order to find the race's starting location.

"it's not a hospital, but you'll find doctor's there.
it's not a store or hotel, but people check out daily.
it has more stories than any other building in downtown greenville.
where is it?"

josh solved it in 0.2 seconds so he was recruited as our phone-a-friend.

after debriefing, we received our first clue/set of trivia questions and figured out we needed to go to the art museum to solve them. a volunteer checked our answers and gave us our next clue (if you were wrong you could try to fix your answers a couple times before getting a penalty).

our next clue/task was "look for your book" - with 5-6 authors listed. we split up and flipped through books by the listed authors until one teammate found an envelope in one of the books. this was our next clue and our bonus questions! each bonus question was worth a set number of points, and each point on a correct answer took one minute off your finish time. if you answered all bonus questions correctly you could shave 30 minutes off your time.

a task at the beaded frog

we set off to find the trivia answers on our next clue and i multitasked on the bonus questions while we walked (though this was a race, we only ran 2-3 times for a short stretch). i texted some questions to josh and we found some answers along the way (technically all the answers were findable downtown). one bonus opportunity was to be one of the first 5 teams to stop by the barkery bistro (a dog-supply store) for a treat and 3 bonus point/3 minutes off your finish time, but when we checked in for that the store owner said that nothing had ever been dropped off. i had her sign our sheet in hopes that it would still count.

we continued solving the clues and working our way around the streets of downtown. thankfully there were no gross tasks like eating bugs, holding spiders, etc. eventually we had a long trek to the west end to shoeless joe jackson's house, where we deciphered clues which resulted in a phone number. calling the number gave us a recording with the location of the finish line. hot, thirsty and ready to be done, we walked (ran a little) over to the finish. there were a few teams there already, but the elusive bonus questions hadn't been tallied yet.

post-race: hot, thirsty, tired

once the scores were tallied and bonus points credited, we came in 2nd place! (the bonus questions knocked off about 16 minutes, i'm not sure how many we attempted to answer) not too shabby for four girls who don't live in town. we received our medals and were told to head over to the chocolate moose for our prize - a box of cupcakes!

...which we inhaled.

contrary mary

way back in april, i planted 6 squash, 6 cucumber and 6 green pepper in an egg carton. each successfully sprouted a seedling, which were transplanted to clay pots and a planter on the patio. i pissed most of them off and managed to kill everything but 1 squash plant and 2 cucumber plants. i wanted to have a more organized/bigger garden but procrastinated too long (april is a late start for planting down here). a small planter-garden is probably good start for my black thumbs anyway.

10-day old cucumbers - first to sprout
these thrived in the egg carton, not so much the great outdoors

i've picked a few bad squashes (which i threw into the yard),

but i've had some good ones too.

growing bigger - squash on left, cucumber on right

somewhat surviving
(squash on left, cucumber on right)

an organic, homegrown dinner
well, the pasta was from a box.

the harvest has been slim these past two weeks though, probably because we haven't exactly watered the plants. they need water? who knew?

july 2011: um yeah about that

july 2011
total mileage: 59.20 (!!!)
time spent running: 9hrs 18min
days off: 20 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) although, slight improvement from 2010
avg temp: 80.92
trips of the month: week at the beach, charleston, block island/connecticut
one "race": great greenville race (more on this in another post!)

basically i had a good week of workouts while at the beach, a lazy week of nothing, a semi-decent week of running, and the rest of the month off due to (non-injury) pain/discomfort. i've actually been ok with all the not-running; i'm telling myself i needed the time off. i could do without the weight creep though. it is a little frustrating though because it seems like everyone else (/all of you) runs non-stop all year long, while i have to have these random annoying health issues. i'm thankful they're at least minor issues, but it'd be nice to have no-issues. i could temporarily cover up the discomfort with prednisone but i'd prefer to not pump 'roids in my body.

so, since there still isn't any running to talk about, how 'bout some pictures?

my dad, sister and i flew up to connecticut for a cousin's wedding. we went out to block island for a day and the weather channel app on my phone registered 106° (feels like 131°). such pleasant weather to spend the day biking (leisurely, about 8mph) around the island!