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By kilax, May 30, 2010 8:39 am

I typically post one workout recap per week, but these two weeks were pretty lax, so I put them together. Excuses – I took a lot of time off in the first week to rest my lower legs, and I was on travel in DC the second week.

My next race is the My Waterloo Days 5K on June 5 (this post includes the week of the Stepping Up to Wellness 10K).

Day 211 | May 17, 2010: cross

I did an easy cross workout on the upright bike during lunch. I wasn’t going to do anything, but had my workout clothes with me and felt like getting away from my desk.

Bike Time: 45:00 | Distance: 6.85 (Set on resistance level 5)

Day 212 | May 18, 2010: strength

I did a short upper-body workout and quite a bit of stretching during my lunch break. I also iced both legs three times each at work.

Rope Pushdowns: 3 x 15 @ 30 lb
Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 65 lb
Arm Curl 3 x 15 @ 25 lb
Lat Pulldowns: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb
Pectoral Fly: 2 x 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 60 lb

I had plans to run in the evening, but my legs still felt sore. I figured I should wait to start running once I don’t have to use handrails to brace myself as I walk down a set of stairs.

Day 213 | May 19, 2010: rest

Day 214 | May 20, 2010: rest

Day 215 | May 21, 2010: rest

Day 216 | May 22, 2010: rest

Day 217 | May 23, 2010: cross

I walked the Stepping up to Wellness 10K with Tori. Check out the recap here!

Day 218 | May 24, 2010: 5K run

I met Carla when she got off work to run a 5K distance from downtown DC to Pentagon City. It was like having my own personal tour guide! Carla was probably annoyed that I asked “what’s this?!” and “what’s that?!” Ha, just kidding. She was really cool and I can tell she is the laid back type! This was my first time meeting her but I could tell from her blog that we would hit it off.

Interestingly, when I was on the metro to meet her, another passenger started talking to me about running (because I had all my gear on – I love talking to random runners!) and he knew the route I was going to be running with Carla – he said it was an all downhill route.

And he was right! I think that is why Carla and I started out so fast… 9:17 for our first mile. Oops! My knee still felt a bit off, and I had a feeling I was pushing it too hard. We slowed down for the last two miles (it was hot too – 80° – I wore my hydration belt) but finished with a sprint!

It was a ton of fun running with Carla. I am excited she is running the Chicago Marathon. Maybe I will see her! I will make sure I see her!

Carla running by the Reflecting Pool/Washington Monument

Then there’s me…

The Lincoln Memorial

And the Pentagon!

Distance: 3.10 | Time: 30:24 | 1: 9:17 | 2: 9:48 | 3: 9:59 | 4: 1:19

Day 219 | May 25, 2010: rest

Day 220 | May 26, 2010: 4.65 m run

Yay!

Not.

What a hot and muggy day. I met up with Carla to run part of the Mt. Vernon trail with her and her running group (that she started!).

Right away, I felt weird. I still had a slight ache in my knee, but my running just felt off. Like I forgot how to run. And not in a weird, “your gait is off” way, but really, in a “how do I run again way?” It’s so weird, because I think about running all day and how natural and fun it’s going to be, but it’s not… natural, that is.

Carla mentioned on her blog that she was quiet on Monday. Well, I was quiet on Wednesday! I just felt beat running in the hot sun! She said there is normally a breeze on the way back (we ran out and back) but no such luck. Wah.

I still had a lot of fun running with her though! I wonder if I will get to see her again before the Chicago Marathon. I will have to hope for more training in DC. Ha ha!

We had a neat view of DC (see the Washington Monument?)

We ran by the Reagen airport too

Distance: 4.65 | Time: 50:10 | 1: 10:29 | 2: 10:39 | 3: 11:11 | 4: 10:55 | 5: 6:55

Day 221 | May 27, 2010: 5.15 m run

Not to be outdone by Wednesday…

It was crazy to run in the sweltering heat, but I really wanted to run on the National Mall, and Thursday night was my only opportunity. And actually, it ended up being a bit overcast and a there was just a slight drop of rain every now and then. I think it may have been cooler than Wednesday!

Where I ran (in red)

I wrote about this run a bit already – it started out with a slow painful shuffle, until I remembered to run with my back tall and straight. Once I did that, the pain in the outside of my legs instantly went away! Later on, I even started running and landing on the balls of my feet, like I normally do, and I felt like I was back to normal!

The run was very stop and go, because of traffic, and because I stopped to look at a few monuments/memorials I hadn’t seen in the daylight. I think if I lived in DC, I would be running on the National Mall a lot!

I ran by the Capitol…

the Washington Monument…

the WWII Memorial…

the Lincoln Memorial…

the Korean War Memorial…

the FDR Memorial…

(this memorial is much more massive than this picture… it’s amazing)

the Jefferson Memorial…

I think this is where the Cherry Blossoms are?

Congratulations if you made it through all the pictures!

Distance: 5.15 | Time: 56:54 | 1: 10:41 | 2: 10:57 | 3: 11:37 | 4: 11:25 | 5: 10:38 | 6: 1:34

Day 222 | May 28, 2010: rest

Day 223 | May 29, 2010: 2 m run

I got up early (well, 6:15) to do a long run before it got too hot… but it just wasn’t meant to be! After three days of running, my legs begged me for a break (which made sense). I ran 2 miles, then decided to go home and ice my legs. At least I got to see all of the cute goslings!

Distance: 2.00 | Time: 21:20 | 1: 10:431 | 2: 10:35

Day 224 | May 30, 2010: rest (most likely)

Summary: 14.9 miles

I was feeling pretty awful two weeks ago – I could barely walk up and down the stairs without taking slow, baby steps. I felt better after a week, but know that I pushed it too hard in DC because I wanted to run there. I hope to get back to my normal routine now, adding in a bit of yoga/strength/cross because these two weeks were not varied AT ALL.

I have an appointment with a Sports Medicine doctor this upcoming Friday, so I hope he can give me some training insight. I don’t want to spend the end of the summer injured like I did last year.

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By kilax, May 29, 2010 11:54 pm

I wrote the excerpt below on 10/12/06 (scroll down on this page). I had just returned from Rome and was missing a friend I had met there:

LETTERS TO ROME | OCTOBER 12, 2006

Every week, I write and send a letter to Rixa. She is my German friend that I worked with at the cat shelter in Rome.

I miss talking to her and seeing her on a daily basis (because I seriously did work at the cat shelter every night), and I wonder how she is doing. Every time I send a letter I hope that she will send a response in return.

But she never does (at least, not yet). And even though she told me before I left that she wouldn’t have a lot of time to write to me, I am still a little hopeful. How’s that for nice and optimistic?

I wanted to make sure she was receiving my letters, so I emailed another friend of mine at the shelter (Rixa does not do email). And I did not get a response back. Arg.

So I am feeling a bit bummed out about it all. I feel like information is being withheld from me because I am overseas! I suppose this is one of the consequences of having friends in a faraway country.

But then I had an epiphany – why don’t I just call her? All I need to do is by a phone card and find out if I can use it on my cell phone (probably not) or find a land line to use. Then I can talk to her right away! I am such a genius.

Bad blogger mistake – I never followed up with that post (that I recall). I did get in touch with Rixa – she called me. I continued to send her letters (not as frequently as mentioned) since then, and she would call me every few months.

I received an email tonight from a volunteer at the shelter Rixa and I worked at in Rome – Rixa passed away from cancer on May 12.

Interestingly enough, they were not contacting me only to tell me the news, they were also wondering if I had any picture of her. No one in her family did and they thought that I might. They were right. I sent the one above. Apparently, it is tradition in Germany to post a picture on one’s tomb.

I knew Rixa was sick, but her English was not good enough to explain to me what was going on. And even if she could, she was not the type to dwell on herself.

Either way, I did not expect to receive this email. Honestly, I had fantasies in my head of meeting up with her again someday in Rome. I met her at the beginning of my stay in Rome (January 2006) and we worked together almost every night until I left (August 2006). She was like a grandmother* to me. She was my closest companion when I was there. Even though we had completely different life experiences, we could relate on so much.

I’ll miss her. And the opportunity to ever see her again.

Have you ever bonded with someone who was much older or younger than you?

*I would say mother, but there was a huge age difference between us. I think about 50+ years.

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By kilax, May 28, 2010 6:20 am

When traveling for pleasure, who do you prefer as your travel partner? Does it depend on the length of the trip and where you are going?

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A few people had their spouses with them this week for the work-training in DC. Of course, I thought about how Steven was with me when I came for work in September, and what a fun time we had. I still had fun this time without him, and actually struck up a lot of conversations with local people (something that is probably less likely to happen when you are with someone), but knew he would have enjoyed being in DC.

I think it’s very hard for me to find someone (that isn’t Steven or family) that I can travel with for a long duration of time, to a place far away, where we will be together the entire time. I traveled with a few classmates to various places around Europe when I lived in Rome and found myself constantly craving alone time. I like to be around people – but I need time to myself too! I did go to Denmark in college (after I returned from Rome) and had a great time with one other student – actually, the only female I’ve ever met and traveled with and not been annoyed with in the end. I could be upfront with her and tell her when I needed alone time, and she was cool with it.

Wow. I sound like a pleasure to travel with, don’t I?

Now, I like to travel with Steven, but don’t mind being alone, like in DC this week. I would love to try a trip with some girlfriends or a girlfriend (if I had some/one). And I wonder what it would be like to actually travel with my family. They came to visit me in Italy and I had a great time, but didn’t actually travel with them from start to finish (Steven did though!).

With Steven in Aruba, on our honeymoon.

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By kilax, May 27, 2010 8:43 pm

I’m so excited – I’ve remembered how to run!

For about three weeks, anytime I’ve tried to run, it’s been a slow awkward shuffle that sometimes shot pain up the outsides of my lower legs. I took a whole week off from running, because I my legs hurt so bad.

Well, I wasn’t going to miss out on running in DC. Not again.

So I ran with Carla on Monday and Wednesday, and in the National Mall tonight, alone.

The run started off in a shuffle and somewhat painful on the loose path, so I moved to the paved section. I made it through one mile and told myself “It’s not worth the pain to run in the Mall – you need to stop if it continues to hurt.”

Of course I kept running and at mile 2, the pain stopped. Why? I stopped looking at my feet. Yes, I was running with very poor form, and looking down and leaning forward (bending over a bit). As soon as I remembered to run tall with a straight back I was fine. Oh yeah, and bend my knees.

Duh.

After mile 4, I started noticing that I was landing on the balls of my feet*. I could feel that I was doing it, and it felt like I had a spring in my step! I don’t know where I was landing before, but that definitely felt good. My last mile was probably the best one.

This seems dumb, but to me, it was a revelation! I have been feeling off for weeks, but had no idea why. My crappy shuffle run is probably what hurt my legs so bad in the first place!

I am still keeping my appointment next Friday with a Sports Medicine Doc though!

Name that memorial

Here’s another view…

Tonight was the night of the Chase Corporate Challenge in Chicago. It is a 3.5 mile race. I ran it last year in 27:13 – an average pace of 7:46. Today I ran 5.15 miles in 56:54, an average of 11.03! Ha!

I was a little bummed when I realized my training was the same week as Chase Corporate Challenge, but then I remembered what a clusterf*ck it is and didn’t care (even with pace timing this year… I bet there was still a lot of dodging going on). And it seems I am a bit *cough* slower this year, so I doubt my time would have been even used! Last year, I was fast enough to get on the company team and help us place (I think in the top 30 of a 100 or more teams).

*Steven was right – I think I do naturally land on the balls of my feet.

Comments (31)

By kilax, May 24, 2010 8:44 pm

Look at what was in my Chipotle burrito tonight:

After I was served bacon and cheese on my salad for lunch, along with chicken as the main course, I took it as a sign from the universe. It is time to start eating meat again.

No more vegan Kim.

Ha! You guys know I am just kidding, right?!

I was served those things for lunch but I politely asked that they bring me a vegan dish (of course, this started a whole conversation I did not want to have with a bunch of people I just met!) and they did. And this burrito? It has Gardein “meat” in it!

Steven shared* this article with me about certain Chipotles trying this Gardein alternative. None of the locations are in Chicago, but you guessed it – there is one in Washington DC !

They call this fake meat the “Garden Blend” (see on menu below). I ordered it in a burrito, along with beans, rice, peppers + onions, guac, lettuce and salsa. YUM! It added a chewiness and spiciness to the burrito that was much welcomed. And it is a lot different than tofu!

I wanted to make sure to tell the manager how awesome I thought it was, in hopes they will continue to have it and bring it to other stores. He told me Dupont Circle is the only Chipotle that has it (contrary to the article) and that people come in from PA to eat it. He said they have had it four months and it has been a huge success.

Do you share product/service feedback with the provider – whether good or bad?

It’s really easy to share negative feedback on a product/service, but I try to share positive feedback as well. As much as we love to bitch, it is important to let people know what they are doing right! I will call the store owner tomorrow!

Now the question is, did I run far enough with Carla today to earn a burrito (and chips)? Ha ha… like I care! You will have to wait until Sunday to hear about my fun run with Carla! BUT, if you are a runner and looking for new blogs to read, check hers out! She runs in DC and is getting married in Brazil in November! I think her blog is very interesting!

Me and Carla after our super sweaty run

*Yes, Steven and I share blog posts with one another on google reader – ultimate dorkiness!

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By kilax, May 23, 2010 3:51 pm

There won’t be a training post this week – I took the last four days off to take care of my legs (so there is not much to say!).

I also took some time off this week so that I could run the Stepping up to Wellness 10K with Tori today in Libertyville, IL.

I am in the pink and Tori is in the blue

I was pretty nervous about this race all week. I tried to run each day, but would take a step and feel like my legs were made of jello. Yikes! I woke up early this morning and iced them. I know you aren’t supposed to do that before a run, but that was the only thing that was making me feel better!

Tori and I ran a bit before the race to warm up and my legs felt so much better! Not 100% – I still had a slight ache under my left knee, but nothing that told me “don’t run.” After I ran, I stretched and we took off!

At the beginning…

Did I mention it was at least 70° and the sun was blaring? We were hot just walking to the race start! I knew I would have to slow down because of the sun (and from coming back from an injury).

We ran the first 9/10ths of a mile, then we stopped to walk and take a break at the first water stop. Tori was having major stomach cramps – something she was worried would happen – and they did not get better for the rest of the run. She was also feeling very dizzy and achy.

So, we walked! I didn’t mind at all, since my legs were sore all week, and since it was so freaking hot. We walked then fake ran a pose for Steven at the 2.75 mile marker.

Ha ha. Steven walked with us for about two miles, then went back to the finish line. We walked our way to the end, finishing just under an hour an a half.

I know Tori was really upset that she was feeling too ill to run, but I didn’t care at all (regarding the pace – I felt bad that she was so ill). I kept telling her how I spent the entire last week in my head, worried that I would never run again (I know, how productive) so the fact that we ran AT ALL and I felt good made me feel so happy!

And I had fun just walking and talking (and sweating). Now, I just hope she can figure out the morning running/stomach thing soon so she feels better!

(Another reason I didn’t mind walking – I am in DC all week, and one of the things that upset me when I was here last time was that I couldn’t run. So, I think it is better I took it easy on the day my flight left! I know I will get to run in DC now.)

Updated to add: garmin info here!

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By kilax, May 21, 2010 6:09 am

Do you like going to garage sales? Do you go looking for something in particular, or do you just browse? What do you usually buy? Do you ever have your own garage sales? Any crazy stories to share?

Weird question, right? Well, the other day while in the car, Steven and I passed a banner announcing that our neighborhood garage sale is this weekend – Thursday through Saturday, in fact. I promptly told Steven that my idea of hell was spending a day going to garage sales.

I am not a very good shopper. I don’t like to browse. I like for a store to carry what I have in mind, or something adequate, then buy it, spending minimal time browsing. I don’t like to shop just to shop – to look for things just for something to buy, which is what would be happening if I went to a garage sale.

I know there are cool things out there to be found though! I’m just not driven to search for them, because I figure if I don’t want them now, I don’t need them when I find them.

And I think some people do go to garage sales looking for certain things. Again though, that is not for me because I hate to search/browse.

Right now, we give most of the stuff we could sell at a garage sale to Salvation Army (and deduct it on our taxes). I’ve heard horror stories about bartering at garage sales, so I am not sure if I would want to have one of my own!

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By kilax, May 20, 2010 6:30 am

I always feel so guilty when I am posting away and have not been commenting on my friends’ blogs posts! I will get to them! I have just been too tired to read blogs on the train. And when I have something I want to write, I always give that priority – whether that is bad or good, it makes me feel better to get things off of my chest.

I’m totally losing my mind this week. Since Sunday, all I can think about is my lower legs. I’m icing them, stretching them, foam rolling them, not running, even taking ibuprofen when I remember*… why do they still hurt (hurt areas circled in photo below**)?

I say to myself you barely run, you run slow, you run low mileage, there is no reason your legs should ache!

But I also say you got too fat, you ran too many hills, you didn’t stretch properly, you did too much cross training and now you are paying the price.

Ah, the back and forth mental battle. I swing from extreme optimism that this is just an off week and I will be fine  soon, to extreme worry and doubt that I will have to cancel all of my upcoming races.

See? I am losing my mind.

To try to comfort myself, I started thinking about why not running bothers me so much. And it’s the same problem I had before – I let it define me. It’s my fun evening activity. It’s what I do. I am a runner. Just thinking about not being able to run causes extreme angst and makes me wonder “what will others think if I can’t run?!”

And that is when I though “aha!” See, no one, no matter how much they care, will ever care about MY running as much as I do. Not even Steven (and boy, he must be sick of me this week). If I can’t run a race, people will say, “I’m sorry, I hope you are better soon!” and mean it, but they won’t think less of me for not being able to run (they might think, “I totally saw this coming!” though). And they definitely won’t waste the time thinking about it that I have.

I can’t believe I’ve been so caught up in that this week – in the worry of what others will think (and by others, I mean blog readers, because my family/coworkers don’t really ask about my running). That’s really not like me.

Have you ever really worried about something and the way it makes you look to others, only to realize that you are probably the only one who cares about it so much?

Not to say that no one cares about us and our concerns, just that they aren’t always as important to others as they are to us!

Side note: I took that image from a cool website called Athletes Treating Athletes. The website is a resource for self treatment for the aches and pains we get from training. Check it out!

*I rarely take medicine and forget you can take it for muscle pain!
**If I have pain in the areas circled in red, are they shin splints? Last year, my shin splints were on my inner leg.

Comments (44)

By kilax, May 19, 2010 6:09 am

Whenever someone continually does or says things that I perceive as crappy*, I often think “They must not realize how crappy their behavior comes off as. Why else would they keep doing it”?

Mind you, I am not particularly giving them the benefit of the doubt, or really excusing their behavior. No, I am just trying to rationalize why some people seem to continue to do things that I would think most others find crappy as well.

For example, quite a few people from my neighborhood ride the same train as me every day. One man in particular lives very close to us and is sometimes driving behind us on the way home (the drive home is mostly through residential neighborhoods). We actually try to avoid being in front of him on the drive though, because he rides so close to us that we can never see his front bumper. He swerves around in the lane and passes people that are going over the speed limit (in no passing zones) – I’ve had him do it to me.

You think he is just a bad driver? I think he is just an asshole who doesn’t realize how crappy his behavior comes off as. There is no reason to ride that close to someone in a residential neighborhood where the speed limit goes down to 20 because you are passing a park full of children. That’s just not safe (seriously, the other day, he got impatient because the person in front of him was turning, so he whipped around them, right by this park – and I can not tell you how many times I have seen kids randomly dart across the street there).

In my mind, I think it would be wonderful to go around telling people about all the things they do that I perceive as so crappy. I think, “Someone must tell them! They must know!”

Another theoretical example would be coworkers who constantly tease and say crappy things to you. Or the friend who treats you like crap. They just must not know, right? Why else would they act so crappy?

Obviously, I am not using my best examples, because that would be inappropriate and mean. But what I am getting at is that I often find myself questioning why people act they way they do, when it is so apparent to me that their behavior is crappy and unnecessary. In a perfect world, I am in a situation where I can tell people when I think they are being crappy, but that is not always the case (okay, that is rarely the case).

I think most people just don’t realize how they are perceived. I KNOW I DON’T. I would love to know how I come off to other people. I am sure there are things I do that others find crappy, that I don’t even realize. Do we ever become that in-tune with our personalities? Do we ever learn to know ourselves that well? I struggle to know who I am – my core personality, along with my wants and desires. Each year (heck, each day) I feel like I learn a little more, but something will happen and I will be completely shocked by how it affects me, and it makes me realize I still don’t know myself that well.

What do you think of my naive theory? Do you know anyone who does or says crappy things and find yourself questioning them? How do you think you are perceived – do you think you have an accurate view of yourself?

Hopefully this makes sense to someone. Because I think about it a lot. I really think that most people don’t realize how the crappy (or not-crappy) things they do make others perceive them. I’ve gotta believe that if they knew, they would quit acting that way. Otherwise, there are a lot more crappy people in this world than I thought.

Since you said you like pictures**, here is someone who never acts crappy (just snobby):

*If you’re feeling up for it, you can replace the word “crappy” with “shitty” every time it is used.
**Although, it defeats the purpose if it is all the way down at the bottom of the post (and not related to the content at all), right? You like pictures to break up the text?

Comments (40)

By kilax, May 17, 2010 4:49 am

I found this when I went to bed last night:

At first glance, I didn’t see the text and thought Data put his toy mouse and a popsicle stick (from where though?) on the bed. Then I saw that it said, “Do you miss me? Love Mom.”

I love my goober mother.

And yes, I do miss my parents, who were here Thursday night through Sunday afternoon. We always look forward to their visits – we have so much fun! We usually have a lot planned (this time, it was the Workout in the Park, seeing Iron Man 2, putting a hitch on my car, and a ton of projects on the Datsun 280Z) and seem to find even more to do when they visit (this time, it was shopping, trying new recipes, going to the garden, and watching the birds with Data). We get up early to maximize the day and our time together, and usually stay up late chatting.

Data and Mom watching for birds – my parents brought me another shepard’s hook and two feeders!

We have so much fun with them that it is a letdown to get back to normal life after they leave. So, yes mom, I do miss you, and dad!

What is your relationship like with your parents (or family)? How often do you see them? When do you miss them?

I would estimate that I see my parents 10 times a year – a lot more during the summer. But they only come out to our home once or twice a year, and that time always feels really special to me, because I get them all to myself. Muah ha ha!