Comments (29)

By kilax, September 20, 2013 6:30 am

How old were you when you took your first commercial flight? To where did you fly?

I thought to ask this, because my older brother went on his first (I think) commercial flight, for work, this week! Exciting!

I asked “commercial,” because I actually rode in a small, private plane in middle school, before I went on a commercial flight. I liked being in that little plane so much I thought I wanted to be a pilot when I grew up!

Anyways.

I took my first commercial flight when I was 17, to España with my dad (er, and my Spanish professor and some other students). I remember being super excited for my first flight (and trip to Europe!) so of course, it’s documented.

Rachel answered correctly – Detroit!

Ha ha ha.

I have no idea how many flights I have been on since then, but it’s usually been a few a year to visit family and friends!

Comments (31)

By kilax, September 19, 2013 6:37 am

• You my have seen this on my personal Facebook page, but I am just loving this sneak peek of my snister’s engagement pics (that she and her fiancé, Will, had taken last Saturday). I can’t wait to see the rest!

• Do you say “I love you” to friends? In what form (“I love you,” “Love you,” etc) and how (text, email, Facebook, in person, message in a bottle)? This is something I have been wanting to write about for a few months, but it hasn’t happened. Maybe your comments will get me going. Or maybe the conversation in this post will be enough to satisfy me! Hee hee. 
• Would you rather sleep in, or get up early, and take a nap later? Or both (ha)? I feel soooo guilty whenever I sleep in (because it usually means I didn’t work out first thing in the am). Even though I often go to bed way too late to get up when I do. I much prefer an afternoon nap. (Interestingly (or not?) Data is the same way – he gets up with me, waits for me to run or whatever, then naps. Um, all day.)

Steven loves to take pictures of me when I nap. Ha ha.

• Aww, I love my little Datums!!! Okay, maybe not so little. 

• There are two things I forgot to mention about the NFEC race that I loved! 1. Race Day packet pickup!!! Save me gas and time? Yes, please! and 2. The virtual goody bag. I love it when goody bags are virtual, because getting a bunch of random paper fliers and little samples annoys me. And the virtual goody bag had some cool stuff in it, like a free magazine subscription!
• Speaking of the NFEC, I took their online survey about the race and this question showed up (below). I wasn’t sure which one to pick (you could only pick ONE!)! Which would you choose for what matters most for athletic apparel purchase – look, price, function or fit?

• Darn, I had one other thing to say, but I forgot! Well, hopefully it won’t spark an entirely new post later today…
• Updated to add: I remembered! I was going to say it was fun reading all the nicknames people have for me. Ha ha. I wasn’t expecting that!

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 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.

Comments (33)

By kilax, September 18, 2013 5:41 am

Why do you think some people choose to have “secret” training, goals and races? Have you ever?

And really, what does “secret” even mean? That you didn’t mention it on your blog or broadcast it to the world? What says that we even have to share everything anyway?

A few people made comments to me about the On the Run 5K that implied they thought I was planning to run it all along, but was keeping it a secret. Nah, it was a decision I made the day before when I remembered the race existed, and realized it fit in my schedule. I wasn’t going to update Facebook or write a blog post about it after deciding.

But! I have kept a race secret before! Bobbi and I did a November marathon in 2012 as a “last effort” of the year for her. We didn’t tell anyone to keep some pressure off, and in case we blew up, um… which we did. But we still both wrote about it on our blogs.

The thing is, I am not really the type of blogger to hype up the races I do, since most of them are for fun, not a goal time. You can always see a list of my upcoming races here, but you’re not going to see me write a ton ton about them. I will mention it if it’s a goal race, a race I’m looking forward to running with friends or family, a sponsored race I need to write about, a race I am fundraising for, a race I am trying to decide to do, or the Wisconsin Half Marathon… but some races I am signed up for and may not even talk about it until after I do them. Maggie gave me a free race entry for Saturday and I plan to make the race part of my long run. I wouldn’t have mentioned that until after this weekend, except, I am writing this post about it now! Ha ha.

I am kind of weird about my “goals” for racing. I rarely set any. And when I do, I try not to make a big deal out of them. And when I don’t meet them… I am not really upset.

Broadcasting goals doesn’t seem to help me achieve them. In fact, it makes me sick of thinking about them. It makes me not want to work on them… in the rare case that I even do to start with.

So… yeah. I know it helps others, but I am not sure why it makes me neurotic. Maybe it’s along the same lines of why I can’t use a food journal – just thinking about it all the time makes me CRAZY.

This post seems kind of out of the blue, right? In all honestly, I was on GOMI a few weeks ago and people were talking about how a blogger isn’t honest with their training recaps, then has these “amazing” races. So, they are saying the blogger lies about how hard they train, then really kicks butt at races, to look like a badass, I guess? I have no idea if that is true. But it got me thinking about all of this. I am completely transparent in my training logs, but I suppose it may seem to some like I am trying to keep races under wraps, just because I don’t mention them that often!

Comments (29)

By kilax, September 17, 2013 12:10 pm

Buah ha ha! I am talking about nicknames! Nice ones!

So, according to Steven, I have “a million friends” and, yes, some have the same name, so I have given a few of them nicknames when I am telling him a story* so he knows who is who. 

The nicknames are pretty silly. Rachel is “Rachel whose cat lays on its back,” because I quite often share Rachel’s pictures of her cat Leo, with Steven, because Leo is so darn funny!

Remember when I chased down a runner and forced her to be my friend? Her name is Jen, and she introduced me to her neighbor, also Jen. So, Jen1 and Jen2. 

Running Kellometers Kelly is “Kelly who likes Thai Peanut Primal Strips.” (Now she can be “Patsy’s mom“!!!)

Anne is “That chick I share Henry with.” Just kidding. I don’t share Henry.

Ha ha, nah, I don’t have a nickname for Anne. But I do have a few more silly nicknames like this! I mean, with my blogger friends, running club friends, people from my studio and day job, and family… yeah, that is a lot of people! I am so damn popular (toads** kidding, guys).

Do you have silly nicknames for friends that you use so someone can identify who you are talking about?

*or when a picture pops up on the photo frame and he is not sure who it is, or when I say, “I am doing a race with so and so!”
**Tots*** became toads this weekend.
***Tots = totes.

Comments (48)

By kilax, September 17, 2013 6:25 am

What’s something you do now, that you wouldn’t have fathomed doing before, but it seems completely normal?!

Don’t worry, this question is getting somewhere (I hope) and I do want to read your answer! Really… it’s a chance to brag!

Meghan and I were talking about how she signed up for Ironman Chattanooga (exciting!!!), and how before she signed up, her fear that other people thought she might not be able to do it made it question whether she really could. But she talked to her friends and family for support, looked at her successful training log, and knew that she could. And… it really didn’t matter if people thought she was crazy or couldn’t do it. She was doing it for herself.

Of course, that got me thinking about how our athletic pursuits are so relative to us as individuals. I mean, duh, Mrs. Obvious. But really, as a reader of Meghan’s blog, I see the passion and love she has for triathlons and training. I see that doing a full Ironman (which is 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run) makes sense for her. There is no doubt in my mind that she will rock the training and race to the best of her ability! That is the course she is on!

But, yeah. That doesn’t mean that someone who doesn’t know much about it, or how hard she works or how you have to build up endurance, might hear about the race and think, “Holy crapola! You ARE crazy! Can you do that?!” 

My conversation with Meghan reminded me of when I started running. I remember coming home from work and getting a two mile run in on the treadmill, and being so damn proud that I worked out that day. I remember carb loading for my first 5K. I remember my first 6 miler and how nervous I was. I remember my first half marathon with Steven… talking with Steven about our friends who run marathons and thinking I would NEVER want to run that far. 

Things change!

And that is the cool thing. You never know what the future will bring. And that makes life exciting. 

Recently, a friend of mine (hi, Jen!) seemed surprised/impressed (in a nice way!) that I ran over 13 miles for fun, on the same day I saw her. It  made me laugh, because that didn’t seem like much, for me. In fact, I was thinking, “Hmm, should I have run more?!”

But I don’t write that to be snobby or brush off mileage. It’s just that where I am with my running, that doesn’t seem like a very long run. But years ago? Oh gosh! Yes! I wouldn’t have thought I would be running that!

So, what am I getting at? Hee hee. I guess, that our interests or fitness levels change, something that seemed crazy before, may no longer seem crazy!

(Ha ha, and then you find something new to think is crazy, and sometimes end up trying that out years later…)

So, please, brag away! No feat is too small! And please include non exercise stuff too, even though this post has that slant (as they all seem to). 

And really, I feel like I need to reiterate this… I am not a mileage snob. I enjoy long runs, but I think doing anything active, ANYTHING!, is a huge accomplishment and people should be proud of themselves for what they do!

Comments (30)

By kilax, September 16, 2013 6:18 am

Wow. North Face really knows how to put on a race. I ran the 50K last year as my first* ultra, and was really impressed then. The course markings, aid stations, pre and post race support, friendly and helpful volunteers… all of it was amazing and made for an awesome foray in to the ultra world. 

They offered the ultra (50K and 50 miles) again this year, on Saturday, along with a marathon and marathon relay. But, Rachel and I (who both had free entries**, thanks to North Face) decided to do the half marathon on Sunday, because it worked better with our race schedules. I wondered if the half (there was also a 10K and 5K) would be as well supported as the ultras. I wondered if it was the “lessor” of the events, since the distance was shorter. 

No way. It was just as awesome. Amazing aid stations. Tons of food and booths pre and post race. Giant bowl of Skittles? Yes please! Free Clif Bar products up the wazoo! Super neat medal and screened race shirt. Awesome water bottle and socks with the entry… North Face gets the race goodies RIGHT! And the volunteers rocked and the course was marked really well. 

So, yeah. I really love this race. Rachel and I are already pondering the 50K again for next year… hee hee. 

Which races have you done and thought, “Man! This race is stellar!”?!

And on to the actual race! Our plan was to try to take as long as possible, to maximize time on the course, together. I think we had a 4:00 hour time limit, and sadly, we made it in much sooner than that, in 2:40 or something. Ha ha. We kept saying, “I don’t want to the race to end!” I mean, really, how often (other than on long runs?!) do you get the chance to just talk and talk and talk to your friends ***?

Our strategy was the same as the 50K we did together – walk up the hills, run the rest of the time, except for tricky downhills, and stopping at aid stations. And maybe for one selfie (really! only one!)!

The race is at Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin. Apparently, a moraine is a thing. Ahhh, learning on a Monday! Anyway, it’s just beautiful up there – tall trees, dirt paths… you’re immersed in nature, which I love. And! Which also helped keep us a bit dry, as it rained for the entire race! The only disappointing thing about that is that the course wasn’t more muddy, so I didn’t get to play in the mud that much. Ha ha. 

I really enjoy trail running. It’s so peaceful and laid back (for me). And I really appreciated the soft running surfaces – my quads were just wrecked from the day before!

It was great to see a few people from my running club there too!**** I am just so happy to see people get out on the trails, and try a different kind of race (or run, really). I think some people are turned off by trail running because there is a greater chance of tripping, and because it slows down your pace. But I just love it (I mean, come on, I am always looking for reasons to run slower!). 

Dammit, every time I do a trail race, I’m all “RUN ALL THE TRAILS!” Surely, I can fit trail running and bike riding and ALL THE THINGS in to marathon training?

And I at least know I will be back next year!

Okay, okay, one more thing. Check out the cool gaiters I have. Rachel got them for me for my birthday and I used them at the race for the first time! Love them! Totally kept sand and rocks out of my trail shoes!

*And only to date, thus far
**All opinions are my own, blah blah blah, duh. 
***And luckily, no one was around us very often, as I know it can be really annoying to listen to people chat during a race.
****Especially since it means I was able to get a ride to the race, when Steven really needed to use the car. Ha ha.*****
*****Rachel and I kept passing, then getting passed back by Riyanti and Kate for the entire course! Too funny!

Comments (27)

By kilax, September 15, 2013 9:32 pm

Highlight of the Week: I am going to completely cheat (because I can’t pick one!) and just say having so many awesome friends who will come to workout with me. From all over (the city, suburbs, other states, the moon…)!

Monday | September 9, 2013: 10 m run (1-7 w/Adam) + teaching strength class
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 66°/66°, Time: 1:38:18, Pace: 9:50 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: okay, until bathroom emergency and running out of energy
Strength: Back to School 1200 Workout, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good (mostly observing)
Tuesday | September 10, 2013: 8.3 m run (parts w/Adam, Yvonne + Emily)
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 76°/73°, Time: 1:20:29, Pace: 9:41 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: ready for my rest day!
Wednesday | September 11, 2013: rest
Thursday | September 12, 2013: 7 m run (w/Bobbi) + 8 m ride (w/Steven)
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 76°, Time: 1:11:33, Pace: 10:13 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: thirsty…
Loc: Grant Woods FP, Temp: 70°/66°, Difficulty: easy, Felt: fun to ride my mountain bike!
Friday | September 13, 2013: teaching strength class + 13.3 m run (w/Bobbi)
Strength: Back to School 1200 Workout, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good (mostly observing)
Loc: Northern DPRT, Temp: 51°/60°, Time: 2:20:09, Pace: 10:32, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | September 14, 2013: 3 m run + teaching strength class (w/blogger friends!)
Loc: hood, Temp: 53°/56°, Time: 29:57, Pace: 9:59 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: spent from moving boxes
Strength: Lebert Equalizers and Boxing, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: jazzed!
Sunday | September 15, 2013: North Face Endurance Challenge Half Marathon (w/Rachel)
Loc: Kettle Moraine, WI, Temp: 52°/54°, Time: 2:42:59, Pace: 12:40 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: like I wanted it to last longer (TWSS)

Notes:

• Saturday was a special day I had been looking forward to for quite some time – my first strength class for bloggers! I sent out invites in August (I think?) and Amy, Anne, Bobbi, Erin, Kelly, Kelsey, and Maggie were all able to come! I worked on a special playlist for a few weeks and made a really challenging workout using Lebert Equalizers, boxing gloves and target pads. Bobbi, Anne and Erin have all taken my class before so they may have had some idea of what they were in for… but the others… not so much. Somehow, I tend to shred everyone’s quads, most times I teach. Yeah, if anyone didn’t have trouble sitting up and down today, I would be surprised! Ha ha ha. I had a blast teaching them all! And I hope they still consider me a friend and want to come back some time.
• Saturday was also special because Steven and I began the two-day move in and set up to the new space for FakeMeats.com! Um, let’s just say I was a bit more useful on Saturday, before DOMS from the strength workout hit my quads… and before my half marathon with Rachel. But. Yeah. Moving boxes, building shelves, climbing fences… that is all a workout in its own! I am so damn spent.
• The half marathon. Yeah. It was amazing! North Face puts on a great race. And almost three hours of Rachel conversation all to myself?! Yes, please! More on the race later this week!
• I hit 100 miles for the month the earliest I have ever (by only one day) on the 13th this month! I wonder if I will have a monthly running mileage PDR! My current one is from April – 227.8.
• Bobbi has been visiting me on my Thursday lunch break for hill work! I think we need to keep this up on a weekly basis and see how we progress… (okay, really, for my sanity and break from the work day! who cares if I have any hill running skills?!)
• Already mentioned in the second bullet, but yeah. So spent. So so so so spent. If this doesn’t make sense (more than usual), you know why!

The answer to how many photos there are of Data (solo or with people) on my digital photo frame (out of 1,235 photos) is… 200! The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is Courtney Ilax, who had the closest guess without going over, of 187!

Courtney, please email me (kilax@ilaxstudio.com) to claim your prize!

Thanks to everyone who played and all the bonus pet photos you shared on my Facebook page! I loved seeing them all and reading your stories!

Comments (30)

By kilax, September 12, 2013 11:25 am

I’ve mentioned before that I have a little exercise at the beginning of each month, where I look through the previous month’s photos and add select ones to the digital photo frame in our kitchen. Well, the frame I was using went kaput in August! NO! AHH! I was bummed. I got so used to seeing that slideshow every time I was in the kitchen*!

Luckily, we found a nice one on Amazon (of course) to replace it, and the show is back! All the images were on a USB flash drive** and on my computer, so, I luckily didn’t lose anything.*** And the cool thing is, the new frame has some neat features, like the transition styles between photos and a motion detector to turn it on. 

ANYWAY. 

The other day, after seeing a long sequence of Data photos on the frame, Steven said to me, “What percentage of the photos on there do you think are of Data?”

Um. 

Hmm. 

Right now, there are 1,235 photos on there, from Jan 2012 – August 2013. Not all of them are of Data. Actually, I was surprised how few were of Data!

So! For your chance to win a $10 Amazon giftcard (since I love Amazon so much) tell me, how many photos do you think there are of Data (solo or with people) on my digital photo frame?!

Guess the amount of crazy ($10 Amazon giftcard) GIVEAWAY! Rules

1. The reader who guesses the closest number of photos without going over will win the $10 Amazon giftcard. If everyone guesses over, the person who guesses the lowest will win! If two people guess the same number, and it is correct, the earliest guess will win.
2. REQUIRED to enter the giveaway: leave a comment telling me how many photos you think there are of Data (solo or with people) on my digital photo frame (out of 1,235 photos).
3. You get a BONUS GUESS (meaning you may guess again) if your pet(s) is(are) in the collage below! If you have two pets in the collage below… just one extra guess, please. Unless you do the item below…
4. Get a BONUS GUESS (meaning you may guess again) if you post a picture of your pet(s) (current or past pet) on the ilaxSTUDIO Facebook page (even if they are in the collage below). One extra entry total possible… even if you post a zillion pets on my page (which I would like!).
5. You may leave all your guesses in one comment. 
6. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Saturday September 14. I will announce the winner on Sunday September 15.
7. This giveaway is open to all readers.
8. As always, I will announce the winner in a post and you have to email me to claim the prize, if you win!

Data’s friends are on the digital photo frame too! (Yes, I am a creepster and if you send me a photo it may end up on my digital frame!)

*Kind of funny that it’s there, since I don’t like to cook and am not in the kitchen doing that!
**Is that right, Gary?
***I back up my photos like crazy. I care more about losing those digital files than anything else. 

Comments (34)

By kilax, September 12, 2013 6:04 am

I prefer to write “one topic” posts, except on Thursdays, so thanks for reading all my posts this week! I’ve got a few more things I want to write, but will try to include as much in here as I can.

• I was signing some documents yesterday thinking, “gosh, it’s crazy how much a signature means!” And it wasn’t even a work document this time! Steven and I signed a loan to expand FakeMeats.com! We’re moving in to a larger space this weekend! EXCITING!!! Yes, all of those exclamation points are valid, ha ha. I am so proud of Steven. The business has grown so much due to his hard work and passion for it!

• A celebratory dinner had to follow, so we checked out Quesadilla La Reina del Sur – a vegetarian/vegan Mexican restaurant in the city. Of course, I had to get a vegan quesadilla! And a Jarritos and cupcake to share with Steven. I told him, “I am trying to lose weight again.” Which for me… means still eating out, but splitting dessert. Ha ha. 

• Speaking of losing weight, I asked Steven’s brother Andrew if he wanted to have a weight loss competition with me from mid June to the end of August. Andrew is the perfect person to do this with, because we are sarcastically competitive with one another, but also, feel completely open and comfortable with one another. At least, I do. Anyway! The person who lost the higher percentage would win, and the “loser” had to buy their next race entry. Ha ha ha. Andrew won. I think I gained a pound or two. So why did I tell Steven I am “trying to lose weight” again? Because I am running a marathon in November, and at this point, the (road) marathon distance is a “run to race,” rather than “run solely for fun” distance for me. And lighter Kim = faster Kim. Maybe someday, my healthy weight range goals will be health and not pace related. Maybe…
• I can’t seem to find a solution to get the excessive stank out of my workout clothes, so I bought some new clothes… and was still stanky. I finally figured out the schmell was my sports bras. It makes sense – they get the most use! I went to Tarjay to pick up the Champion C9 Shaper bras I usually buy, and horror of horrors, they don’t seem to sell them anymore. So I ordered a new kind of Champion bra to try from Amazon. Of course, I had to get an orange one (and four black ones, ha ha). 

• Have you heard of StickK.com? I saw this little blurb about it in Women’s Health. It’s a site where you set a goal, and incentives to reach it. I am not clear from the site, but this blurb made it sound like one of the motivators is to have money go to an “anti-charity” (a charity you don’t support) when you miss a goal milestone. What do you think about using a negative motivator like that?  Is it even negative? I know a few of you said there were charities you don’t do races for, since you don’t support them. I am wondering which charities those are!

• I got Steven an iPad for our anniversary, and we wanted to use it to see if Data would play with any of the cat apps, ha ha! He did! Until he figured out the fish were on the screen (not real – he was reaching under the iPad to try to get them) and said “eff this!”

• And if we are Facebook friends you already saw this, but I love the Yoda hat and Star Wars mice my snister’s cat (Data’s cousin, Dexter) sent Data! And I love the Leia buns Dexter is wearing… I am not sure she loves them, though!

• Okay, okay, there might be another post later. I have a fun giveaway contest idea, just not sure of the prize yet!

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: 48, 47, 46, 45, 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.

Comments (40)

By kilax, September 11, 2013 6:15 am

How did you end up where you live today?

I followed a boy, tee hee.

Guys! It was Steven! Ha ha.

After four years of a long distance relationship, I was anxious to actually see Steven on a daily basis! So when I graduated from Iowa State University in 2007, I moved to Chicagoland, where architecture jobs were fruitful at the time. Steven had a townhome in the suburbs, closer to where he worked. I got a job in Chicago, 50 miles from our home, and commuted five days a week.

In 2008 I switched to my current job, and in spring of 2012 they started allowing us to work from home most days a week.

Holy cow.

What a difference it made in the fullness of my day.

When I was commuting to the city so much, the three-hour commute* took up most of the non-work free time in my day. Monday-Friday was all about work. I didn’t feel like I had time to go out with Steven or do social things with friends in the evening.

Things are so different now! When I work from home, I’m usually working 6:30-4:00. I sometimes wake up and run, then work, then have all that time in the evening for whatever! I help Steven with packages, teach class, we go to movies, sometimes I see friends…

I just feel like work doesn’t define my Monday-Friday anymore. Like I said… my days feel fuller. I work and get to do some fun things I want to do too. Not saying I dislike my job – I don’t! It’s just nice to have time for me during the week.

I have just been thinking about how grateful I am for that, this week** and wanted to share something… happy. I hope this program keeps going!

*And this commute is my choice, so I don’t blame anyone for how low it takes me to get to work.
**And the other perks, like saving money on clothes, eating food out of my kitchen, getting up and randomly poking Data from time to time.