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By kilax, January 31, 2010 9:12 am

Day 99 | January 25, 2010: strength

On Monday morning, I had the brilliant idea of working out in the office gym after work instead of before.

Yeah.

By the time my hectic day was over, I just wanted to GET out of there!

Lesson Learned: Put Yourself First. Morning workouts work best for me, so I need to stick to them!

Do morning, midday or evening workouts work best for you?

I did level 2 of The 30 Day Shred with Steven when I got home. Honestly, it was a bad night for me, and I was not into it at first, but the exercise made me feel better.

Day 100 | January 26, 2010: 5 m run + cross

Whoa, I have been tracking my workouts for 100 days! How cool is that? Let’s see if I can go for another 100…

Distance: 5.0 | Time: 49:00 | 1: 10:11 | 2: 10:00 | 3: 9:50 | 4: 9:41 | 5: 9:18
Bike Time: 30:00 | Distance: 5.68 (Set on “Ozark Trails”)

Day 101 | January 27, 2010: strength

Oh my gosh. By Wednesday, I had not done a “traditional” strength workout in 2 weeks (I had just been doing the Shred)! I need to be careful NOT to turn into a CARDIO QUEEN!

How do you make sure you balance your strength, cardio and stretching? Each week, I try to aim for 4-5 days of cardio, 2-3 of strength, and daily stretching. Yeah, I don’t always meet that goal.

Because it had been so long, my body was nice and sore. Yay!

Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 65 lb, 15 @ 65 lb
Lateral Raise: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 37.5 lb, 15 @ 37.5 lb
Biangular Chest Press: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 50 lb, 15 @ 50 lb
Shoulder Press: 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb
Lat Pulldowns: 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 60 lb, 15 @ 60 lb
Arm Curl: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 25 lb
Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 70 lb, 15 @ 70 lb, 15 @ 90 lb
Leg Extension: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 45 lb
Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb
Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb
Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb
V Bar Pushdowns: 3 x15 @ 30 lb

Day 102 | January 28, 2010: 5 m run + cross

You know, I really like being a regular morning “poo-er” but I am sick and tired of stopping in the middle of my runs at the office gym to run to the bathroom! Meh!

I always feel so much better after I do though.

Distance: 5.0 | Time: 49:00 | 1: 10:11 | 2: 10:00 | 3: 9:50 | 4: 9:41 | 5: 9:18
Bike Time: 30:00 | Distance: 5.58 (Set on “Ozark Trails”)

Day 103 | January 29, 2010: yoga

I tried the YogaWorks Body Slim DVD. It’s a 50 minute workout that starts out with some ab work, then does some (what where killer for me) yoga moves. Yikes. I think my arms are still shaking typing this. I will do a full review when I post my review of the entire series (well, the three I received from the series!). I am looking forward to getting better at this!

I’ve been thinking about getting a yoga mat since I am slipping around so much when I use a towel! Does anyone have recommendations for a good but economical yoga mat? Are the ones from Target decent?

Day 104 | January 30, 2010: 8 m run

It was snowing lightly when I woke up on Saturday, but it stopped in time for my run. “Yay,” I thought, “All I have to deal with is this pretty dusting of snow.”

WRONG.

That pretty dusty of snow did a pretty good job of hiding all the icy spots on the sidewalk. I fell on my left knee AGAIN at the 1.5 mile mark. And in the new track suit my mom got me! Luckily, no holes in my pants this time.

The bottom is also blue with yellow stripes on the sides

I ran a slow eight miles in the 19° weather. I felt comfortable and fine, but made sure I watched for signs of pain in my knee. Looks like it is back to icing it.

I made homemade granola bars Saturday morning, so I ate one during my run. Yum! Why haven’t I made these in so long? I feel so much better (mentally) eating bars I know have natural ingredients in them.

Distance: 8.0 | Time: 1:19:09 | 1: 10:04 | 2: 10:05 | 3: 9:580 | 4: 10:05 | 5: 9:46 | 6: 10:05 | 7: 9:34 | 8: 9:29

Day 105 | January 31, 2010: yoga

I had a hard time deciding which DVD to do Sunday morning. I really wanted to do The 30 Day Shred, but thought it would be too much for my knee. So I settled on the the YogaWorks Body Slim DVD which gave me a great workout, but made me feel extremely inflexible. Ugh. Why is my body so tight?!

Steven and I may do another workout later in the day (emphasis on may).

Week Summary: 18.00 miles

I didn’t want to announce it until I was sure, but Erin is running the Wisconsin Half Marathon on May 1st as well! Woo to the hoo! And… Erin and I are both also planning to run the Chicago Marathon… registration opens tomorrow! I want to register before the registration reaches capacity… but I am worried about not being able to run (like what happened with the Kansas City Marathon last year) and wasting money. Ugh. Why does marathon registration have to be so stressful?

A couple of links I wanted to share:

Check out Ameena’s An Obsession with Exercise post. She talks about how she went from exercising just to lose weight, to exercising to enjoy it.

I also found this advice about driving to a race interesting. A newbie runner asks if driving an hour to a race is too much. The trainer responds that it isn’t, but advises on considering how your sleep, morning routine, and body is affected.

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By kilax, January 30, 2010 6:29 am

I am really digging the March Runner’s World article – “Mind Games” – about Kara Goucher’s struggle with finding confidence as a runner, and how her work with coach Alberto Salazar and (especially) sports psychologist Dr. Darren Treasure has helped her overcome her doubt of herself. Update: read article here.

I know – she’s run a 4:33.19 mile – what doubt?

Well, some elite runners have a tendency to be Type A perfectionists. So while we would be more than elated to run 1/10th of a mile at their marathon pace, it’s extremely disappointing to them when they don’t meet their goals. Arguably even more disappointing for them, than for us, since they are in the spotlight.

I know she was disappointed in her Boston 2009 performance, but damn, I WANT her body!

So while we cannot relate to her elite level, I know we have all felt doubt in ourselves or been disappointed in a performance at one point in time or another. And that is the point of the article – to read about what worked for her, and apply it to your own personal (running or otherwise) goals.

The article has a section with five tips on how to run “with mind over matter” (and I think these tips can be applied to any goal, except for maybe the fourth one!):

1. Worry early, not late – identify your worries early and train to overcome them, focus on your strengths as you get closer to race day*
2. Employ a key word – focus on a key word during intense training, then use it during critical moments in a race**
3. Embrace your competitors – think about running with others, not against them***
4. Enjoy the motion – notice how nice the motion feels, and get it tune with it, so you can relax*
5. Define success by your progress – try to get better every day – by comparing to your own personal progress****

Basically, it’s 1: planning ahead, 2: finding a key word that stimulates a response you want, 3: letting your competitors bring out the best in you, 4: being in tune with your  body and enjoying it, and 5: judging your progress only by comparison to yourself. Using these techniques should boost confidence in your own personal performance, and train you to perform your best.

Do you think you would use any of these techniques – either for running, another form of exercise, or a personal goal? Do you think they would help boost your confidence?

I do use some of these techniques now, especially the last two. Every run, I try tune in to how my body feels, and modify my form so it feels the most natural. And I also keep track of my progress, so I can look back and see how I’m doing. That is one of the reasons***** I write those long Sunday posts – so I can reflect. Right now, my goal is just to run without injury and I have been doing great! It’s gives me pleasure to see that I am keeping up with running and other physical activity. It does boost my confidence!

There were a few other parts of the article that really spoke to me, so click on “continue reading” if you feel like reading more!

Continue reading 'Can techniques to boost confidence in running help with other life goals?'»

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By kilax, January 29, 2010 5:10 am

What hobbies would you pursue if money was of no concern?

This week I was talking to Erin about how I wanted to make a saffron couscous dish but decided not to when I saw that saffron was about $10 for a freaking teaspoon. In fact, I could not even tell how much saffron was in the jar. It was a normal, tall glass spice jar, but it just had this teeny little black bag in it. Ooo… how much is in the little black bag?!?!?!

I told Erin it will be nice when I am older, have more money saved up, and don’t have to fret over buying a $10 jar of spices.

So, of course, this got me thinking… what hobbies would I really get into if I didn’t have to worry about the money?

• Cooking with lots of different, exotic foods/spices
• Travel (DUH!)
• Skydiving (solo!)



• Target Shooting
• Scuba Diving
• Photography*
• Yoga*
• Pampering Myself* (spa, massages, regular haircuts)

I wonder if we will share any of the same things on our lists!

*Hard to know, since I cannot afford to get into them NOW.

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By kilax, January 28, 2010 5:41 pm

So, someone was a bit of a crankypants last Saturday!

I am so incredibly far-behind in my blog reading that my brilliant solution to send email comments to blogger/blogspot blogs just isn’t going to work. I don’t have the time.

I am trying to come up with a temporary solution that still allows me to leave comments on these blogs. Half of the running blogs I read are hosted by blogger/blogspot! That is a lot to miss out on.

I decided to limit reading these blogs to one computer – that way, if I get a virus, I still have the other computer to use. However, it was hard to decide which one to use. My large computer is easier for reading blogs, but too heavy to carry to work, and has too many programs on it to reinstall when reformatting. The baby computer is lightweight, has no programs and no files… but no CD drive. So when I go to reformat it, I have to borrow my neighbors 1 GB jumpdrive so I* can put Windows back on it. Wah.

So, blah blah blah… the baby computer it is. It is loaded with anti-virus and spyware software, so let’s see where this gets me. Now I will know if this software works at all.

It’s interesting that many other bloggers have had problems leaving comments on blogger/blogspot blogs, but have not had this virus issue. Only a few other people have, but think it came from Facebook, or ads. So, if I get it on the large computer, I will know it isn’t blogger/blogspot, and I can quit being a whiny baby!

Thanks for being patient!

*Meaning Steven.

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By kilax, January 28, 2010 5:00 am

Have you heard about Dunbar’s number – the theory that your brain can only manage “stable social relationships” with 150 people?

Robin Dunbar, a professor* at Oxford University, developed this theory in the 1990s. He theorizes that the size of our neocortex limits us to managing social circles of about 150 friends – that’s 150 friends that you contact each year and can remember how they relate to each other.

Of course, the study was in the news this week in relationship to Facebook. There are many articles out there saying even though we amass hundreds of friends on Facebook, our brains are only capable of managing that core 150. Dunbar is revisiting his study to see how it relates to Facebook. From the UK Times article:

Dunbar is now studying social networking websites to see if the “Facebook effect” has stretched the size of social groupings. Preliminary results suggest it has not.

“The interesting thing is that you can have 1,500 friends but when you actually look at traffic on sites, you see people maintain the same inner circle of around 150 people that we observe in the real world,” said Dunbar.

“People obviously like the kudos of having hundreds of friends but the reality is that they’re unlikely to be bigger than anyone else’s.

“There is a big sex difference though… girls are much better at maintaining relationships just by talking to each other. Boys need to do physical stuff together.”

So, what do you think of his theory? How many friends do you have on Facebook? Do you know who they all are and keep in touch with them all? Do you think you stick to the core 150? Do you think he is right about the “sex difference”?

I have 112 friends on Facebook. I try to keep it limited. And I still don’t keep in touch with about 25% of my “friends.” The thing is, it doesn’t matter if you don’t keep in touch with people on Facebook. I don’t think that’s the point! It’s more for “networking.” They are not relationships you absolutely have to maintain.

I suppose I am just naive in hoping that some relationships are not ONLY maintained on Facebook.

After reading these articles, I really started to think about how the 150 rule may relate to reading blogs. I mean, how many blogs can you really keep track of? I subscribe to about 350 (and believe me, that number is WAY down!) but can only keep straight the ones I keep in my “daily read” folders, which is probably close to 150 or 200. To me, it just means so much more to read a blog and feel like you know who the person is, even if you don’t have a real life relationship with them. So, one more set of questions:

Do you think the 150 relationships theory could apply to reading blogs? How many blogs do you keep track of?** Do you think you could manage more than 150?

*Of Evolutionary Antrhopology
**As always, my apologies for the prepositions.

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By kilax, January 27, 2010 5:00 am

This is part of a series of thoughts and reviews of Alicia Silverstone’s book, The Kind Diet. The first part of the series is the General Review. Check out this recent interview with Silverstone on the Wall Street Journal! I love that she says she wants her book to be non-judgmental. And she gives her Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup recipe at the end of the interview! Also, Silverstone and Michael Pollen will be on Oprah today! Wish I could watch it!

So, right there, on the second page of the first chapter of The Kind Diet, I knew I knew I was going to relate to Alicia Silverstone’s philosophy. How so? Well, she caught me with this statement:

So this [the Kind Diet] is about treating yourself like a total goddess and putting yourself first.

And you deserve that kindness, my friend. I used to equate having self-worth with being selfish, but now I understand that taking care of myself is the most beautiful thing I can do. And quite frankly, I can’t be a good actor, I can’t be a good wife, friend, or mother (to my dogs)… I can’t be a good anything until I’ve taken care of myself first. So this kindness to yourself is paramount.

I figured this out when I was considering changing jobs just over a year ago. So many people gave me their opinion on what I should do, and when listening to them I realized not everyone had MY best interests in mind. So I had to put myself first and do what was best for me. When I did, I instantly felt happier, even though I did struggle with feeling selfish.

And of course, this first and foremost applies to health and fitness! Later on in the book, Silverstone talks about “losing her way” and what happens when she forgets to put herself first. She talks about having an endless to-do list and the shortcuts she takes to save time… scarfing down food, skipping exercise, not journaling. She eventually crashes, realizing she’s lost her way. Sound familiar?

To find her way again, Silverstone remembers to:

• make clean, healthy food
• sit down while she eats
• take a deep breath and say a prayer of gratitude before eating
• remember that she doesn’t run the world, and then cut her to-do list in half
• restructure her time to put herself first

She says:

I know you have a million excuses for not taking care of yourself. It’s easy to feel pulled by the ball-and-chain of the to-do list. But if you don’t stay centered by doing the basic things, everything and everyone in your life will pay for it. I know it may feel naughty to acknowledge (even to yourself) that you are putting yourself first, but think of it this way: A mother must eat good food to produce milk for her baby. There are no shortcuts there. So be a good mother to all the beings  and creative projects in your life by taking care of yourself first. Know that when you lose your way – and you will – you will always be able to come back home.

I thought long and hard about this Monday afternoon when I was walking home from work. I had had a HARD day. I was feeling really low, and stressed out. I wanted to skip my workout. I wanted to go home and go to bed. I wanted to eat to comfort myself. This is a little bit different than when I wrote about falling into a funk. This is dealing with stress and feeling extremely overwhelmed.

Then I remembered what I read. I remembered I need to put myself first. And for me, that means taking care of my mind and body.

Even though my to-do list is a mile long at work and ever growing, that is NOT my life. I don’t need to think about work when I am at home, or working out, or first thing when I wake up in the morning. I need to think about what is best for me at THAT moment. So I went home and had the best evening I could.

It’s liberating.

What do you do to make sure you put YOURSELF first? Do you ever struggle with it? Do you relate to this at all, or do you think I am going cuckoo?

Comments (45)

By kilax, January 26, 2010 4:46 am

I’ve been wanting to try snowshoeing for quite some time, and I finally had the opportunity a few Sundays ago! I visited Hartman Reserve, a densely wooded area in Cedar Falls, Iowa, with my parents, older brother, aunt and Steven. In the summer, Hartman Reserve has designated trail areas, but in the winter, you can walk wherever you damn well please (see photo in masthead above)!

My brother, dad, mom, Steven and me

Hartman Reserve has a $5 shoe rental that is good for the entire day (during their open hours). You can get the traditional wood snowshoes or a pair of modern metal snowshoes. We all got the modern ones, except for Steven. He got the traditional ones, and we switched shoes halfway through the hike so we could experience both.

In this picture, Steven has the traditional shoes on, and I have the modern ones on.

I felt like the newer aluminum ones were easier to walk in – you could pick your feet up more. The older, traditional ones required you to change your walking style. You had to glide more and they were heavier, so you could feel it in your legs.

I liked using both, but felt like I definitely got more of a workout from the traditional ones. And you know, I expected the snowshoes to sit on top of the snow when I was walking, for some reason. They don’t sink in as much as a shoe, but they definitely sink in!

Snowshoeing was a lot of fun, as I expected it to be! It was funny, it was getting to be pretty late in the day and I think I was the only one that really wanted to go. But I whined a bit and got my way, and everyone ended up having fun! Especially my brother, who insisted on racing me and stepping on my snowshoes so I would fall on my face.

Does anyone else have a naughty brother…

… or father?

I think snowshoeing is a good, slower activity for a couple or a large group. We had a lot of fun chatting (and goofing around). I wish we could have been out there longer (but, we had to get to rock climbing). We ended up snowshoeing 1.22 miles* in about 50 minutes.

Mom, me, and Aunt Sue.

I would love to snowshoe more often. Steven and I looked at how much they cost (in Sports Authority) for fun this weekend. $120?! I don’t think so! I will stick to rentals for now. I would like to see if the state park by our house rents them.

Have you ever tried snowshoeing? If you have, did you like it? If you haven’t, would you like to try?

Click “continue reading” to see more photos!

Continue reading 'Trying something new – snowshoeing'»

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By kilax, January 25, 2010 4:55 am

Well, after keeping it the same for over 2 years… I finally switched up my wordpress theme! Many of you asked to see more color here, and to make the text easier to read, so I hope this is a step in the right direction. Click over from reader and let me know what you think! (Also, I am still working on the questions you left for me.)

I came up with (what I thought was) a good idea for a giveaway – a “My Favorite Things” giveaway. Not, not the Julie Andrews’ My Favorite Things, but my personal, favorite things!

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite snacks with a reader! And I am not sponsored by any of these items (ha!), I just love them and want to share the love. These are snacks that always hit the spot for me (yes, even the fifth item, if I can stick to one serving!).

Included in this Giveaway*:

• Iced Oatmeal Raisin Luna Bar
• Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar
• Original Mild Stonewall’s Jerquee
• Chocolate Chip Peanut Odwalla Bar
• Dots**
• Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter from PB&Co.

I wish I could include more! Like my favorite hummus and some carrots or some Soy Dream French Vanilla! Hee hee.

Contest Rules:

1. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below telling me what you would include if you were doing your own “My Favorite Things” giveaway!
2. To get an extra entry, link to the giveaway in your blog, and leave me another comment linking to your post.
3. This contest is open until 5:00 PM CST on Sunday, January 31st. I will probably use the old “name out of a hat” drawing to select a winner on Sunday evening. I will announce the winner on Monday, February 1st.
4. This contest is open to readers everywhere.

Shall I include the gray cat? Ha ha.

*All items are vegan
**I really wanted to get a package of Brach’s Jube Jel Cherry Hearts but I cannot find them ANYWHERE!!!

Comments (22)

By kilax, January 24, 2010 4:28 pm

Day 92 | January 18, 2010: yoga

After running 8 miles last Saturday, snowshoeing and rock climbing on Sunday… I was not feeling too energetic Monday morning. In fact, my left knee (the one I landed on when I wiped out two Saturdays earlier) started hurting the night before, and I was walking a bit funny Monday morning. I stuck to the YogaWorks Beginners DVD in hopes that it would stretch me out and loosen me up.

Day 93 | January 19, 2010: rest

Day 94 | January 20, 2010: 5 m run + yoga

This was an easy 5 miler – but not a 100% enjoyable one. My diet from the last two days caught up with me and I just felt gross. I had to stop and use the bathroom at 2 and 3 miles. I think it is time for a processed foods detox.

I did the YogaWorks Beginners – PM Relax & Restore 10 minute routine in the evening. It actually did make me feel relaxed!

Distance: 5.0 | Time: 49:59 | 1: 10:21 | 2: 10:11 | 3: 10:00 | 4: 9:50 | 5: 9:27

Day 95 | January 21, 2010: strength + yoga

Steven and I did Level 2 of hell The 30 Day Shred (I used 2lb. weights and he alternated between 5  and 10 lbs.) and the YogaWorks PM Relax & Restore. My body felt really off all day – I felt kind of sweaty and gross. I wonder if my body was doing its own detox! Or if I am just naturally sweaty and gross (very possible).

Day 96 | January 22, 2010: 5 m run + cross

Have you ever felt like you aren’t completely awake during a run? That was me Friday morning. I ran before work. I wake up at 4:20 when I run before work, and usually stay awake during the train ride, but on Friday (since my computer had a virus and I had nothing to do) I slept on the train. And I felt like I never woke back up until my run was over.

I went back down to the gym at lunch to ride the stationary bike.

Distance: 5.0 | Time: 49:59 | 1: 10:21 | 2: 10:11 | 3: 10:00 | 4: 9:50 | 5: 9:27
Bike Time: 45:00 | Distance: 8.44 (Set on “Ozark Trails”)

Day 97 | January 23, 2010: strength + yoga

Does anyone else find Level 2 of the The 30 Day Shred to be completely exhausting? Steven and I sure do. Especially when we don’t start until 11:10 PM! Yeah, due to my crappy day/mood, the exercise got pushed back big time. I hate it when that happens. Oh well. We did the Shred (I used 2lb. weights and he used 5 lb. weights.) and the YogaWorks PM Relax & Restore. I really like the YogaWorks DVDs and am excited to write a full review when I have done them all! I hope to be more focused and calm at yoga by that point!

Day 98 | January 24, 2010: 5 m run

37 Degree weather in January? That’s like a heat wave for us! Of course, I just used a gift card on Saturday to buy a pair of YakTrax! I am sure I will get a chance to use them… reluctantly.

Thumbs up for…

…clear sidewalks in January!

Steven and I ran 5 miles, stopping to walk a half mile at the 3 mile point. Steven has not been able to run for a few weeks because he was sick, so it was nice to run together again. I think we need to figure out our plan of attack for the half marathon on May 1st!

At the end of our run today, a dog jumped up on Steven and bit a hole into his pants. You can see the hole, and the dog’s slobber in the picture below. Isn’t that kind of crazy? The owner apologized before he let the dog jump up on Steven. Nice.

Distance: 5.5 | Time: 59:46 | 1: 10:19 | 2: 10:11 | 3: 10:16 | 4: 12:27 | 5: 10:51 | 6: 5:41

Week Summary: 15:50 miles (includes .50 miles of walking)

So, my knee. I need your help, blogger friends. My left knee has a dull ache going on, sort of under the knee cap and on the sides. It doesn’t hurt while running, but after sitting a long while, or if I kneel. What is up with that? I really don’t feel like I am doing too much, too soon, so I wonder if I just have internal bruising from my fall two weeks ago. Thoughts?

Ha, ha. Do you ever have an internal pain, like a sore knee, but you keep looking at the outside of your body for signs of it? I keep looking at my knee, expecting to see something that looks “out of place” but I don’t.

Comments (30)

By kilax, January 23, 2010 9:14 am

I didn’t want to talk about this, but it has become ridiculous.

I have gotten viruses from visiting websites hosted by blogger/blogspot on December 20th, January 20th, and again this morning, January 23rd.

I am reading the blogger/blogspot site in google reader, then click on the post title to leave a comment, and when then post opens in a separate tab, a “virus scan” pops up that is actually the virus.

My sweet and patient husband has had to reformat both my large laptop and baby laptop already and now will have to do it again.

NO MORE.

This is extremely infuriating.

If you have a blog hosted by blogger/blogspot*, I will not be leaving comments on your site anymore (unfortunately, half the blogs I read are hosted by blogger/blogspot). I will be reading, and maybe send you an email with my comments.

Until I figure out what the hell is going on.

I should not be getting a virus just from clicking over to leave a comment on someone’s post.