Comments (50)

By kilax, July 31, 2013 12:45 pm

Awhile ago, I was telling Steven about a run with friends and he asked me what one of them did for a living. I told him that I thought they worked in a certain field… but I wasn’t sure exactly what they did. He was surprised work didn’t come up when we ran. Hmm. Maybe it does for other people, but not for me – I run to escape all that!

Then yesterday, Anne and I were chatting and I realized I don’t really know much about what she does for work*. I know how she feels about work. And where she works. 

Anyway, you know this all got me thinking – one of the most common questions that comes up when you meet someone for the first time** is “what do you do for a living?” Right? So, why the hell don’t I know (more specifics, anyway)?

I wonder if the fact that I often run with bloggers or people in my running club, makes it so that I feel comfortable talking to them already, and skip all of the dinner party/getting to know someone type questions. Maybe?

Or maybe it’s just that I don’t want to talk about my day job, so I assume other people don’t as well?

Hmm. 

It’s funny – someone asked me a few weeks ago if I still have my architecture related day job, because I post so much about teaching at Essential Fitness and about Fake Meats on Facebook. I do!

Ha, maybe that is just it – for me, I tend to talk more about the work I enjoy (and feel it’s appropriate to discuss)!

Can you name what your workout buds do for a living?

Do you like to talk about work when you run, or would you rather not think about it?

Most people I know don’t understand what I do, anyway. They hear “architecture degree” and think ONE thing. But! I’ve written about that before!

*Pretty sure she’s a bounty hunter.
**Whether or not it’s appropriate.

Comments (37)

By kilax, July 30, 2013 12:23 pm

It’s official!

I said “yes”!

My sister comes up with the most clever ideas! She sent (or gave, in person) each of her bridesmaids a box like this, asking them to be in the wedding!

I’ve never been a maid/matron of honor (MOH) before! In fact, I have only been a bridesmaid once. As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t have many close friends in college, and the people I am closest with now, were already married when I met them. I am excited to be Christina’s MOH! She was my MOH, and did a wonderful job! I am looking forward to returning the favor… especially when it comes to keeping the dance floor active!

Have you ever been a maid/matron of honor, or best man?

If you were getting married now, who would you ask to be in your wedding party? If you are already married, is it any of the same people that were in your wedding party (if you had one)?

Comments (20)

By kilax, July 29, 2013 6:28 am

Just a few funnies to start your Monday… somehow two of them ended up being cat related… oops?

Funny #1: Like I said, Rachel and I found some some funny cat print clothes on Amazon before we settled on the Grumpy Cat shirts for our race last week. One thing I found was so completely awesome I had to buy it (as a gag gift?) for my snister. Judging from the post she left on my Facebook wall, and our following conversation… I think she found it humorous!

Come on, Facebook! What kind of an image preview is that?! Here is the full dress:

Damn. If only it came in my size. Erin didn’t include this in her cat ladies fashion post, but I bet she just overlooked it. Yep! That’s it!

Would you find it amusing to get that dress as a gift in the mail? Ha ha ha.

Funny #2: Here is a gif of what Data did to keep himself distracted while I took my test last week (you might have to reload as I set it up to just play once through, or, click on it to watch it in a new screen):

Get that mousie! Hmm, I wonder if this gif will ever make it to this blog?!

Funny #3: Well, only me and a few other people may find this funny, but yesterday I was over confident during my run and skipped a porta pottie in favor of a public bathroom (with real plumbing) I knew was a mile+ down the road. BAD idea. BAD! I should know better. It was probably my fastest mile as I picked it up to get to the bathroom before I had an accident. I got there… and the door was locked. P-A-N-I-C!!! I asked my dad where I should go (first thought: bushes) and he suggested running to the hospital, which was across the street. As I took off to run there, a lady pulled up, got out of her car and asked if I needed to use the bathroom. YES!

Only, she was walking really slow from sciatica pain. Which was funny, as one of the questions on my personal trainer exam was about sciatica. So we slowly walked to the bathroom and unlocked it for me. But! No accidents! Woo hoo! So happy she showed up when she did! 

Funny #4: Gina* sent me a super cute video of Luca singing happy birthday to me. He has the “birthday” part missing in some of the phrases, so he was singing “Happy Kim.” Yes! That video did make a very happy Kim!!!

Funny #5: Actually NOT funny. This fall weather in the summer. I have been to my parent’s cabin on the Mississippi River twice this summer, and both times, I’ve had to borrow sweat pants** from my Grandma (who lives there year round) because it is so dang cold. Yes! You are completely surprised I am saying this, as I loooooove cold weather. However… I want it to be hot when I go to the river! I want to swim and go on boat rides! Although, playing Trains for the first time was fun!

Any funnies from your weekend?

*Gina updated her blog! Go read it! Especially my comment that came off completely wrong. Sigh. I am good at that!
**I was of the “If I don’t pack pants***, I won’t need them!” mindset. I probably should pack them… THEN I won’t need them. 
***I am not running around naked, just in shorts. 

Comments (15)

By kilax, July 28, 2013 9:50 pm

Highlight of the Week: Everything. This week rocked. I wish every week could be like this. But, um, yeah, I don’t have five-day weekends every week. Must work on that.

Monday | July 22, 2013: 6 m bike + teaching strength class
Loc: Millenium Trail + hood, Temp: 89°/90°, Time: 32:59, Pace: 10.9 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: frustrated with my day
Strength: bench and bells, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: stinky
Tuesday | July 23, 2013: 10.5 m run (all w/Bobbi, last 6.5 w/Emily)
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 67°/66°, Time: 1:48:46, Pace: 10:21 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great!
Wednesday | July 24, 2013: swim (32 x 25m) + 7 m run (w/Liz) + strength class
Swimming: alternating freestyle and updated: breast stroke, Time: 26:00, Difficulty: medium, Felt: like I should slow down and focus on breathing
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 58°/66°, Time: 1:07:24, Pace: 9:37 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: fabulous after I went to the bathroom at mile 3
Strength: indoor/outdoor class, Difficulty: medium, Felt: tired
Thursday | July 25, 2013: 4 m run + Full Moon 5K (w/Rachel)
Loc: hood, Temp: 54°/55°, Time: 39:33, Pace: 9:53 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: tired-o
Loc: Madison (around Monona Bay), Temp: 72°/69°, Time: 27:28, Pace: 8:48 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good
Friday | July 26, 2013: rest
Saturday | July 27, 2013: Tread the Trail for Epilepsy 5K (w/Dad)
Loc: Paradise Valley Campground Garnavillo, IA, Temp: 54°/55°, Time:35:43, Pace: 11:57 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Sunday | July 28, 2013: 14 m run (w/Dad on bike)
Loc: Guttenberg, IA, Temp: 54°/59°, Time: 2:23:09, Pace: 10:13 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good

Notes:

• I notice I am must less “planned” with my fuel on long runs now. I used to religiously take a GU every 4 miles… today I ran 14 miles and took two GUs. And just when I felt hungry. I wonder if that strategy will backfire, as I used to get SUPER hungry on long runs. Or maybe my body has become more efficient in creating ATP from stored fat and carbohydrate. Ha ha ha. Riiiiight. 
• Two races this week! Woo hoo! It wasn’t planned that way on purpose (at first), but it turned out to be really fun. And the races were quite different from one another – one was in the dark on a paved trail and one was a trail race!
• My dad says he plans to continue running! He at least has to finish the plan he was following. Then I will help him develop a new one and we can plan our next race. Yay! I am still giddy over the fact that I got to do a race with my dad!!!
• I remembered something funny from the 5K Dad and I did – they gave you a sticker with your name and age on it for your “bib.” Then they took it off at the finish and put it on the board for age group placements. I knew from the get go that I was one of one in my age group. Ha ha. 
• I enjoyed swimming laps at the pool one day this week. I found it relaxing. It would be nice if I could somehow work that in to my weekly schedule. And I think I’d like to get a refresher on technique. I can tell I am straining my neck when I do the freestyle stroke. 
• I have some more fun cross training planned for the upcoming week! And! A 3-day work week! Woo hoo!

Comments (28)

By kilax, July 27, 2013 8:08 pm

Aka, Dad’s FIRST 5K EVER*!!!

I had planned to run this race solo, at the end of June, but the race had to be postponed until today, because the trail was flooded so badly on the original race date. Oh! Did I mention this was a trail race? Muah ha ha. My first 5K (in 2003) was a trail race too!

This was a pretty legit trail race. Back in the woods, running over sticks and rocks, hills, a few streams to jump over and one that you had to run through. Yay mud! Yay puddles! I loved it!

Oops. Back to the story. 

So. The race was postponed and I told my dad it would be an awesome birthday gift for me (my birthday is next week) if he ran this race with me. And lo and behold, he started training (following this plan) on June 30th! Woo hoo! I was super excited to hear about all of my dad’s training walk/runs, especially since he told me he was starting to look forward to running and really liked the way it made him feel after. 

The race was held at a campground in Garnavillo, IA, and the proceeds went toward Epilepsy Research. 21 people ran the 5K. I am not sure how many walked. But it was small and AWESOME! Free pancakes and sausage after! I didn’t eat any, but thought that was really cool that they offered them. And it was also really cool that most of the participants knew each other – I think we may have been the only random people that found the race! 

The race started up a steep incline on a road, then we were on nice, soft trails right away. 

It was cool when we started (55°!), and we were back in the shaded woods, with a breeze. It really felt nice out! Perfect fall summer weather. In July. 

Most of the race was in the woods, with a bit of it on the campground and one bit around a corn field. The volunteers did a great job marking the race and directing runners**. I was impressed. For the first year of the race, it went off really well! I was a little bummed I didn’t get an official bib (for my BibFOLIO), but I got a nice shirt and water bottle!

I think my dad did really well during the race. Especially since he trained on a paved flat trail, not a “trail” trail! No trips on the trail, very few walk breaks, and he ran right through the stream. Woo hoo! His breathing rate was pretty high, but yeah, we were running hills. On an uneven terrain. Derpitty. 

We told a few other runners that this was his first 5K and I think they were impressed his first 5K was a trail 5K! They told him (as I did) that a road 5K would feel like a breeze now. Time to find one! I have my eye on the one I normally run in my hometown in October…

I don’t think I can express in words how happy I am that my dad trained and ran this with me. Running is really important to me (duh). It makes me feel good, it puts me at peace, it’s helped me make friends and learn more about my community and communities I visit… It just makes me happy. And to share that with someone in my family makes me feel really good. Thank you, dad. Now, KEEP running! 

Since the race was really small, I placed 1st in my age group. Out of one. And my prize was a Subway gift card!

Dad was third in his age group! Out of three! He didn’t get a prize though. Ha ha. 

Our final finish time was 35:42!

It would be fun to do this again next year, if we happen to be in town. I do hope they do it again – I really enjoyed the course, especially the puddles and mud. Ha ha!

Thanks to Mom for being spectator extraordinaire!!! Maybe she’ll want to do it next year too. Muah ha ha.  

*run, not walked
**The winner got off course, but I think it’s because his missed a sign that said “keep left.”

Comments (34)

By kilax, July 26, 2013 2:04 pm

What is the perfect way to celebrate passing the personal trainer exam (for me)?

Hanging out with these two:

Sox & Leo

I mean, hanging out with their fur mom, Rachel! And running the Full Moon 5K!

Rachel told me about the Full Moon 5K when we ran the South Shore Half Marathon together – how the Full Moon 5K is at night, runs along the bay, there is someone dressed up as a wolf, how fun it is… It did sound fun, so I made sure to sign up in April on opening registration day, as it sells out quickly.  I think it only cost $20 to register! And we got a way schweet Brooks shirt!

GLITTER!!!

A week and a half before the race, I (sorta) jokingly emailed Rachel a link to a shirt with cats sitting on pizzas (thanks for showing it to me, Kelly) and told her we should wear them for the race. Only, Rachel found something even better…

Whaaa?! Grumpy cat AND a full moon?! Score! Great find, Rachel!

Wait! Why are there scissors in that pic? Well…

Heh heh heh. Rachel had a brilliant slogan idea (thanks for the glow-in-the-dark paint, Emily!), and found a tutorial for us to make the shirts in to racerback tanks (she posted about it in her recap). 

SADLY, only one or two people commented on our AWESOME shirts. Sigh. Do these people not know who grumpy cat is?! Or is the better question, why do I wear things expecting people to comment on them? Hmmm…

ANYWAY. Gah, I really drag these posts out. 

The race started at 9:00 pm. 9:00 pm! Otherwise known as, my dream bedtime. What is the latest time you have ever started a race?

The race is a point to point that runs along Monona Bay. It was really fun to run in the dark. We wore our headlamps and had on glow bracelets, and the volunteers were really great about keeping people on course. There was a light rain, and the temp was in the mid 60s – really nice conditions for a 5K on a summer night!

Rachel and I both talked about how we haven’t been doing speedwork, and how a sub 9:00 pace was out of the question, but we actually ended up picking it up, and running NEGATIVE splits! In a 5K! That never happens to me! We ran 9:11, 8:59, 8:20 and 7:55 for the last tenth. Of course, I was still in study brain mode and was thinking about VT1 and VT2 and where I was with my breathing… but I made sure not to talk about that. Ha ha ha!

After the race, I got a cookie from the BEST post race cookie spread ever:

Then Rachel, Linda (new blogging friend, yay!) and I went out for food and drinks.

It was a wonderful, relaxing way to spend my day after a somewhat anxiety-filled morning. Thanks to Rachel (and her husband, Kevin) for having me! I can’t wait to run with Rachel again. Rachel! We must find something in August! No waiting until NFEC!

Drum roll please… it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for (?) – the winners of the SUPER BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered and donated to the Lung Run! If you are local to Chicago, Anne is hosting a Fun Run and Sausage Fest in August to raise more money, if you are interested!

And now, for the winners, selected by random.org (91, 163, 13, 53, 181, 27, 112 and 38):

#1 – MAGGIE — My two favorite OPI colors – DS Classic and DS Extravagance, and Ridge Filler (for the base).
#2 – ERICA — GustBuster 43″ umbrella – AVAILABLE IN MULTIPLE COLORS.
#3 – MARTYMANKINS — $25 iTunes giftcard. 
#4 – RACHEL — Star Wars Chop Sticks and Millenium Falcon Ice Cube Tray. 
#5 – NILSA — Lousiville Vegan Jerky Co. Bourbon Smoked Black Pepper Jerky from FakeMeats.com.
#6 – RUNNINGLAUR — Gorjana Bloom Hexagon Stud Earrings (if available). 
#7 – BOBBI — BibFOLIO (your choice).
#8 – CHRISTINA — Christina – you get to pick one of the 7 offered prizes!

Congrats, winners!

To claim your prize, email me at kilax@ilaxstudio.com! If you don’t claim the prize within a week (8/2), I will probably award it to someone new. 

Comments (92)

By kilax, July 25, 2013 2:03 pm

Did you know that the thumb is one of only three* triaxial/multiplanar joints in the body?

Do you know how many little tidbits like that I have floating around in my brain right now?

How long do you think they will last up there, now that I have PASSED the ACE Personal Trainer Exam, and am a certified personal trainer?!

WOO HOO!

Oh my gosh. I thought the test was really hard, and all the practice tests I took didn’t really prepare me for the type of questions that were going to be on it at all. There were so many things I focused on that weren’t on the test at ALL.

Ugh. 

After I maxed out of my three hour time limit, I closed my eyes, scared to see if I passed or not. I opened them and saw… an test evaluation screen. Ha ha ha. I just clicked “highly satisfied” until I got to the screen that said I passed. 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to say thank you A MILLION times to Brian, my trainer, who encouraged me to study for this certification, taught me, and supported me (including financially). And thanks to Steven, for also supporting me, and helping me study and putting up with all my “I can’t do that – I have to study!!!!” arguments. 

And thanks to my friends who helped me study, re-taught me math, encouraged me (I was so surprised by the amount of good luck texts and emails I got this week!), listened to me go on and on about ACE stuff they didn’t care about, and understood why I was saying “no” again to some fun plans. 

And thanks to all of you!

What changes now? 

Not much, really. I still work a full time job outside of teaching strength class. The good change is, now I get to read “for fun” again and have more of a life!

*What are the other two, Kim?

Comments (58)

By kilax, July 24, 2013 10:19 am

It’s weird to think that I haven’t raced since the Chicago Women’s Half with Anne on June 23rd! Whoa! It’s been a month! But hey, once I race with Anne, why would I want to race again, unless I could do it with her? Hee hee hee. 

The only thing I was registered for at the time of the Chicago Women’s Half, was the Full Moon 5K in Madison tomorrow night, with Rachel (can’t wait!!!!). But in the past couple of weeks, I have added a few more races! Here is what I have upcoming for July – Sept (and you can always see my schedule here):

• July 27 – Tread the Trail for Epilepsy 5K in Garnavillo, IA with my dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• August 11 – Iron Girl Triathlon Relay in Pleasant Praire, WI with Chris and Judy!!! Our multisport club is sponsoring us, i.e., paid for our entry!
• September 7 – Lung Run 10K in Chicago, IL with Anne! If all goes well, this will be a PR attempt. My 51:00 PR from 2009 is a bit old.
• September 15 – North Face Endurance Challenge (NFEC) Half Marathon in Eagle, WI with Rachel! We ran the 50K last year (with Kovas!) and had so much fun! We’ve decided this year, we are going to do the half as slow as the 50K, to make the fun last even longer. Just kidding! North Face is giving me a free entry to this race, and if you want to enter any of the Wisconsin or Georgia NFEC events, use xxx! (code removed for privacy reasons)

That’s it for now! There are two other races I am looking at in September, but have not signed up for yet. 

What is on your calendar for the rest of July through September?

Comments (61)

By kilax, July 23, 2013 12:16 pm

Hey! This post is about racing and body weight. If the subject of body weight bugs you, please skip this post!

Declan mentioned in his Chicago RnR race recap that he lined up with the 1:30 pace group and noticed that he must have been the only guy near 180 lbs. I asked in a comment if he feels that he is heavier for the paces he runs, because I sometimes feel that way – my totally pedestrian PRs match up with people much smaller than me – and Declan said that, yeah, he is a little bigger for his pace (and also, that he is happy at that weight). 

Me, running with people smaller than me. LOL! And not trying to be weird/insensitive about weight comparison – just acknowledging I don’t have the typical “runner’s body.”*

Later in the day, I was chatting with Gina, and she was telling me how she just learned about Clydesdale and Athena race categories. These race categories are optional (I think?) to enter, and defined by weight – ranging from 140 lbs and over for a female and 200 lbs and over for a male. So, instead of being in the age group rankings with everyone else, you would be ranked in this category only (usually). 

All that weight talk in one day got me thinking. 

First of all, I don’t think I have ever run a race that had the Clydesdale and Athena categories. And if I had the chance to register in those categories, I am not sure if I would or not. I mean, I will never NOT be Athena category. So I will always be eligible for them! I just wonder, if I was training for speed, and was going to go for an age group award, if I would rather compete with the “whole” than with people in my weight division. If that makes any sense. Like, if I am going to compete… compete with everyone. Otherwise, I am not sure I would care? 

And I don’t really even need to think about it, because I am not one to place in races that often!

My age group placement strategy – small races/small fields. And don’t tell your similarly paced/same age group friends about the race. Ha!

Would you register in the Clydesdale or Athena category at a race, if you were eligible?

And second thought – it is very cool that there are people at heavier weights who have the aerobic capacity to still perform at the same level as people (much?) smaller than them. It will take more force/work (f=ma!), so it’s less efficient, but hey, is still works. 

Fun news: while I was writing this, my brother-in-law, Andrew, emailed me that he got second place in the under 40 Clydesdale group for the olympic triathlon he did on Sunday!

*I like my more muscular (than slender) build. 

Comments (87)

By kilax, July 22, 2013 6:28 am

Yo!

It’s my eight year blogiversary!

It was actually yesterday, but, duh, I had to post my training recap then. I know if I didn’t you guys would be really disappointed.

Riiight. 

I actually missed my seven year blogiversary last year, and never did anything to celebrate my readers, so this year, I wanted to make sure I didn’t slack. 

So! I have EIGHT different prizes and EIGHT different people will win. How did I select the prizes? They either reflect my interests or are some of my favorite products. 

Note: I will be funding these all. 

EXTRA SPECIAL NOTE: check out the bonus entry option below – for every $5 donated to Anne‘s fundraising page for the Chicago Lung Run, you get FIVE extra entries. FIVE. That is a lot, yo. 

And now… on to the prizes!

#1 – My two favorite OPI colors – DS Classic and DS Extravagance, and Ridge Filler (for the base).
#2 – GustBuster 43″ umbrella – AVAILABLE IN MULTIPLE COLORS. I thought umbrellas sucked until Steven’s dad got me this one for Christmas. It’s an umbrella that ACTUALLY works! If you ever have to go to downtown Chicago on a rainy day, you know how special this is. Ha. 
#3 – $25 iTunes giftcard. 
#4 – Star Wars Chop Sticks and Millenium Falcon Ice Cube Tray. 
#5 – Lousiville Vegan Jerky Co. Bourbon Smoked Black Pepper Jerky from FakeMeats.com.
#6 – Gorjana Bloom Hexagon Stud Earrings (if available). 
#7 – BibFOLIO (your choice).
#8 – Surprise based on whomever wins… (unfortunately, is NOT a date with Henry Cavill).

SUPER BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!! Rules

1. Eight readers will receive a prize. Which prize received will be determined by the order that person’s name is drawn – the first person gets prize #1, the second person gets prize #2, and so on. 
2. REQUIRED to enter the giveaway: leave a comment telling me you want to enter. Yes, it is that easy.
   
3. For a bonus entry: get 5 extra entries for every $5 donated to Anne’s lung run fundraising page (click here). 
4. You can leave all entry comments in ONE comment if you’d like.
5. This giveaway is open until 12:00 PM CST on Friday July 26. I will announce the winner on Saturday July 27 (or earlier, if I feel ambitious).
6. Random.org will pick the eight winners. 
7. This giveaway is open to all US readers.