Comments (18)

By kilax, July 21, 2013 6:10 pm

Highlight of the Week: Getting some outdoor exercise in, safely, during the high heats. And not wimping out*. And not feeling like death!

Monday | July 15, 2013: teaching strength class
Strength: bench and bells, Difficulty: hard, Felt: like, OMG what was I thinking when I designed this workout?!
Tuesday | July 16, 2013: 8 m run (3 + 5 w/Bobbi and Emily)
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 72°/71°, Time: 30:22/53:07, Pace: 10:08/10:37 avg, Difficulty: medium/easy, Felt: good
Wednesday | July 17, 2013: strength class
Strength: indoor/outdoor class, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: sweat in my eyes
Thursday | July 18, 2013: 5 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 89°/92°, Time: 55:47, Pace: 11:09 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: sore feet from old shoes the day before
Friday | July 19, 2013: 8 m run + swimming (5 x 25m)
Loc: Nippersink FP, Temp: 77°/83°, Time: 1:27:07, Pace: 10:53, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: tired-o
Saturday | July 20, 2013: “rest”
Sunday | July 21, 2013: 20 m run (parts with Emily, Valerie, Bobbi and Riyanti)
Loc: Des Plaines River Trail, Temp: 67°/75°, Time: 3:36:24, Pace: 10:49 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: like I wanted to run 4eva

Notes:

• On Saturday, I had a chance to train Erin at the studio! Erin is working on being able to do one pull-up by the end of the summer, so that she can move on to more advanced trapeze moves (that require a one pull-up test to do). So I wrote up a fun full body workout for her that included some focus on core and upper body strength. She kicked butt! Erin has great form. So I mostly got to watch her workout, except for a few partner moves (and that is why rest is in quotes for Saturday). Anyway. Yeah. I totally think Erin will be able to do that pull-up soon, maybe before the end of summer. 
• I like that I sometimes get a little mini strength workout in when I work one-on-one with someone during the week! It’s fun to fit in strength stuff throughout the week. Makes me feel energized (except when I do it then run 8 miles, aka, Friday). 
• Have you ever thought about how, depending on your muscular build, height, etc., you may be better at speed or endurance, or strength or power moves?** I was thinking about that during my long run today. I think I am a built for strength and endurance. I am able to lift really heavy weights and go and go and go forever… at slower speeds. 
• I met friends for an 11 mile run this morning and felt so fab I just kept running! I love it when that happens. That needs to happen a lot this fall as I just signed up for a long distance running event. 

*Saying I did not wimp out, not saying anyone else did (trying to say – not judging, this is about me, ha ha). I could have used heat as an excuse to rest.
**Resisting explaining Type I and II muscle fibers to you guys! Too much ACE talk lately (irl and here)! 

Comments (25)

By kilax, July 20, 2013 8:21 am

Now I am a swimmer!

All I needed was goggles!

Hee hee.

My multisport club, Essential Fitness, is sponsoring me* and two other members (Chris and Judy) to do the Iron Girl Triathlon relay in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin on August 11th. The event includes a .5 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. I am the runner, but wanted to get some swims in with Chris, our swimmer! Note: I have not swam** laps since junior high.

So I met Chris last night at a local open lap swim and asked if she had a pair of goggles I could borrow. What a sweetie – she bought me my OWN pair! Thanks, Chris!

And wow, what a difference it makes when you can see the water! I am used to “swimming” in the Mississippi River, and don’t remember having goggles when I swam years ago*** – seeing where you are going sure makes it easier!****

Swimming was fun – for the 5 laps we got in before the pool was closed due to lightening. UGH!

But I remembered how to do a flip turn and felt comfortable with the strokes we did. It would be fun to have a few refresher lessons.

Gah. What am I talking about?! Why am I itchin’ to get back to the pool and see what I can do?! I suppose since I didn’t swim to exhaustion (but did feel my heart rate go up), I found it enjoyable?! Or was it the fact that it hit 100° yesterday and the water just felt so nice?! Hee hee hee.

Anyway. I have been saving money for a road bike… add a few swim lessons and I could try a triathlon someday? Maybe. Ha ha. Jumping a bit ahead here (<— this is what happens when I get overly excited about something).

 I am SO happy I wrote about my math issues yesterday. I forgot Riyanti is a math whiz! I went over to her place yesterday and she showed me a ton of awesome tricks to help me with the math problems. She was so good about picking up at my math style and understanding what was going through my head, and showing me how to work with that. She is such a great tutor. I left feeling excited, wanting to write myself practice questions just to use my new skillz.***** She made math fun. Crazy. I owe her big time!

And! Bonus of going to her place! She sells headbands now, and her girls are selling earrings, so I got to pick up a pair!!!

*Actually, sponsoring two teams! AND! There is a blogger team too – Loop Looks, Ready. Set. Feast!, and The Style Files!
**So confused.
***Although I probably did.
****I realize this is not the case in open water swimming, save for clear water.
*****I think a lot of the stuff she taught me I had learned back in grade school. But I just didn’t remember it at all, until she was showing me. She made it so clear. Really, a wonderful teacher.

Comments (30)

By kilax, July 19, 2013 5:21 am

You know what I like to use when I am doing a math problem?

A calculator. 

When I was learning long division and complicated multiplication as a kid, you know what I reassured myself I would be able to use as an adult?

A calculator. 

You know what is not allowed on the ACE personal trainer exam?

A calculator. 

Yeah, they give you a dry erase board and a marker. 

I took a practice exam last night, and tried to remember the division and multiplication without cheating (using a calculator). 

Yeah. That didn’t go so well. 

165/.85, 35,000/60, 108×4, 200 x .5 (to .8), 20 x 1 (to .2). 

Some of them went better than others (thankfully). Multiplication is easier. 

I asked Steven to help me with some of the decimal point division and he jokingly suggested that I just look at the multiple choice answers and use multiplication in reverse. Ha ha. 

I told him, I was going to ask Bobbi‘s kids to reteach this stuff to me. We both decided that would look REALLY bad. 

So. 

Time to relearn some math. 

They actually offer a math refresher course. Looks like I will be taking it. 

When my parents visited in May we were playing Triominoes and I was the score keeper for awhile. Until everyone realized that I am not that great at math. As my dad took over as score keeper, we all discussed how we do math calculations in our head, and I found out that I am taking a lot of extra steps to figure things out. I waste a lot of time breaking numbers in to easily management increments in my head, then I have to keep track what I split the number in to, and so on. It’s really weird. 

Anyway. Enough about math. 

The good news is, I can tell you how to calculate your desired body weight based on lean body weight and desired body fat. I can tell you how many grams of protein the book thinks you need. How fast the book thinks you should lose weight. How much water you should drink before, during and after you work out. And much more. 

I am just FULL of useful information. 

Ha ha. 

Sigh.

Comments (37)

By kilax, July 18, 2013 6:04 am

Have you ever taken a photo and looked at it later to find something surprising in the background?

Of course, I thought of this after someone posted this list of “22 people who really should have checked the background of their photos and videos before putting them online” on Facebook. Ha ha ha. 

Steven took a ton of photos at the Wisconsin Half Marathon this year, and when I was going through them deciding which to share, I found a really interesting one in Kim‘s finishing photos:

I was so distracted by how great Kim looked finishing the race, that at first I didn’t even notice the woman in the background, changing out of her sports bra in to a regular bra. That is actually pretty clever. Although, I probably wouldn’t do that* in public. 

Now I am going to pay closer attention to what is going on in the photos I take, especially at events with a lot of people! Even from the 5K I spectated this weekend, I noticed a few funny things going on in the background. 

Lesson learned: anyone could be taking your photo AT ANY TIME. Be mindful of what you do in public…

Riiiiiiight. 

*One of few things. 

Comments (21)

By kilax, July 17, 2013 6:01 am

… what the heck is going through a person’s mind.

Steven and I regularily attend a summer concert series at Independence Grove, Lake County’s premiere forest preserve, which is not too far from our home. Last night, we had plans to meet a few friends there.

However, on the way there, our friends texted us that the forest preserve was closed and to meet someplace else instead.

Closed? What?! I checked the forest preserve Facebook and Twitter – the last updates were from a few hours earlier, announcing the concert and artist.

But sure enough, we drove by and the place was shut down. Gate closed, cops blocking the entrance (yelling at anyone trying to get in)… weird.

I eventually remembered that the forest preserve regularly updates their website.* I looked and saw this:

Hmm, okay, whatever. We met with our friends and hypothesized what happened, theories ranging from silly to serious – killer eagles? Two headed fish? A shoot out? Drowning? Bomb threat?

Unfortunately, it was one of those, and not the two headed fish – someone called in a bomb threat (pdf here). And they appropriately shut the place down.

Sigh. I was relieved to find out no one was hurt.

But am left feeling upset about it. Not in an “I’m scared” way, or upset I didn’t get to see the concert, but just upset with people. With this person, who was either serious or making what they thought was a joke.

Independence Grove is a nature preserve. People go there to bike/swim/run/fish, have picnics with family, attend concerts… It’s just such a beautiful place, that’s always been in the “safe” category in my mind. It’s hard to think about someone wanting to bring such evil there. Why target a group of people enjoying a hot summer evening listening to music with their friends and family?!

Of course, this is the same question that can be asked about almost any bombing, or any awful act against a group of people – just, why?!

The good thing is that no one was hurt. The worst thing that happened to us last night was this bug deciding to take a bath in Bobbi‘s drink.

I just hope this doesn’t scare people away from enjoying nature/the forest preserve!

I also hope they release more info about this as they get it. Knowing more makes me feel better.

*Social media fail? I was expecting an update on the other two sites.

Comments (10)

By kilax, July 16, 2013 12:20 pm

I stumbled across this article “I’m OK, You’re Needy” (pdf here) in the WSJ, and was scared to read it, thinking it would tell me I’m too needy – for attention. I mean, #1 neediness sign – I have a blog. Derp. #2 sign, I am constantly craving interaction and reaching out to people.

But, phew, the article focused on a different type of neediness. So I am off the hook. For now. The article was about a married couple where one spouse didn’t want the other spouse to live a life outside of their needs. Like, one spouse waking up the other because they couldn’t sleep, interrupting the other spouse on the phone, not wanting them to leave to see friends… That is more than being needy for attention. That is expecting someone else to put your needs first, over their own.

Yeah. I don’t do that – put anyone’s needs in front of mine.*  Or expect anyone else to put my needs first. I am mostly in charge of making sure those are met. 

The part of the article that interested me the most was when they hypothesized what makes someone needy (in this way). Surprise, surprise, it all goes back to how you were raised:

But the way we express our needs, and how often, is mostly determined by personality and something psychologists refer to as our “attachment system.” Though partly genetic, our lifelong attachment style is largely a result of how we as young children learned to relate to our parents.

There are three basic types—secure, anxious and avoidant. Secure people are warm and loving and most likely were raised by a consistently caring and responsive caregiver. Avoidant people, whom psychologists also call “dismissive,” try to minimize closeness and often were raised in an atmosphere where neediness and insecurity weren’t tolerated.

Anxious people are the ones who typically are seen as needy. They worry about whether their partner loves them, and they most likely had parents who were inconsistently nurturing. They often are emotionally overwhelmed, says Julie Hanks, a licensed clinical social worker in Salt Lake City. “Or they might ignore, deny or minimize their needs, and then look to others to fill their emotional void in manipulative or indirect ways.”

Super, super, interesting. While I consider myself a highly anxious person, I don’t think I fit in to the anxious category when it comes to attachment system style. 

Truthfully, I don’t have much more to say about this, other than to ask you your opinion. I probably have the opposite problem – I bug people so much they want me to leave them alone. “Another email from Kim?! Geesh! Shouldn’t she be studying… or running… or working… or something?!”

Which attachment style do you think you have? 

When you hear the word “needy” do you automatically think “needy for attention,” like I did?

*And that is one of the reasons I think I would be a horrible mother. 

Comments (21)

By kilax, July 15, 2013 6:06 am

Or not. 

Do you guys follow Gretchen Rubin on Facebook? She is the author of The Happiness Project (and Happier at Home) a book Erin gave me quite a few years ago, that I really got a lot of useful information out of. 

Anyways. 

Rubin blogs at happiness-project.com, and shared a blog on Facebook last Friday that I REALLY related to – Why I’m Trying to Explain Less. 

Rubin wrote how she often over explains things – why she was late for a meeting, why she forgot something, etc. She does it because she feels bad when these things happen, and wants to show she wasn’t really doing them on purpose. But then, she saw others over explaining – in an email, and in a meeting – and realized how dang annoying it is. The extra information was cumbersome and unnecessary. 

She shared a concept that I really believe:

This behavior really annoyed me, but then I noticed the same tendency in myself. Oh my goodness, I love to explain and give facts, and to justify and defend. And, as Jung observed,  “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Or in less elegant but catchier terms, “You spot it, you got it.” Well, I got it!

Ha ha, I have never heard “you spot it, you got it,” but as I pointed out how some of my 100 Things were outdated the other day, I noticed a few things weren’t – like #81 – “I believe that the things you hate most about other people are the things you hate about yourself.” Yes. I believe that so much to this day, that when someone irritates me, I think, “Is this a trait I have myself and should be working on?”

I definitely over explain and give extra information that is NOT necessary*. And I bet that is annoying. The most recent example that comes to mind is when Steven and I were going to see a movie recently. We got to the theater, and the movie was no longer showing for the day. I was really frustrated, as I had looked up the times a few days before, and checked the website multiple times when I looked it up, because it was a website I don’t normally use. I was really frustrated (it didn’t help that the guy at the ticket counter offered to sell us tickets for a show that was already over) and kept explaining to Steven what happened and how “the show times must have changed.” But… I don’t think Steven really cared. And me dwelling on it was probably really annoying. We went to another theater and saw the show an hour later than planned (then I was really annoyed about wasting my own time, but that is another post) – so it all worked out. 

For some reason though, I had never really connected this to my annoyance with other people over explaining, until I read Rubin’s post. Yes. I do sit in meetings where people over explain. They talk so much about something that I cannot figure out what is important for me to know. I end up leaving the meeting thinking “what was the point of that?!”

Do you over explain? Or get frustrated when people do it?

Have you heard “You spot it, you got it”? What are some of the traits that annoy you in others… that you think you also have?

I wonder if there is an extreme opposite to over explaining. Like, someone who never explains their actions. Because I bet there are times when you would want to know why the heck someone was late… or why something turned out so wrong. 

*Even in this post, I have!**
**Although, that may just be a tendency to add too much detail. I know a few people who do this when telling stories, myself included. I wonder if this is part of my weird thought flow. Or just being a woman. Women tend to include more unnecessary details than men. 

Comments (24)

By kilax, July 14, 2013 5:58 pm

Highlight of the Week: Fitting in a decent amount of workouts despite my busy week (read: early wake up times) / taking photos of my multisport and running club at a local 5K on Saturday (and getting lots of compliments and thank yous on the pics!). 

Monday | July 8, 2013: 10 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Millenium trail to Nippersink FP and back, Temp: 82°/84°, Time: 1:46:45, Pace: 10:40 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: hot
Strength: Body bars, BOSU and boxing, Difficulty: medium, Felt: schweaty/excited
Tuesday | July 9, 2013: 5 m run (w/Emily <– just started her blog Thursday! Add it to your rss feed!)
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 68°/69°, 99% humidity Time: 50:40, Pace: 10:08 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: dead on my legs
Wednesday | July 10, 2013: strength class
Strength: dumbbells, body bars and core, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good – but saw I had POOR form in a vid … oops
Thursday | July 11, 2013: rest
Friday | July 12, 2013: 5 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 54°/55°, Time: 48:41, Pace: 9:44, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: pleasant
Saturday | July 13, 2013: 9 m run (w/Valerie)
Loc: Rollins Savanna, Temp: 57°/64°, Time: 1:24:56, Pace: 9:26 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Sunday | July 14, 2013: 11 m run (w/Bobbi) + canoeing (w/Steven and friends)
Loc: Grant Woods FP, Temp: 65°/75°, Time: 2:02:29, Pace: 11:08 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay
Loc: Independence Grove FP, Duration: 1 hour, Difficulty: easy, Felt: not technically proficient

Notes:

• Anne came to my class (Bobbi was there too!) again on Monday! Gosh! It must not be that bad if I got her to come back. Hee hee, no, really, I am very honored that she went out of her way to take my class, AND wrote some nice words on her blog that she could tell I have come into my own as a teacher. What a nice compliment! 
• I teach strength class in a three week cycle – so we use the same equipment every workout for three weeks. Monday was our last week with a partner body bar workout, and I wanted to switch things up so I thought of some fun BOSU exercises to add in. One of the things I was worried about with teaching was running out of workout ideas/not knowing how to design full body workouts, but I am really feeling comfortable with it. I still get input from my trainer, Brian, but have a lot of my own ideas, now. And it’s really rewarding to design a workout, have people do it, enjoy it (hopefully) and feel challenged by it. 
• I was impressed with the pace Valerie and I kept for our 9-miler on Saturday. That is not really a summer pace for me. But I think I was blabbing so much I didn’t think about what pace I was going. Oops. 
• I feel like I am forgetting something*. Derp. Lots of ideas in my head for other posts this week. I basically talked them all out with Bobbi today, so she is off the hook for blog reading. Also. YAY! Run with Bobbi!!!
• Hey! Look who sent me a pic of themself in the workout clothes I got them – my dad! Although, I do not think those are the socks I gave him? Ha ha. Anyway. Doesn’t he look great? Also… my dad ran TWO 10-minute run intervals today! Two! Isn’t that amazing?! He is doing really well!!!

*Remembered after I posted – finally got to my 1000 miles this week!

Comments (36)

By kilax, July 12, 2013 6:38 am

I really liked Rachel‘s “Halfway through 2013” stat post, so I am going to copy it and post my January – June stats. Hee hee. Thanks, Rachel!

Note: my end of 2013 post will probably be more like this. Also, a reminder (if you give a crappity), you can see my race recaps here and yearly mileage on the sidebar throughout the year. SINCE YOU REALLY CARE. Riiiiight.

The Basics:

Miles run: 948.15
Miles biked: 45.49
Strength workouts: 45
Cross training workouts: not enough
Races: 10
Volunteered: 1
Money spend on races (Jan-June races only): $431.31
Free Races: 2
Age group awards: 2
Participation medals: 5
Injuries: 0
Pairs of shoes: 4? 

New Stuff:

New race distance: “20K“
New states: Utah, Kansas
New PRs: 5K (22:38), HM (1:51:15)

Favorites:

Race: Ironman 70.3 Kansas

Gear: crazy tights and crazy arm warmers

Race outfit: I guess Chicago Women’s Half, since no one got my Chewie outfit on May 5th. 

Medal: Chicago Women’s Half. 

Spectator: Stephano and family. 

People: anyone who will run with me. Ha! I am lucky to have such a huge community of running friends! I love it!

Highlights:

• Starting to teach the Monday night strength class at Essential Fitness. 
• Keeping my friends company on their marathon training long runs in the winter.  
• Running two easy 5K PRs.
• Feeling amazing at a hot half marathon. 
• Running races with my close friends – Rachel, Bobbi, Charlyn, Anne. 
• Joining Anne for her FIRST half marathon!

Struggles:

• Trying to quietly reflect on the Boston Marathon bombings, when it was a majority of the media for awhile. 
• Binge eating.
• Time management. 

Goals for the next 6 months:

• Get back to an eating plan that makes me feel energetic.
• Acquire a road bike. 
• Pass the ACE personal trainer exam (sometime in 2013).
• Continue to enjoy running for fun and not obsessing over PRs.
• Try trapeze again!
• Run a race with my dad.
• Run more than 1620 miles for the year. 
• Volunteer again.
• Begin upping mileage again after summer. 

There are a zillion other tidbits I could add to this post. But there is enough info in here as it is!

What are your halfway through 2013 stats? Feel free to copy and share on your blog! 

Comments (34)

By kilax, July 11, 2013 6:27 am

• Guys! Thank you for putting up with my crap writing lately. I know it’s not my best. Writing here is very habitual for me… and also compulsive. I want to write most days, and I enjoy it. But I know my posts have been disjointed. I keep publishing them, because I have a tendency to disappear in the summer if I stop writing for a few days. Do you notice blogging trends in the summer? It sometimes seems like there are less posts in the summer – people are spending more time outside, maybe?
• My dad has been following this plan to get ready for our 5K on the 27th. I think he is already at the end of week two? Gah! I am so proud of him. All it took was a little whiny “this would be a great birthday present for me” text (to which his response was, “What? My death?” Sigh. No. “An actual blood family member doing a race with me.”) I sent my dad a box of running clothes. I asked him to model them in pics for the blog. Still waiting on those pics, Dad!
• I think it’s ironic that I feel guilty for taking the time to exercise when my ACE exam is two weeks from today… because a personal trainer would help a client figure out how to fit exercise in during busy times! I think I mostly feel bad because I have said no to so much social stuff, including my aunt’s retirement party in Iowa, Mötley Crüe tickets (also in Iowa), stand up paddle boarding (in Chicago), a Spartan race (in some Illinois town in the middle of nowhere)… ugh. I have to stay close to home to get my workouts in, then get back to STUDYING!
• Mica made me this beautiful infinity scarf in my favorite color! I love it! What a thoughtful gift! (Okay, I may or may have not rudely asked her to make me one…)

A few interesting articles from the past week

• After reading this article (pdf here), I think I found how I need to align my skillset – use my office architectural skills to design office space for fitness companies.
• ESPN Body Issue – holy cow, I was super inspired by these beautiful athlete’s bodies
• Facebook Infographic on Active Cities – wow! Facebook is compiling interesting information! Facebook ranked the top 10 fittest cities based on three months of fitness related check-in activity. I was REALLY surprised by the cities on this list. 
• The ACE manual says the best way to get used to the heat is to acclimate to it and drink a lot of water (when working out). This article (pdf here) says the same thing, including that it takes healthy people 10-14 days to acclimate. How long to you think it takes you to acclimate to hot weather?
• I thought this article (pdf here) about CPR stats was interesting. Basically – the survival rate is not as high as you’d think, based on what you see in movies and on TV. I definitely thought about that when I took CPR training.

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, XXXVII, XXXVI, XXXV, XXXIV, XXXIII, XXXII, XXXI, XXX, XXIX, XVIII, XXVII, XXVI, XXV, XXIV, XXIII, XXII, XXI, XX, XIX, XVIII, XVII, XVI, XV, XIV, XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.