I'm feeling a bit discouraged.
We had a long run scheduled for yesterday - which was rough anyway since we were out of town visiting the Nerd Husband's family. We figured we'd be able to get out with the nice weather, though, and put in our 4.5 miles. However, overeating and not eating things we were used to caused some problems to crop up, and NH had to back out of the long run. We were going to just take a break and get back to it, but then his brother had driven in to visit. So it didn't seem right to go back out and ignore family that we rarely get to see.
So we completed 2.4 miles of the 4.5 mile run. We plan on doing the other 2.1 miles tonight, just to say we completed it. But it doesn't feel "real" to me.
I'm worried for the NH because he hasn't really been able to finish any of the long runs due to health issues. Some days are better than others, and he's on top of the world. Then there are days that are just...like Sunday. They suck. It's discouraging to him, and I keep trying to talk him up and help him out. But I don't know what else I can do to help.
I really want to finish this race because it's my own personal goal, but I would feel awful if I would have to leave him behind to do it. So I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Add to that the fact that I'm personally upset by some other family stuff that's going on, and it's just not making for a very good Monday, really. At all. I feel kind of useless and sad and blah, and that's not a good mental attitude to have. I know that. But I'm not sure what to do about it right now when all of these signs are pointing to "you're not prepared and you can't handle this".
I guess we'll just keep going. Do our best when it gets here. And if we're swept - oh well.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Friday, March 25, 2016
For the First Time in Forever
Earlier this week, I shared how I had to (yet again) adjust the training schedule I had laid out for the Star Wars Dark Side 10K. Everything seemed to be blocking us from regular training sessions, including injury. Today, I am proud to say that we completed the first two cross-training sessions that I had listed on the new schedule.
And then, last night, the Nerd Husband and I got out for the "First Time In Forever" to run (fun little Frozen reference there...totally accidental, and then I realized it - it made me giggle). It was hard to push off that guilty feeling that we'd been falling behind on our training, but taking the break really made more sense than pushing it through illness and injury. Much better to sit out, rest, and get back at it slowly but surely. We talked it out and figured we'd adjust our walk/run interval slightly until we got back into the groove of things. Instead of our traditional 30 sec run / 45 sec walk, we went with a 30 sec run / 60 sec walk.
The results of the revised training were very interesting this week, to say the least.
First off, in our past sessions, I realized that I tend to pick up my pace when I'm run/walking on my own versus when the NH is with me. My lap times were quicker when I was going solo, which I thought was really weird because he is traditionally faster than me in walking and running. This week, the NH was walking on his own because my foot just wasn't having any of it. So I would do strength training while he walked/ran solo around the track.
He came up to me after the first time he did this and said, "So I found out something interesting. If I walk at a really good clip, my times are *insert time here*."
I kind of laughed at him and said, "That's really strange. So you're walking faster by yourself than when I'm with you. Which is weird because I did the same thing when I was walking solo."
So somehow - we hold each other back. Which was a new and weird realization for the both of us. We were both compensating our pace for the other person when it really wasn't necessary. I think that has actually stuck with us, and we're going to hold on to that knowledge.
The other interesting thing came from adjusting our pace down to a 30 sec run / 60 sec walk. We ran a solid 2 miles - no more, no less. We weren't winded at the end, and we felt pretty darned good considering it had been forever since we'd done this! Then I checked our time.
28 minutes and 43 seconds. A 14:21 min/mile pace. We were doing worse than that on some days that we were doing 30/45 second intervals. Holy cow!
So the moral here is I think we're training all sorts of wrong, but hey - practice makes perfect. We're making as educated of an attempt at this as we can, but we're still learning. We've also decided we're going to stick with this pace for now, get back up to speed, and then we'll make a decision from there.
All in all, though, we're pretty darned excited and back at it again!
And then, last night, the Nerd Husband and I got out for the "First Time In Forever" to run (fun little Frozen reference there...totally accidental, and then I realized it - it made me giggle). It was hard to push off that guilty feeling that we'd been falling behind on our training, but taking the break really made more sense than pushing it through illness and injury. Much better to sit out, rest, and get back at it slowly but surely. We talked it out and figured we'd adjust our walk/run interval slightly until we got back into the groove of things. Instead of our traditional 30 sec run / 45 sec walk, we went with a 30 sec run / 60 sec walk.
The results of the revised training were very interesting this week, to say the least.
First off, in our past sessions, I realized that I tend to pick up my pace when I'm run/walking on my own versus when the NH is with me. My lap times were quicker when I was going solo, which I thought was really weird because he is traditionally faster than me in walking and running. This week, the NH was walking on his own because my foot just wasn't having any of it. So I would do strength training while he walked/ran solo around the track.
He came up to me after the first time he did this and said, "So I found out something interesting. If I walk at a really good clip, my times are *insert time here*."
I kind of laughed at him and said, "That's really strange. So you're walking faster by yourself than when I'm with you. Which is weird because I did the same thing when I was walking solo."
So somehow - we hold each other back. Which was a new and weird realization for the both of us. We were both compensating our pace for the other person when it really wasn't necessary. I think that has actually stuck with us, and we're going to hold on to that knowledge.
The other interesting thing came from adjusting our pace down to a 30 sec run / 60 sec walk. We ran a solid 2 miles - no more, no less. We weren't winded at the end, and we felt pretty darned good considering it had been forever since we'd done this! Then I checked our time.
28 minutes and 43 seconds. A 14:21 min/mile pace. We were doing worse than that on some days that we were doing 30/45 second intervals. Holy cow!
So the moral here is I think we're training all sorts of wrong, but hey - practice makes perfect. We're making as educated of an attempt at this as we can, but we're still learning. We've also decided we're going to stick with this pace for now, get back up to speed, and then we'll make a decision from there.
All in all, though, we're pretty darned excited and back at it again!
Monday, March 21, 2016
Updated Training Schedule
Annnnnnd we're back. With another not-so-exciting update from the land of sickness and despair!
Wow - 'cause that wasn't a depressing intro. ;)
Seriously, it's been not-so-great in the 10K training aspect of life right now. The Nerd Husband's illness was a setback. My cold was a setback. My resulting bronchitis was a setback. My hours of sleep to get over said cold and bronchitis were a setback.
Then came the weird ankle/toe pain of last week that lasted over the weekend and into today. That, too, was (and still might be?) a setback. The weekend was spent icing the thing to the point of Hoth numbness and rejoicing the fact that I found a tube of Bengay cream in the medicine cabinet. The cat was quite appalled at my lethal peppermint smell; it was amusing. However, the pain associated with this setback was (and still occasional is) not amusing. I'm attributing the ankle/toe issue to a case of bad footwear - probably a pair of cheap boots that I wore to work last week. So I'm now making it a priority to not wear boots to work before April 16th. Nope. Just the Dr. Scholl's old lady work shoes for me, buddy. I also decided to order myself a new pair of tennis shoes for walking from my car to work each day. My old ones are starting to wear down, and I really want to take care of my feet for this race.
Unfortunately, all of these setbacks mean that I had to revise the schedule. Again. I know that I need to ease back into this whole running thing, and the last "long run" I did was 4.25 miles. The NH didn't make it to the end of that run; he managed 3.14 (ha! PI!) miles before he had to sit out due to allergy/breathing issues. That run also led directly into my bout of bronchitis, so we both really aren't doing so well. So I'm trying to ease us back into running, gently increasing the mileage as well as working on our overall strength. I think we just need to build our bodies back up to being awesome, and it's going to take a bit of work. Knowing that, I decided to throw in some cross-training days and adjust the schedule from our original Galloway training.
The new schedule for this week looks a bit like this:
It's definitely going to be a challenge to get back up and ready to do all of this. Plus, we aren't used to going to the community center this often. I'm keeping my thoughts positive, though. Hopefully I can keep the NH's thoughts positive, as well.
In other news, I finally found a pair of running shorts that fit my properly! I went to JC Penney's this weekend, and they happened to have their shorts out on the racks. I picked up a pair of Xersion quick-dri compression shorts on sale, and I also found a pair of Nike shorts that I think might work out well! I'm a little nervous about the Nike ones when it comes to running, but they fit well for everyday fitness and just overall, so I picked them up. I'll test both out and see what works best.
Now that I have shorts, that allows me to figure out where to hem the running skirt for the costume. I put on the compression shorts last night, and I marked about where I think the hemline should be on the skirt. I need to find my original pattern piece, mark my new, rounded hemline, and then finallly hem the darned thing. That will also allow me to get going on the tabbard. So I think things are finally going to move along on that, as long as I find the energy to get up off my butt and get to it.
We also got our magic bands in the mail last Friday. They're the newer model of Magic Band, and you can definitely tell a difference. Much lighter, thinner, and less clunky then the first version. Plus, mine is purple. So, you know, it's already superior to the old ones. ;) However, we're still awaiting our Magical Express paperwork. I called last week to confirm that we were set up for ME, but I never did ask if they had sent the documentation. I figured I would give them until this week, and then I would call just to make sure it was on its way.
I can't believe this is coming up as quickly as it is. It seems like we were waiting on April forever, and now I'm freaking out because I don't feel like we're trained enough, prepared enough, etc. But it will get here, and we will be where we will be.
Hopefully, we'll be okay.
Wow - 'cause that wasn't a depressing intro. ;)
Seriously, it's been not-so-great in the 10K training aspect of life right now. The Nerd Husband's illness was a setback. My cold was a setback. My resulting bronchitis was a setback. My hours of sleep to get over said cold and bronchitis were a setback.
Then came the weird ankle/toe pain of last week that lasted over the weekend and into today. That, too, was (and still might be?) a setback. The weekend was spent icing the thing to the point of Hoth numbness and rejoicing the fact that I found a tube of Bengay cream in the medicine cabinet. The cat was quite appalled at my lethal peppermint smell; it was amusing. However, the pain associated with this setback was (and still occasional is) not amusing. I'm attributing the ankle/toe issue to a case of bad footwear - probably a pair of cheap boots that I wore to work last week. So I'm now making it a priority to not wear boots to work before April 16th. Nope. Just the Dr. Scholl's old lady work shoes for me, buddy. I also decided to order myself a new pair of tennis shoes for walking from my car to work each day. My old ones are starting to wear down, and I really want to take care of my feet for this race.
Unfortunately, all of these setbacks mean that I had to revise the schedule. Again. I know that I need to ease back into this whole running thing, and the last "long run" I did was 4.25 miles. The NH didn't make it to the end of that run; he managed 3.14 (ha! PI!) miles before he had to sit out due to allergy/breathing issues. That run also led directly into my bout of bronchitis, so we both really aren't doing so well. So I'm trying to ease us back into running, gently increasing the mileage as well as working on our overall strength. I think we just need to build our bodies back up to being awesome, and it's going to take a bit of work. Knowing that, I decided to throw in some cross-training days and adjust the schedule from our original Galloway training.
The new schedule for this week looks a bit like this:
| Table Header | Table Header |
|---|---|
| Monday, March 21, 2016 | 15 min run; 25 min cross-train |
| Tuesday, March 22, 2016 | 20 min run; 20 min cross-train |
| Wednesday, March 23, 2016 | 2 miles |
| Thursday, March 24, 2016 | REST |
| Friday, March 25, 2016 | 45 min cross-train |
| Saturday, March 26, 2016 | REST |
| Sunday, March 27, 2016 | 4.5 miles |
It's definitely going to be a challenge to get back up and ready to do all of this. Plus, we aren't used to going to the community center this often. I'm keeping my thoughts positive, though. Hopefully I can keep the NH's thoughts positive, as well.
In other news, I finally found a pair of running shorts that fit my properly! I went to JC Penney's this weekend, and they happened to have their shorts out on the racks. I picked up a pair of Xersion quick-dri compression shorts on sale, and I also found a pair of Nike shorts that I think might work out well! I'm a little nervous about the Nike ones when it comes to running, but they fit well for everyday fitness and just overall, so I picked them up. I'll test both out and see what works best.
Now that I have shorts, that allows me to figure out where to hem the running skirt for the costume. I put on the compression shorts last night, and I marked about where I think the hemline should be on the skirt. I need to find my original pattern piece, mark my new, rounded hemline, and then finallly hem the darned thing. That will also allow me to get going on the tabbard. So I think things are finally going to move along on that, as long as I find the energy to get up off my butt and get to it.
We also got our magic bands in the mail last Friday. They're the newer model of Magic Band, and you can definitely tell a difference. Much lighter, thinner, and less clunky then the first version. Plus, mine is purple. So, you know, it's already superior to the old ones. ;) However, we're still awaiting our Magical Express paperwork. I called last week to confirm that we were set up for ME, but I never did ask if they had sent the documentation. I figured I would give them until this week, and then I would call just to make sure it was on its way.
I can't believe this is coming up as quickly as it is. It seems like we were waiting on April forever, and now I'm freaking out because I don't feel like we're trained enough, prepared enough, etc. But it will get here, and we will be where we will be.
Hopefully, we'll be okay.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Flowers and Gardens and Vader - Oh My!
In exactly one month, the runDisney Star Wars Dark Side race weekend kicks off with the 5K race on Friday morning. That very same morning, the Nerd Husband and I will be on what I like to call the "butt crack of dawn" flight to Florida. We will arrive at 7:35 AM.
Yes. You read that right. And yes. We are crazy.
This trip is kind of an exciting one for both of us because it's incorporating so many awesome and wonderful things.
First, the inaugural runDisney Star Wars Dark Side races. As I've mentioned before, we'll be participating in the 10K race on Saturday morning. This is the first time either one of us has raced this distance, and I consider this a personal fitness goal. This is also the first time either one of us has raced at Disney. I've thought about it in the past. Then I talked about it in the past. Then it happened now. So while this might be Walt Disney World's inaugural Dark Side race, this is our inaugural Disney Dark Side 10K race on all levels. That's pretty special in my book of awesome.
Second, this trip falls right at the time of the NH's birthday. The day after the race, we'll get to celebrate his birthday on his actual birthday at Disney. That might sound kind of simple, but it feels kind of awesome. I asked the NH if there was anything he wanted to do for his birthday or anywhere special he'd like to eat. He chose Be Our Guest restaurant for dinner at Magic Kingdom, so that's our one major plan for the day. We have a couple of FastPasses for that day, as well, and we'll just come and go as we please. I might also have a surprise or two up my sleeve, but those are still in the works. More to come on that later. Much later.
Third, this trip marks the beginning of our "Year of Disney to Celebrate Five Years of Marriage". That was my title I just now came up with it. It's not great. Actually, it's pretty bad. I have a headache, and you'll have to forgive me. The good title vibes are not yet flowing through my brain. But this year marks our fifth wedding anniversary, and we decided that we were going to visit Florida at different times throughout the year, buy annual passes to the parks, and just spend our vacation time down there. He's pretty excited about it (every time I turn around, he's looking up another dining menu), and I have to admit that I am, too. I think it will be a great year.
Fourth, this trip falls during an event we have never been to - the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. We are garden people. We have two garden boxes in our backyard which ususally contain tomatoes, green pepper, red peppers, jalapenos, any other kind of cool pepper we like, green beans, green onions, lettuce, herbs, and - on occasion - corn. (I'm still learning on the corn. It's been an experiment the last two years, and I've had...yeah, basically no success. But we got half an ear last year! So that's...something.) We also love flowers, though we honestly don't take the time to do them around our own home. We have a rose bush, a big old rose "tree" in the back yard, and I have some perennial phlox that I planted a while back. When I do plant annuals, they tend to revisit a year or so later - like the rogue snapdragons that decided to nicely invade the walkway up to our front door. Never planted them there. Never even planted them in the ground. Planted them near there - in a freaking pot. Weird plants. Anyway, Flower and Garden Festival - we're excied.
Fifth...well - the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. But this time, we're coming for the food, baby! I saw this article on the Edible Gardens which will feature some of the fruits and veggies being used at the outdoor kitchens around EPCOT. It made me super excited - like a little kid excited. I obviously know what some of things look like, but I can honestly say I've never seen how pineapples, coconuts and mangos grow. I think it will be really cool - food for our bellies and our brains.
Now we just have to wait. And wait some more. That's always the hard part.
Yes. You read that right. And yes. We are crazy.
This trip is kind of an exciting one for both of us because it's incorporating so many awesome and wonderful things.
First, the inaugural runDisney Star Wars Dark Side races. As I've mentioned before, we'll be participating in the 10K race on Saturday morning. This is the first time either one of us has raced this distance, and I consider this a personal fitness goal. This is also the first time either one of us has raced at Disney. I've thought about it in the past. Then I talked about it in the past. Then it happened now. So while this might be Walt Disney World's inaugural Dark Side race, this is our inaugural Disney Dark Side 10K race on all levels. That's pretty special in my book of awesome.
Second, this trip falls right at the time of the NH's birthday. The day after the race, we'll get to celebrate his birthday on his actual birthday at Disney. That might sound kind of simple, but it feels kind of awesome. I asked the NH if there was anything he wanted to do for his birthday or anywhere special he'd like to eat. He chose Be Our Guest restaurant for dinner at Magic Kingdom, so that's our one major plan for the day. We have a couple of FastPasses for that day, as well, and we'll just come and go as we please. I might also have a surprise or two up my sleeve, but those are still in the works. More to come on that later. Much later.
Third, this trip marks the beginning of our "Year of Disney to Celebrate Five Years of Marriage". That was my title I just now came up with it. It's not great. Actually, it's pretty bad. I have a headache, and you'll have to forgive me. The good title vibes are not yet flowing through my brain. But this year marks our fifth wedding anniversary, and we decided that we were going to visit Florida at different times throughout the year, buy annual passes to the parks, and just spend our vacation time down there. He's pretty excited about it (every time I turn around, he's looking up another dining menu), and I have to admit that I am, too. I think it will be a great year.
Fourth, this trip falls during an event we have never been to - the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. We are garden people. We have two garden boxes in our backyard which ususally contain tomatoes, green pepper, red peppers, jalapenos, any other kind of cool pepper we like, green beans, green onions, lettuce, herbs, and - on occasion - corn. (I'm still learning on the corn. It's been an experiment the last two years, and I've had...yeah, basically no success. But we got half an ear last year! So that's...something.) We also love flowers, though we honestly don't take the time to do them around our own home. We have a rose bush, a big old rose "tree" in the back yard, and I have some perennial phlox that I planted a while back. When I do plant annuals, they tend to revisit a year or so later - like the rogue snapdragons that decided to nicely invade the walkway up to our front door. Never planted them there. Never even planted them in the ground. Planted them near there - in a freaking pot. Weird plants. Anyway, Flower and Garden Festival - we're excied.
Fifth...well - the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. But this time, we're coming for the food, baby! I saw this article on the Edible Gardens which will feature some of the fruits and veggies being used at the outdoor kitchens around EPCOT. It made me super excited - like a little kid excited. I obviously know what some of things look like, but I can honestly say I've never seen how pineapples, coconuts and mangos grow. I think it will be really cool - food for our bellies and our brains.
Now we just have to wait. And wait some more. That's always the hard part.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Loosen That Belt Buckle - It's Pi Day!
Some progress and some setbacks. I think that's the way life just tends to work, honestly. I'm trying not to let it get to me too much.
No cross-training happened on Sunday due to the Nerd Husband coming down with some sort of bug. Not sure what the bug was or is, but it definitely put him out of commission for the day. I was a little bummed that we couldn't go (and really bummed he wasn't feeling well), but I have to admit that I was also pretty darned tired. I did get out and get to the grocery store, and I stood on my feet for a while making pie dough for Pi Day today. Does that count as exercise? I'm going to say "yes" because then I will feel less guilty.
My bronchitis is still there - making itself known every now and then in little coughing spits. My lungs don't hurt quite like they did, but there's still some gunk that's clingy around in there. That's the annoying part. We're scheduled to go to the community center on Tuesday, so maybe that will actually be able to happen. Not sure about the running, but maybe some more cross-training just to get back up to speed.
I did have success in the running costume, though! I have been having some fits with trying to figure out how to make this darned belt buckle for Asajj. I tried a couple of different things. Air dry clay ended up being too heavy and bulky to affix to the costume and run in. I tried working with some actual air clay (lighter stuff), but I'm really not good at this whole sculpting thing. I ended up scrapping that idea and going back to my sewing. I had a basic design idea, but I could not figure out how to get the imitate the "raised edge" that goes around the buckle. Finally, I figured it meant I had to learn something new - bias tape.
I've never worked with bias tape before, honestly - and to be honest again, I have never cut anything on the bias until I made this running skirt. So I'm learning all sorts of new things with this project, I guess! I bought some bias tape to check it out at JoAnn's, but it was the wrong color for my fabric. So then that meant...I had to make my bias tape. Myself. Oh boy. Luckily, I found this handy little doodad at JoAnn's for 40% off, and I figured out how to make my own bias tape...with a little trial and error. Thankfully, I didn't need a lot, and I actually got the darned stuff sewed on and looking pretty decent without too maybe stitch ripping sessions. To attach the buckle to the belt, I added a strap of black elastic onto the back of the buckle. So the whole thing will keep its overall shape, I cut up two circle of plastic canvas, rolled them up, and stuffed them into the belt before I stitched it closed by hand. It's awesome. I love it. It'll work.
Couple more things to work on regarding this costume now. I have to figure out where to hem the skirt and complete that. That will affect how long the tabard is. I'll have to cut that, draw out my stencil pattern, and paint that on there. That will take some time with drying and coats of paint and whatnot. Then I have to figure out how to attach that tabard to the belt. Not sure how to do that just yet, but I'll figure it out. I also realized I have to adjust my belt clasp so that it is hidden by the belt buckle. This will require a bit of cutting on the belt, some more stitching, and then finally stitching on the plastic clasp pieces. I think that will be okay.
So much to do. And this is the stuff that doesn't really matter - the running should matter. Well, the running does matter, but unfortunately, life has dictated that the running can't matter right now. Getting well is top priority, and I'd rather hold off, work on easy things, and then get back at it when the NH and I are both ready.
Oh, and hey - happy Pi Day! I'm not sure how to make a Star Wars or Disney related pie (or pi) joke, so I'm just gonna leave it at that. ;)
No cross-training happened on Sunday due to the Nerd Husband coming down with some sort of bug. Not sure what the bug was or is, but it definitely put him out of commission for the day. I was a little bummed that we couldn't go (and really bummed he wasn't feeling well), but I have to admit that I was also pretty darned tired. I did get out and get to the grocery store, and I stood on my feet for a while making pie dough for Pi Day today. Does that count as exercise? I'm going to say "yes" because then I will feel less guilty.
My bronchitis is still there - making itself known every now and then in little coughing spits. My lungs don't hurt quite like they did, but there's still some gunk that's clingy around in there. That's the annoying part. We're scheduled to go to the community center on Tuesday, so maybe that will actually be able to happen. Not sure about the running, but maybe some more cross-training just to get back up to speed.
I did have success in the running costume, though! I have been having some fits with trying to figure out how to make this darned belt buckle for Asajj. I tried a couple of different things. Air dry clay ended up being too heavy and bulky to affix to the costume and run in. I tried working with some actual air clay (lighter stuff), but I'm really not good at this whole sculpting thing. I ended up scrapping that idea and going back to my sewing. I had a basic design idea, but I could not figure out how to get the imitate the "raised edge" that goes around the buckle. Finally, I figured it meant I had to learn something new - bias tape.
I've never worked with bias tape before, honestly - and to be honest again, I have never cut anything on the bias until I made this running skirt. So I'm learning all sorts of new things with this project, I guess! I bought some bias tape to check it out at JoAnn's, but it was the wrong color for my fabric. So then that meant...I had to make my bias tape. Myself. Oh boy. Luckily, I found this handy little doodad at JoAnn's for 40% off, and I figured out how to make my own bias tape...with a little trial and error. Thankfully, I didn't need a lot, and I actually got the darned stuff sewed on and looking pretty decent without too maybe stitch ripping sessions. To attach the buckle to the belt, I added a strap of black elastic onto the back of the buckle. So the whole thing will keep its overall shape, I cut up two circle of plastic canvas, rolled them up, and stuffed them into the belt before I stitched it closed by hand. It's awesome. I love it. It'll work.
Couple more things to work on regarding this costume now. I have to figure out where to hem the skirt and complete that. That will affect how long the tabard is. I'll have to cut that, draw out my stencil pattern, and paint that on there. That will take some time with drying and coats of paint and whatnot. Then I have to figure out how to attach that tabard to the belt. Not sure how to do that just yet, but I'll figure it out. I also realized I have to adjust my belt clasp so that it is hidden by the belt buckle. This will require a bit of cutting on the belt, some more stitching, and then finally stitching on the plastic clasp pieces. I think that will be okay.
So much to do. And this is the stuff that doesn't really matter - the running should matter. Well, the running does matter, but unfortunately, life has dictated that the running can't matter right now. Getting well is top priority, and I'd rather hold off, work on easy things, and then get back at it when the NH and I are both ready.
Oh, and hey - happy Pi Day! I'm not sure how to make a Star Wars or Disney related pie (or pi) joke, so I'm just gonna leave it at that. ;)
Thursday, March 10, 2016
"Sick Have I Become..."
Bronchitis.
Yep. That's what I heard on Tuesday when I finally went into the doctor because breathing was becoming way too difficult, and I was really starting to feel more and more like crazy as Monday labored into Tuesday. Not much you can do for bronchitis except rest, but I was given some cough syrup so I can sleep as well as some steroids and an inhaler to open up my breathing passages. Oh, it's good times in the sickie household this winter, lemme tell you.
So the running is going on the back burner for now because I think that will just make things worse. I'm actually thinking that's what prompted this to move to my chest in the first place - the 4.25 mile run on Sunday. I was feeling better before then, and I think I might have just abused my lungs a bit. They protested. I heard them. We're resting. The run for Tuesday didn't happen because I was home sick, and I stayed home sick on Wednesday to rest up.
Tonight's 30 minute run will turn into cross-training. The Nerd Husband and I talked it over, and we're thinking 15 minutes of walking, 15 minutes on a bike or something, and 15 minutes more of walking. I'm actually hoping to put in a bit of weight training in there because my arms are missing it. Basically, anything that doesn't overtax my lungs is what I'll be doing. Hopefully that will help keep my active and up my immune system and strength so I can get over this and get back to it.
Unfortunately, this called for yet another change in training schedule, and I'm nervous about it. But it is what it is, and NH and I will do our best no matter what. The schedule looks a bit like this now:
It's seriously the best I think I can do given everything we've had to deal with. It puts us as close to the 10K distance marker as I think I can safely put us given our current position, so I'm hoping it will be okay.
It seems the runDisney is ditching the photo provider MarathonFoto, and they will be using their own Photo Pass system instead. There is an awesome interview article about it over on AllEars. This switch apparently starts with our Dark Side races, so I guess we get to be the guinea pigs. I'm curious how this whole thing will go down because - really - all of this is new to me. So I guess we'll see what happen.
The biggest thing that caught the NH's (and my) ears about this switch is that "...if you are a Gold, Platinum, Platinum Plus or Premier Walt Disney World passholder, the photos will be included as a benefit." Considering this is our 5th wedding anniversary year, we were going to do a Year of Disney and buy annual passes in April anyway, so this will definitely work in favor of our plan. I'm kind of happy for that, honestly. This is a once in a lifetime kind of thing, and it would be very neat to have pictures of it.
No news on the costume front because - frankly - I haven't felt like moving. The only thing I did was take apart the stitching on the belt piece I was working on because I didn't like how it was turning out. I'm going back to the drawing board on that one, but I'll get it worked out.
Just like everything else. In time.
Yep. That's what I heard on Tuesday when I finally went into the doctor because breathing was becoming way too difficult, and I was really starting to feel more and more like crazy as Monday labored into Tuesday. Not much you can do for bronchitis except rest, but I was given some cough syrup so I can sleep as well as some steroids and an inhaler to open up my breathing passages. Oh, it's good times in the sickie household this winter, lemme tell you.
So the running is going on the back burner for now because I think that will just make things worse. I'm actually thinking that's what prompted this to move to my chest in the first place - the 4.25 mile run on Sunday. I was feeling better before then, and I think I might have just abused my lungs a bit. They protested. I heard them. We're resting. The run for Tuesday didn't happen because I was home sick, and I stayed home sick on Wednesday to rest up.
Tonight's 30 minute run will turn into cross-training. The Nerd Husband and I talked it over, and we're thinking 15 minutes of walking, 15 minutes on a bike or something, and 15 minutes more of walking. I'm actually hoping to put in a bit of weight training in there because my arms are missing it. Basically, anything that doesn't overtax my lungs is what I'll be doing. Hopefully that will help keep my active and up my immune system and strength so I can get over this and get back to it.
Unfortunately, this called for yet another change in training schedule, and I'm nervous about it. But it is what it is, and NH and I will do our best no matter what. The schedule looks a bit like this now:
It's seriously the best I think I can do given everything we've had to deal with. It puts us as close to the 10K distance marker as I think I can safely put us given our current position, so I'm hoping it will be okay.
It seems the runDisney is ditching the photo provider MarathonFoto, and they will be using their own Photo Pass system instead. There is an awesome interview article about it over on AllEars. This switch apparently starts with our Dark Side races, so I guess we get to be the guinea pigs. I'm curious how this whole thing will go down because - really - all of this is new to me. So I guess we'll see what happen.
The biggest thing that caught the NH's (and my) ears about this switch is that "...if you are a Gold, Platinum, Platinum Plus or Premier Walt Disney World passholder, the photos will be included as a benefit." Considering this is our 5th wedding anniversary year, we were going to do a Year of Disney and buy annual passes in April anyway, so this will definitely work in favor of our plan. I'm kind of happy for that, honestly. This is a once in a lifetime kind of thing, and it would be very neat to have pictures of it.
No news on the costume front because - frankly - I haven't felt like moving. The only thing I did was take apart the stitching on the belt piece I was working on because I didn't like how it was turning out. I'm going back to the drawing board on that one, but I'll get it worked out.
Just like everything else. In time.
Monday, March 7, 2016
A Smattering of Things
I am excited and pleased to announce that I was able to get up, get out to the gym and run yesterday! A full 4.25 miles (the longest I've ever run/walked, actually). So yay for that! The head cold had let up enough that I felt pretty good, despite still having a bit of a running nose and whatnot. So I headed over to the community center, did my best despite my illnesses, and put in those 4.25 miles
And then last night, the head cold migrated. To my chest. The second I went to bed and put my head on the pillow, the coughing started. A second pillow quieted me enough to get to sleep, but then I woke up sweating and hot/cold and just all sorts of fun around 5 AM. I took myself into work (though I'm wondering why), and I managed to finish out the day. I sounded like a frog by the time all was said and done. Between the chest cold dropping my voice, a sore throat/chest, and having a talk for a good portion of the day - that just did me in.
I was looking forward to the 30 minute run tomorrow evening because the weather is supposed to be pretty and warm. Now I'm wondering how I'll be doing tomorrow with this silly cold. If it gets much worse, I'll have to take myself into the doctor. Boy, if it's not one thing, it's ten thousand others, yes?
But 4.25 miles is still pretty awesome (for me), so I'm not letting a cold take away my victory!
In other news, I came across a post on a Disney message board that said they are now offering purple Magic Bands. I was thinking, Oh, yeah. I remember hearing about that. They were going to charge me to buy a purple magic band. No, thank you. However, out of curiosity, I hopped on the Walt Disney World website just to check out the band selection.
Lo and behold, there it was. The holy grail. The thing I had been waiting for since the dawning of the Magic Band era. A beautiful, majestic, purple Magic Band.
I had originally been quite proud of my Magic Band selection for April - an orange band with the nickname of "Rogue One". However, the discovery of a new purple band immediately trumped orange, so I set about making my changes. A pretty purple band will be in the mail to me soon with the nickname of "Asajj". *cue evil grin and laugh here*
I've been working a bit more on the running costume, but I hit a little bit of a snag last night with the belt buckle idea. It's been kind of a pain trying to figure out how to make this all work, but I'm getting there. I've got some ideas I'm going to try and put into play tonight, and we'll see how it works out.
And hopefully - Force willing - I will be able to run tomorrow and not croak.
And then last night, the head cold migrated. To my chest. The second I went to bed and put my head on the pillow, the coughing started. A second pillow quieted me enough to get to sleep, but then I woke up sweating and hot/cold and just all sorts of fun around 5 AM. I took myself into work (though I'm wondering why), and I managed to finish out the day. I sounded like a frog by the time all was said and done. Between the chest cold dropping my voice, a sore throat/chest, and having a talk for a good portion of the day - that just did me in.
I was looking forward to the 30 minute run tomorrow evening because the weather is supposed to be pretty and warm. Now I'm wondering how I'll be doing tomorrow with this silly cold. If it gets much worse, I'll have to take myself into the doctor. Boy, if it's not one thing, it's ten thousand others, yes?
But 4.25 miles is still pretty awesome (for me), so I'm not letting a cold take away my victory!
In other news, I came across a post on a Disney message board that said they are now offering purple Magic Bands. I was thinking, Oh, yeah. I remember hearing about that. They were going to charge me to buy a purple magic band. No, thank you. However, out of curiosity, I hopped on the Walt Disney World website just to check out the band selection.
Lo and behold, there it was. The holy grail. The thing I had been waiting for since the dawning of the Magic Band era. A beautiful, majestic, purple Magic Band.
I had originally been quite proud of my Magic Band selection for April - an orange band with the nickname of "Rogue One". However, the discovery of a new purple band immediately trumped orange, so I set about making my changes. A pretty purple band will be in the mail to me soon with the nickname of "Asajj". *cue evil grin and laugh here*
I've been working a bit more on the running costume, but I hit a little bit of a snag last night with the belt buckle idea. It's been kind of a pain trying to figure out how to make this all work, but I'm getting there. I've got some ideas I'm going to try and put into play tonight, and we'll see how it works out.
And hopefully - Force willing - I will be able to run tomorrow and not croak.
Friday, March 4, 2016
A General Update on Things and Stuff
There's just so much going on right now that I don't even really know where to start. I know I've been quiet for a while because - surprise! - I've been sick again. Yep. Last Monday, my body decided to quit on me and gave me a fun little cold/mini sinus infection. So far I haven't required a trip to the doctor; I've just been taking my cold meds on a regular basis and hoping again hope that it will go away soon.
But - surprise - it put us behind on training. Again. I'm going to try and readjust it as best I can, but I think from here on out, we're just going to have to do our best. I think we'll be okay, but it will be a little harder because we won't be quite as prepared as we were hoping. We're going to keep up with our schedule as best we can from now until race day, and I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed for no more illnesses!
In regards to the running costume, I got together with a couple of good friends the weekend before I got sick and had a "Sewing Weekend". We all worked on various projects, and I brought along my Asajj running costume. The only part I really managed to complete was the belt (and it's not really complete). I ran into a snag with the belt buckle - didn't like my original idea. I think that's going to get scrapped for another idea that's still in the making. I was originally going to go back to JoAnn Fabrics on Monday night to pick up what I needed, and then - wham - sickness. So that will probably be a weekend project for me.
In other fun news, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has a Blu-ray release date. I'm seeing it all over my blog feed, with lots of news about deleted scenes, different covers released at different retailers, as well as who has what exclusives and whatnot. It's insane. I'm going to have to do research just to figure out where I want to go buy my copy so I can maximize my features. (Which is funny because - despite my good intentions - I really only ever watch deleted scenes and that's it.)
I remember the good old days when I just took my money down to the local Media Play (anyone else remember those?) and bought my VHS Star Wars Trilogy. Yep. Those were the days.
I'm seeing a lot of Episode VIII pictures and "spoilers" pop up on my blog feed, too. They're little things that don't really matter much in terms of spoiling plot lines, but I think they're pretty fun. They're definitely fueling my little brain. I'm excited for the return of Mark Hamill, and I really can't wait to see what he has in store for us. He's always been one of my favorites.
The other major thing I'm waiting on is Rogue One news. A trailer. Something! It sounds like some "footage" was shown to Disney Shareholders as a recent meeting, but it really didn't sound like much more than we've already seen here and there on the internet. Maybe we'll get something soon...
Until the next time, may the Force be with you!
But - surprise - it put us behind on training. Again. I'm going to try and readjust it as best I can, but I think from here on out, we're just going to have to do our best. I think we'll be okay, but it will be a little harder because we won't be quite as prepared as we were hoping. We're going to keep up with our schedule as best we can from now until race day, and I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed for no more illnesses!
In regards to the running costume, I got together with a couple of good friends the weekend before I got sick and had a "Sewing Weekend". We all worked on various projects, and I brought along my Asajj running costume. The only part I really managed to complete was the belt (and it's not really complete). I ran into a snag with the belt buckle - didn't like my original idea. I think that's going to get scrapped for another idea that's still in the making. I was originally going to go back to JoAnn Fabrics on Monday night to pick up what I needed, and then - wham - sickness. So that will probably be a weekend project for me.
In other fun news, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has a Blu-ray release date. I'm seeing it all over my blog feed, with lots of news about deleted scenes, different covers released at different retailers, as well as who has what exclusives and whatnot. It's insane. I'm going to have to do research just to figure out where I want to go buy my copy so I can maximize my features. (Which is funny because - despite my good intentions - I really only ever watch deleted scenes and that's it.)
I remember the good old days when I just took my money down to the local Media Play (anyone else remember those?) and bought my VHS Star Wars Trilogy. Yep. Those were the days.
I'm seeing a lot of Episode VIII pictures and "spoilers" pop up on my blog feed, too. They're little things that don't really matter much in terms of spoiling plot lines, but I think they're pretty fun. They're definitely fueling my little brain. I'm excited for the return of Mark Hamill, and I really can't wait to see what he has in store for us. He's always been one of my favorites.
The other major thing I'm waiting on is Rogue One news. A trailer. Something! It sounds like some "footage" was shown to Disney Shareholders as a recent meeting, but it really didn't sound like much more than we've already seen here and there on the internet. Maybe we'll get something soon...
Until the next time, may the Force be with you!
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