Comments (45)

By kilax, March 13, 2013 5:03 am

As in… what kind of friend are you? The sensible one who is the voice of logic when someone else suggests a crazy idea? Or, the crazy one who came up with the idea (or at least supports it!)?

I suppose it depends on the friend, and the situation, right?

I think I am the crazy one. Last week, when I was having lunch with Erin, I suggested she come run a 5K with me, then just pick up 17 miles after to make it part of her 20 miler. Nbd, right?

We both laughed when I suggested it. Because it was so ridiculous (we’ll run 20 sans the 5K together), but I pointed out to her that it probably would not be the most ridiculous thing I’ve convinced her to do. I told her I was going to start making a list and rank the items. 

Draft list of crazy harebrained ideas I have somehow convinced Erin to do:

1. Back to back weekends of half marathons. It’s always the first one that comes to mind. I paced Erin for her first sub 2:00 at the Illinois half in 2011, then we both ran the Wisconsin half the weekend after. We were miserable at the second race.
   
2. PRing at a 5K then running 6+ miles home after. Hey! That just happened!
3. Riding 65 miles on mountain bikes with a lunch that included alcoholic beverages. I think Erin survived that one better than I did.
4. Waking up at 4:45 am to watch the Women’s Olympic Marathon. What a letdown.  
5. Running 2 miles to the start of a 5K. Wait. That doesn’t seem crazy. 
6. That 22-miler at Waterfall Glen. I ran 12 then got on my bike. “I’ll pace you! It will be fun!” I said…
7. Ragnar 2011. Actually, Erin asked ME to be on her team!
8. Not bringing a coat to NYC in March of 2012. But it was so nice out at first!

Ha ha. I am going to stop there*. BUT! I bet I could make a list like this for most of my friends.

Hey, Bobbi, let’s run Veterans Marathon together! We can get ready in a few weeks!

Gina! I have a layover at the airport on your birthday! Come see me?!

Oh, Anne, you want to take my class? Let’s run before!

I never learn. And you have all been forewarned. Watch out for proposed schemes from me! Listen to your sensible friends!

What are you scheming up with your friends these days?

Ha ha. So the entire reason I thought to write this post is because here I am, making Erin try to do all this crazy stuff, and she is just trying to watch my back. I mentioned that I ate candy as fuel during last Saturday’s 18 miler and had a bathroom emergency. Erin told me the candy probably wasn’t the best idea for fuel, and that the toilets weren’t open on the lakefront, so I better be careful on this upcoming 20-miler on Saturday. To which I responded with a picture of this:

No response. Hmm. 

Then I was browsing the April issue of Runner’s World last night and saw this gem!!!

Hello! Runner’s World is inviting me to eat candy on my run!!!

I finally got a response from Erin. 

Alright Erin. You win this round. You are the sensible friend. I won’t eat any candy… until the last few miles. HAHAHAHAHA. And I will bring a piece of paper. 

 *Isn’t it funny that all of this is documented on my blog? I could probably dig up a lot more. 

Comments (42)

By kilax, March 12, 2013 11:37 am

Someone asked me why I’m running so much, so I thought I would answer! Maybe you’ve been wondering too? Probably not. Why would anyone care? Hmm. Anyway…

So I told this person a short and simple answer of “because I love it and I feel good.” But since they asked, and the way they asked implied that they thought it was odd, I have been thinking about it some more. So here are the honest reasons why I am running so much, right now. I have two “good” reasons for you, one “bad” one, and some bonus reasons. 

The Good Reasons

Reason #1 – I love to run / it makes me feel fantastic / it clears my mind. Running is not only cheaper than therapy, it’s like my little dose of anti-anxiety medication each morning I run. It clears my mind, makes me calmer all day long, yet, energizes me. It’s one of the only times of day I can really focus, and straighten things out in my head. It just makes me feel damn good. And it’s not wrong to crave that feeling. 

Reason #2 – I need to lose weight and running is an efficient way to burn calories. I’m overweight. I need to lose weight. Running helps. That one’s pretty simple. 

The Bad Reason

Reason #3 – I am compulsive and obsessed with running. I am not going to pretend I am not. I get a kick out of adding up my mileage, and seeing how far I can go. This could be worrisome… if I didn’t feel good, or like running. But I have no aches or pains, and love what I am doing. And it’s not like I am a speed demon, running too fast and asking for injury. I have run through injury, stupidly, and won’t be doing that again. 

The Bonus Reasons

Reason #4 – I thrive on winter running. I prefer to run in the winter, in the dark and cold. So this is the time of year for me. 

Reason #5 – I tend to run more when I am making up my own plan. I am not following a specific training plan, and just do whatever I want. More freedom and a feeling of less obligation to stick to a plan makes me run more. 

Reason #6 – I DO WHAT I WANT. Ha. Had to get Data’s M.O. in there! If I want to run a lot (for me, this is all relative, of course), I will.

So, there you go. 

Do you feel a bit defensive when people inquire why you are doing so much of something? Or so little? Or why something at all?

Psst. I made all that up. Here’s the REAL reason:

Comments (53)

By kilax, March 12, 2013 6:18 am

Post #1 for the day… come back later for post #2 when I explain why I’ve been running so freakin’ much (someone asked me, so I’ve been thinking about it).

Years ago, I read a lot of weight loss blogs. I was deep in another failed attempt to shed pounds and I thought reading those might be helpful. 

It wasn’t. The hard data (weight loss per week, starting weight, how many calories eaten in a day, specific food) made me compare myself to others, which I am not apt to do*. And geesh, all that talk about food made me feel snacky!

So I quit reading them. I know I have talked about this before, but I feel it’s important to point out from time to time, as a reminder as to why I don’t comment much on your WIAW posts, or how much weight you have lost, etc. It’s too triggering for me. I support you – I just cannot read too much of that stuff. And it’s also why I don’t talk about it here much – to respect that for other people.

Anyways… (geesh, that was a long intro!)

When I was reading those weight loss blogs, I really started to like the term non-scale victory (NSV). NSVs are, well, non-scale related progress you’re making! Fitting in to an old pair of jeans, having more energy, not eating the entire bag of chips, etc. It’s just a way to remind ourselves not to focus on the scale all. the. freaking. time. 

What do you think of the idea of NSVs? Hokey? Cool? Whatever?

So. I actually have an NSV to share. I feel like such a dork. But! I am so proud of me and Steven. 

We have been doing a kickass job of consuming all of the produce we buy each week. And check out the picture below. We buy a lot!

Note: broccoli is missing – I think they were out. 

That’s produce for two people. For one week! We’ve been consistently running out of everything, and even needing to make little trips to the store to stock up. 

It doesn’t seem like a big deal. In fact, when I write it out, it actually seems like we are bad at estimating how much we are going to eat. Ha ha. But what it really means is that we are eating a very healthy amount of produce each day. 

And I would rather have to make an extra trip to the store because we ran out of something, than have something sit in the fridge for weeks, only not to end up using it! And that used to happen to us! 

What type of produce goes the fastest in your house?

*And is SO not appropriate for weight loss. 

Comments (40)

By kilax, March 11, 2013 6:27 am

… that I probably already should have known about / been trying, but didn’t / wasn’t. Oops. 

One of the schweet perks of the multisport club I am in is that there are free seminars from time to time. Saturday’s seminar was on sports nutrition, and it was given by Monique Ryan, a local nutritionist who is the author of “Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes.”

The seminar focused on fueling before and after exercise, and briefly on body composition (trying to build muscle or lose weight). It was really interesting for me to sit in on the seminar since I have been doing a lot of studying around these topics in my ACE manuals and in my own personal research! 

Ryan went over carbohydrates as the body’s main fuel source, what to eat and drink before and during exercise (specific amounts), fueling for doubles, sweat loss, use of caffeine  etc. But what really stuck out to me were two basic concepts that I have really not tried. On purpose anyway. 

1. Consume a light to large meal 3-4 hours before an endurance training session or event, then top off carbohydrate stores two and one hours prior to the session/event.

So this was discussed a lot. Basically, “So I have to get up and eat at 4:00 am if I want to do a long workout starting at 8:00 am?” Ryan said yes, some people do that. I was kind of chuckling to myself, because that morning, I ate half a bagel with PB2 at 4:20 am, and was out the door at 4:35 am for an 18 mile run. 

Oops. Guess I was doing that wrong? Ha ha. The thing is, that works well for me. And I didn’t have any GI issues until mile 15.5, and I think that was due to the fact that I was eating candy as fuel during the run. <— me so smart

I really only eat two+ hours or more before exercise when I am eating at home then driving somewhere to meet someone, or for a race (which usually means I am driving somewhere as well). 

How far in advance do you have to eat prior to working out?

I do know some of you have told me it takes at least an hour, if not more, for your stomach to settle after eating. I generally know what things I can pop in my mouth and head out the door with… sometimes still chewing. 

2. Carbo-load two days before the endurance event, then eat “normal” the day before the event so you wake up hungry on event day. 

Okay, so this stupidly blew my mind. I think it’s because I have been focusing so much lately on what I eat and how much of it affects how I feel, and I am realizing the power I have over feeling awesome during workouts. So, yeah, it would be great to wake up race day feeling hungry with a nice flat stomach! Ha ha! I usually do eat a somewhat bigger (although not that much) meal the night before a race. So I may try this. Ryan also went in to how many days to carbo-load depending on the event. 

Do you usually carbo-load for an endurance event? How many days prior?

So, funny story, the first 5K Steven and I ever did together, was the NYC5K in Chicago in 2007. My parents and snis came out for it, and I made this HUGE whole wheat pasta dish the night before, like I needed all that. Sigh. I knew nothing. But was so wonderfully supported by my family. Ha ha. I still laugh about that. 

Anyway. 

Ryan seemed super knowledgeable (she’s been doing this for 24 years?) and on top of her game. There was an article in the most recent issue of Competitor Magazine about how not to “bonk” a marathon, that was called “The New Rules of Marathon Nutrition” (written by Matt Fitzgerald). I read the article (because I would REALLY like to figure out how not to bonk) and thought some of the advice seemed off. And Ryan kind of talked about how some of it was!

So anyway. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a personal nutritionist?

Wait! What am I talking about?! I hate having people tell me what to eat. Ha ha ha. 

Psst, I am not a nutritionist, so I tried to water this post down to basic concepts!

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By kilax, March 10, 2013 1:43 pm

Highlight of the Week: Knowing when to stop. This might not make any sense, but when I woke up this am and saw I was at 50.6 miles for the week, I thought “I gotta run 10 and get to 60!” Sigh. I went out on my run and felt fine and was enjoying it, but stopped at 6. I don’t need to always be pushing it. Maybe that helps with injury prevention? Ha ha. 

ALSO! I got to work out with four different bloggers this week! And take TWO new (to me) classes!

Monday | March 4, 2013: 6 m run (w/Bobbi!) + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 34°/32°, Time: 56:33, Pace: 9:25 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: happy to run w/Bobbi!
Strength: dumbbells + core, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | March 5, 2013: 10 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 30°, Time: 1:36:15, Pace: 9:37 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Wednesday | March 6, 2013: strength class + 5 m run (w/Bobbi and Carrie)
Strength: bands + dumbbells, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: good
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 31°/31°, Time: 51:40, Pace: 10:20 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Thursday | March 7, 2013: rest
Friday | March 8, 2013: 3.6 m run to 5 m run (w/Anne) + Shred 415 (w/Meghan)
Loc: Chicago, Temp: 32°/35°, Time: 35:14, Pace: 9:48, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Path, Temp: 37°/39°, Time: 1:00:46, Pace: 12:09, Difficulty: easy, Felt: g00d
Shred 415: 15 min treadmill intervals/15 mins cardio strength x 2, Difficulty: medium, Felt: strong/challenged
Saturday | March 9, 2013: 18 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 29°, Time: 2:59:26, Pace: 9:58 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good
Sunday | March 10, 2013: 6 m run + yoga (w/Katie)
Loc: hood, Temp: 39°/40°, Time: 1:00:07, Pace: 10:01avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: heavy legs
Type: Level I Yoga @ Total Body in Mundelein , Difficulty: medium, Felt: misalinged

Notes:

• I checked out Shred 415 with Meghan on Friday. Has anyone else tried Shred 415? You go back and forth between the treadmill and weights, for this class, 15 minutes at each, twice. On the treadmill, we did hill and speed intervals, and on the floor, we did the first set of cardio strength with the BOSU, and the second set on the floor/bench. Whoa. Crazy fun/hard!
• On Sunday I took a Level I yoga class with Katie. Ha ha ha – I am so awful at yoga! I try really hard to balance/be aligned, and whoa, everything is going where it shouldn’t. I felt good after class, but during it, I did worry I would twist something by doing the moves poorly (and due to my own fault – the instructor was very good and corrected me once). 
• I’ve put almost 300 miles on the Asics Gel Cumuluses I got in December and haven’t had issues with them yet! I think this just proves what I always thought – that your shoes last longer if you are lighter. What do you think?
• P.S. I ordered a new pair anyway!!!
• I had gone so long without having a bathroom emergency on a run! My streak is broken. Ha ha ha. On Saturday I barely made it back to the house. I wonder if eating candy instead of GUs had something to do with that. Hmm… nah!!!
• I am super excited for the upcoming week! I am running Erin‘s 20 miler with her (hence why I did 18 this week to prepare). Also, my friend Mica will be here for a short bit, so I may make her run with me too, ha ha. 

Comments (21)

By kilax, March 9, 2013 7:59 am

Have you ever been responsible for providing a service/solution/product/etc. to a client (someone at work or home) and no matter how many options you come up with, the client dislikes each and everyone? And the kicker is, while they know what they dislike, they don’t know what they want. And it’s not as simple as providing the opposite of what they say they don’t want. 

UGH! It’s so frustrating! What do you do to help a client find what they really do want?

I am in that situation right now. Only, I am the client! To… myself. 

I have the sole responsibility with providing myself happiness/peace of mind/balance/etc., and I’ve been failing. The frustrating thing is, I have the power and resources to provide myself these things. But the past couple of weeks I have felt irritated, moody and anxious. 

And while there are much bigger problems in the world than my mood – I do realize it’s a self-centered endeavor to try to fix it – I worry when my mood swings so much in one day, and really, from moment to moment. Like, for realz, what is my dealio?!

So I have provided a few options. To which I have disliked them all, but don’t know what I want. 

• Option A – eat all the things! Sigh. My emotions told me to try that one. Bad call, emotions. That made me feel physically and emotionally WORSE!
• Option B – do all the things! A logical response to Option A was to spend my time doing things to distract from emotional eating. Oops. Then I am a slave to my calendar, which makes me resentful… to myself. Even when they are fun activities. 
• Option C – do no things. I tried to take an afternoon to chill, as a response to Option B, and that just made me feel lazy. 

Sigh. I am being a bad client. What do I really want? Why can’t I find my balance?

Ha ha. I am sure it will come soon. Just being a bit dramatic over here. 

Do you ever find yourself the “bad client” – to someone else… or yourself?

Um… no related pictures. So here is another picture of Data. Ha! I actually took this one. Hence it being out of focus. 

And I take that back. The photo is related to the post – Data can be one PICKY client!!!!

Whoa! Huge amount of entries on the Amazon Giftcard Giveaway! I got so many entries, I decided to give away two $20 giftcards! And random.org picked #16 and #22, which is diane and Michel@Babyweightmyfatass. Ladies, please email me @ kilax@ilaxstudio.com, to claim your giftcards!

Comments (49)

By kilax, March 7, 2013 5:03 am

• Steven figured out a schweet camera modification to get Data to look at the camera – with the high-end wadded up paper towel attachment. Ha ha ha. 

 Aww, Datums, you so cute!

• I realized this week that our holiday wreath is still on the front door. FAIL!!! Or is it okay, since there is still snow on the ground?!

• My sister did pick out a wedding dress last Saturday! Here is a sneak peek!

• Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend! Are you looking forward to it? I’m a little nervous about how having extra light at the end of the day will affect my mood. I won’t mind it being darker again in the mornings, ha ha. 

Link Love
I’ve read so many great posts this week (click “continue reading” below)! I had to link up to a few! Have you read anything awesome this week that you gotta share? Continue reading 'Random Thoughts Thursday XXXV'»

Comments (90)

By kilax, March 6, 2013 6:29 am

I finally broke down. I bought a book to read that is not study material. Hey! It’s kind of about nutrition, which is the chapter I am reading about now in my ACE manual! That counts for something… right?!

Photo from Amazon

After reading this (pdf here) review of Michael Moss’s “Salt Sugar Fat” yesterday, I had to get it. Even though I am not sure when I will allow myself to read it… but seriously. Read that review, if you have time. The book sounds super interesting, basically going over how food is engineered to make us addicted to it. I wonder if it will make me stop eating oreos? Probably… NOT!

My love for oreos is just too high. Shh. I actually really like the ALDI brand “oreos” too!

Anyway! In celebration of me buying a book (ha ha) I want to giveaway a $20 amazon giftcard, so a reader can get a book too (or whatever they want on Amazon)! 

$20 Amazon Giftcard Giveaway Rules

1. One reader will receive a $20 giftcard to Amazon.com.
2. Required to enter the giveaway: leave a comment telling me your favorite genre of books to read.
3. For a bonus entry: like my Facebook page and let me know you have. 
4. For a bonus entry: post this contest on Facebook, and let me know in a comment that you did. 
5. You can leave all entry comments in ONE comment if you’d like.
6. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Friday March 8. I will announce the winner on Saturday March 9.
7. This giveaway is open to all readers.

Comments (85)

By kilax, March 5, 2013 6:39 am

Do you think you are more likely to get outside support from family and friends when you are going through something tough (job change, move, relationship issue, death, etc.) or something more, hmm… positive/in your control (going for a promotion, taking a new class, training for a race, etc.)? Or is it the same either way?

Gosh, I know it was a long time ago now, but I often think back to when I switched jobs in December 2008. Some people were really supportive. Some weren’t. I feel like it showed people’s true colors. And I felt this sense of community support by those who encouraged me. 

(Don’t worry, this is going somewhere… I hope.)

Coincidentally, the day I wrote the “secret news” post in January, I acquired some “secret” news of my own*! You guys know I have been training with Brian at Essential Fitness LLC for over two years now – doing both one-on-one and group sessions. Well, that day, Brian asked me if I would be interested in teaching the Monday night strength class!

Holy cow! YES!!! What an honor to be asked. To know that Brian thinks I am strong/capable/fit enough, and have the right personality to teach?! What a compliment!

So, Brian and I’ve been working together a lot and I taught my first class last night! It was a blast!

So how does this relate to my initial question? Well, I didn’t tell many people about this at first. Just Steven, my besties, and my parents and snister. I wanted to keep it quiet while I got ready/until I taught my first class, to make sure it was a good fit for me. 

But as I spent time with more and more people, I found it coming out of my mouth that I am studying to become an ACE-certified Personal Trainer (edited to add: my goal is to take the exam in May). And I told them I would be teaching. Gah! I was so excited I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. 

And the amount of support astonished me (phew, I finally connected it to the first sentence… I hope). I mean, really. Everyone had such nice things to say to me – about what  great fit it would be, how it was perfect for me, how I’d rock it, how it would be a kick-arse workout, and so on. I was just floored by everyone’s support. 

So it seems like now I need to replace that December 2008 job switch memory with this. Because this is much better. Ha ha. It feels so good to have this support and enthusiasm from my friends and family on this new endeavor!

And hey! If you are local, and interested in checking out my class, drop me a line! Class is Mondays at 6:30 and you can read more about what we do here**.  And it’s super affordable. 

*And one more person’s, who saw the post and emailed me their news.  
**There are two trainers named Kim. I teach the evening session. 

Comments (39)

By kilax, March 4, 2013 6:26 am

I try to be conscious of how I act around my family/friend’s children. If they are picking up any behaviors… well, they shouldn’t be mine! Hee hee. I joke. A little. 

So, I made sure not to wear these tights, even thought I wanted to, to the 5K I did last week. It’s a community event, and I knew there would be a lot of children there. 

Sigh. The sacrifices I make (TOTALLY kidding). 

I try super hard not to swear around kids. Yeah, they’re gonna hear it at some point, but it doesn’t need to be from me. I spent Saturday morning with our friends and their daughter, then Saturday afternoon at Bobbi‘s for her son’s 6th birthday. I was talking to Bobbi’s husband and the word “ass” came out of my mouth. Oh crap! I looked around and luckily there were no little ones to hear me. Phew. 

Had to share this cute picture of Bobbi’s son reading pirate jokes off of the card we got for him

So after all day Saturday with kids you think I would be in full on “PC Kim” kid-mode. GUESS NOT!

My brother and his son were in town this weekend and stayed with us Saturday night through Sunday morning. Yesterday morning, I was playing Star Wars with my oldest nephew, Nick. I have to pause and include this photo of us that I love:

So, we’re playing with my Star Wars toys* and Nick pretends that one of the characters is going to drive off the edge of the counter. 

I say, “Ahh! Amidala [character name] is suicidal!”

“Aunt Kim, what does that mean?”

SH*T.

(Don’t worry, I didn’t say that). 

Um. 

Hmm. 

My brother steps in, “It means she is jumping off the cliff.”

“And not coming back,” I add. 

Oh geesh. I really messed up that one! Now I feel like I should be making a list of words and topics not to say around children. Come on, suicidal? Derp! What was I thinking?!

Do you have a pretty decent kid-filter?

Even though I try, I sometimes feel like mine is missing!

Hey, if you’re a parent, do you get frustrated when an adult acts… questionably around your kids?

I really hope I am not on any parents’ uh, “crap” list. Ha ha. 

 Alright, one more story. I showed my nephew my medals and he said “Wow! You must be the best runner in the world!” Hee hee hee. I could get used to someone talking to me like that!

*Yeah. I have Star Wars toys in my house.