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By kilax, February 28, 2018 6:08 am

February was BUSY and I hope March is QUIETER. Despite how it may seem, I don’t enjoy having a full calendar, but sometimes life is that way. My perfect weekend has one social activity, a few chores/errands, and A LOT of quiet time. Ha. Rarely happens. But maybe this month!

Here are a few things I am excited about in March:

• My final month of 5K training! I’m excited to run ALL the miles and NOT eat all the food.
• Teaching two fitness boxing classes, including a special Easter egg hunt themed one (so cheesy, but no shame).
• Meeting Rachel for a run.
• Dates with Steven.
• Seeing Anne when she comes for the Shamrock Shuffle.
• Finally starting that shawl from the kit and yarn Mica gave me!

Not much else is planned! Like I said, I am planning for a quiet, under the radar month.

What’s on your list?

Comments (21)

By kilax, February 27, 2018 6:33 am

After all my consternation about the Frosty Footrace, I was back this year. Having it on my calendar in previous years gave me a focus for winter training, and running in the colder temps (30s) is when I excel! I missed training for this 5K last year when it was changed to a “2 mile” untimed “fun” run. I was glad it was changed back to its original 5K course this year.

There definitely were not as many people there as years past though. Seventy-nine people did the 5K, compared to one hundred and sixty-eight in 2016. It felt sparse on the course. I was behind two people for the first two miles, but after I passed them, I spent the last mile with no one in my sights. And I am not that speedy! Usually there’d be more people in front of me. I wonder how next year will go.

We got to the race around 10:15 and easily did race day registration. One of the race organizers came up to me and asked if I was Kim, and thanked me for coming back. I thought that was nice! And I hope I didn’t come off as über b*tchy last year when I expressed my disappointment in the “two” mile race format.

I like the bag they handed out this year, and appreciate that they don’t do a shirt every year (in the past they’ve done buffs and hats).

Anne and I did a one mile warm up with a few strides. We also assessed the wind conditions to strategize for the race. We had constant 17mph winds from the WSW with 31 mph gusts (it was 37° when we started and 39° when we finished). Wheeeeeeeeeee! Ha. The race is somewhat of a loop, so we’d have the winds in our face to start, and in parts of the second and third mile, but at our back coming in for the last .4 miles, which was encouraging!

We timed our warmup well to finish it, go to the bathroom one more time, and head to the start!

Me, Ricky, and Anne, all representing Efit (where I teach strength classes)

I felt great at the start and my pace felt manageable and easy. I was actually somewhat glad that the wind and hills in the start kept me from going out too fast. My first mile was 7:15 (I was predicting my average pace would be between 7:20-7:30).

snapshot from two years ago, but same elevation

I passed one male in the beginning of the second mile (the first place female was way ahead of me – she comes every year and wins overall) and enjoyed the downhill portion of the race. I was shocked my second mile was not slower – it was 7:14!

And then the pain starts. Ha. Right after mile two (after I passed one more guy), there’s a gradual incline that just burns (see elevation chart above). Steven is always at the start of this incline and I try to look smiley and happy, but the pain starts to show!

My pace dropped as I ran up that hill, which is typical, but annoying. I didn’t want to have wildly positive splits! So I rallied back after I got up the hill, and picked it back up, especially since part of the finish was a downhill with the wind at my back. My third mile was 7:36, and I finished the last .16 (oops) at a 6:43 pace.

My overall time was 23:08, with an average pace of 7:28 <— right where I thought I’d be!

This year is my third fastest time on the course

Even though that is quite off of my PR (from this course) of 21:45, I feel confident about how 5K training is going. This is a tough course, with the inclines (and always with the wind) and I know I could have run faster on a flatter course. We shall see what the next six weeks of training brings!

After the race, I did a 1.5 mile cool down. I ran part of it out on the course with Ricky, to run Anne in and cheer her on. She wanted to get a course PR, but ended up with an overall PR since she started running again a few years ago! Amazing! I am proud of her! (I’ve been coaching her.)

Anne joined me for the rest of my cool down when she finished, then we hung out for awards. Because the race was so sparsely attended, I was 1st in my age group, 2nd woman, and 4th overall.

I’m glad I did the race! It was a confidence boost for my 5K training and left me pumped for my next 5K!

Comments (14)

By kilax, February 26, 2018 6:14 am

What a fun weekend we had!

Although, it didn’t quite start out that way for me. I was out of sorts Saturday morning since I wasn’t running long or teaching class (lack of endorphins!). I ran a few errands, and came back feeling dead tired (waking up for an hour in the middle of the night before probably didn’t help). I felt better after I took my planned nap but was still on edge, probably from 5K race nerves. I wasn’t very fun to be around most of Saturday. It was a funky day.

But Anne and Terry arrived early Saturday evening and the fun began! We hung out, then went out for dinner at TJI Fridays (FU Red Robin), where I got an adult beverage (a mojito with cotton candy in it!) that helped my funk. Then we came back and had s’mores and watched the bad movie I rented for us (The Snowman). Watching bad movies together was our thing when we all lived in Lake County (as was brainstorming plot lines for Kevin James movies). We’d get together once a month to do it (sometimes we’d watch a decent movie, ha).

Data and his new bestie

I woke up with a slight headache (oops) but we had plenty of time to sit around until it was time to leave for our 11:00 am 5K. Enough time to get rid of the headache, and have those 5K nerves come back in full force. Gah. Annoying.

But my nerves immediately went away when I started running. I felt in control and at ease, and enjoyed the race. Anne and I both had great races and appreciated the boys spectating,

and we ALL appreciated El Famous after. (Although I already had “post fast run upset stomach” and couldn’t eat much, wah.)

During lunch we decided to see if we could go to an escape room that night. All of us had heard of them, and were curious, but none of us had been. Terry found one in Zion (Edge of Escape), and we made a reservation to go in the early evening (after we finished The Snowman <— priorities).

The only thing I knew about escape rooms it that you have an hour to solve the clues and get out. I didn’t know that most have a maximum amount of people to go in the room, and that you might be “escaping” with people you don’t know (our room had a max of eight, but it was just the four of us). I didn’t know there were so many places, and plots (at some places) to choose from. I didn’t know it was kind of costly ($30 a person, we didn’t see any Groupons), but after going, I understand why. And I had heard how fun they were, but of course, didn’t get it until I did it!

Will we make it out?!

Edge of Escape was created by the same person who’s been running The Dungeon of Doom (an elaborate haunted house in Zion) for thirty-one years. I’ve never been to the haunted house, but now that I’ve seen how meticulously detailed and neat the escape room is, I want to go to the haunted house. I could not get over how cool everything was from the entrance,

to the waiting area, to, of course, the escape room itself.

Our “escape” was actually helping rescue someone who was stuck in time travel. His friend turned foe trapped him in the 1400s and we had to use clues to get a piece of equipment back to him to get home (and stop the foe from changing history as we know it!!!). When I imagined an escape room in my mind, I thought it would all be logic puzzle solving for some reason, but there was only a little of that. This room was set up so that there were a ton of real effects and different things you had to do and find. Lots of searching for stuff! (And we later found out there were a lot more “puzzles” in there that they do when they have more people in the room.)

We never would have gotten out in time without LOTS of clues from the owner over the microphone, ha! I thought it was challenging, but we enjoyed it, and the owner did an awesome job of maximizing our time in there, but also letting us “solve” it.

And I really thought it was cool that we got to go in the time machine and “travel” back in time and solve clues in another time period, too. It really felt like the time machine was moving, when we were in it (it was between the two rooms).

After we were done the owner showed us all around. We got to see the control room, the new escape rooms he’s building, and even behind the scenes stuff for the haunted house. You could tell he LOVED his job and is passionate about it, which I love seeing. And I was happy we could support a local business. I will definitely be back to try the new rooms when they open!

We had a healthy dinner planned after eating out for dinner and lunch – salads and this:

Ha. Steven’s been wanting to make this vegan pigs in a blanket with chili since he saw it in a Facebook video months ago and we finally did. And it was delicious.

After dinner we only had time to plan out three new Kevin James movie plot lines before calling it a night so Anne and Terry could get up early today to drive back to Cleveland. What a fun day and a half together though! I feel like we totally maximized it! And like we’ll all be tired this week, but what’s new there?

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By kilax, February 25, 2018 10:25 pm

Highlight of the Week: Feeling so great on my runs/having my 5K go as planned!

Monday | February 19, 2018: 15 m run (incl. 5 hill repeats) + teaching strength class
Loc: Lake Andrea/Outlet Mall loop, Temp: 40°/40°, Time: 2:29:37, Pace: 9:58 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great!
Strength: Leberts and dumbbells, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | February 20, 2018: 7 m run + 12 m bike
Loc: VP Woods loop, Temp: 53°/51°, Time: 1:06:51, Pace: 9:33 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: awesome!
Indoor Bike Time: 47:02, Pace: 15.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Wednesday | February 21, 2018: rest
Thursday | February 22, 2018: 10 m run (incl 6×1:00)
Loc: Dropping off a Redbox at Walmart Loop, Temp: 35°/36°, Time: 1:34:36, Pace: 9:27 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: fantastic
Friday | February 23, 2018: teaching strength class + 1,008 yd swim + 8 m run + massage
Strength: Leberts and dumbbells, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good to stretch out the legs
Loc: FitNation, Time: 22:04, Pace: 2:11 min/100 yd, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, relaxed
Loc: VP Woods Loop, Temp: 41°/42°, Time: 1:19:43, Pace: 9:58 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | February 24, 2018: 10 m ride + walk (w/Steven)
Indoor Bike Time: 44:48, Pace: 13.4 mph avg, Difficulty: taking it easy, Felt: fine
Sunday | February 25, 2018: 1 m WU (w/Anne) + Frosty Footrace 5K + 1.5 m CD (last .5 w/Anne)
Loc: Round Lake, Temp: 37°/39°, Time: 23:08, Pace: 7:28 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: strong!

Notes:

• There’s not much to say about this week – I felt great on all of my runs, and wanted to run more, but needed to rest for my Sunday race. So I did as much running as I could in the beginning of the week!
• Friday was the first time I was brave enough to use my swimming headphones since one got stuck so far in my ear. I was really careful when I took them out, and one wanted to stay in, but I had my fingernail on it, so it came out. Phew!
• My 5K went exactly how I thought it would Sunday (except I thought my final split would be a lot more positive than it was, so it’s good I was wrong there!). I feel like 5K training is on track! I will post more about the race this week!

Link to Training Week 435

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By kilax, February 24, 2018 11:55 am

I finally did something I’ve been meaning to do since we moved to Zion two years ago…

I got a library card!

I’ve been reading more, and it doesn’t make sense for me to buy everything I want to read. To the library I go!

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By kilax, February 23, 2018 8:37 am

I’m running a 5K on Sunday to gauge my fitness level, not to set a personal record, but I’m still going to do my 5K Prep List:

1. Get a massage (this afternoon!)

2. Make a race playlist (will do that tomorrow; it will definitely feature “Get It”)

3. Take a nap the day before the race (tomorrow)

4. Don’t run the day before the race (err… this one may be hard… no promises…)

5. Paint my nails (already done last week!)

That’s it! Nice simple list! I’ll check the weather the morning of the race, and pick out my outfit then. It doesn’t start until 11:00 am, so I’ll have time.

Not on the list, because it’s impossible: quell 5K racing nerves. I feel like 5Ks are the hardest distance to race, and it’s the ONLY distance I get nervous energy about!!! AHH!!!!!

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By kilax, February 22, 2018 6:23 am

• Has anyone seen “Black Panther”? We were going to go last weekend, but every theater was sold out (of seats we’d sit in, anyway)! We have tickets to see it next Tuesday. I’m looking forward to it!
• I got a bit emotional yesterday at the end of the day with my detail coworkers hugging me and wishing me the best and telling me they didn’t want me to go! Thanks for reading my whining about work over the last few months. I know things will be fine, but I also need a place to express my frustration. So, thanks again!
• I picked up Dietland by Sarai Walker in the discount bin at the bookstore last week and have been enjoying it! It’s fiction, the story of Plum Kettle, an obese woman biding her time until she can have weight loss surgery. But she ends up meeting some people who challenge the way she’s been living her life and lead her to question why SHE has to change. It’s not all “ra ra, everyone is beautiful,” but more “you don’t have to conform to society’s norms.”  There’s also a subplot of a “dangerous guerrilla group terrorizing the world that mistreats women.” <— overall awesome description from, me, per usual, ha. It’s not my typical read, but I’m glad I picked it up! I’ll read The Wild Truth next. And P.S. I should really get a library card.

• How does March start next week? This month has flown by! I really need to focus on my nutrition and training in March to get ready for my April 7th 5K. I am looking forward to doing that!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 168

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By kilax, February 21, 2018 7:09 am

Today is my last day in my work detail. I already have an intense project lined up for when I get back to my old job tomorrow. Yay.

I thought I was feeling this way about today,

image from here

but I must be nervous about something, because I’ve had bad dreams about work the last three nights. It’s probably the dread of going back to my old job. I need to either work hard at finding something positive and good in each work day, or work hard at not caring that I don’t like the work I do. I am not sure which would be more difficult.

Whatever.

My team is doing a presentation for our branch today at work, so I had my friend Maria make cookies of the sculpture in front of our building, to share at the meeting!

Hopefully munching on those will keep people awake while we present, ha!

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By kilax, February 20, 2018 12:21 pm

When we first toured our home, we noticed the floors weren’t level, and knew we’d have to fix them at some point (as much fun as it is to watch the cats’ ball toys roll to the lowest points of the house, ha). We started working on one of the unlevel areas in June 2016 when we put jacks in the basement where two joists were being crushed due to faulty loading. We replaced one joist in August 2016 (it was a priority to get done then, due to work going on two floors above), and – drumroll, please! – replaced the other one this weekend!!! Other parts of the house remain unlevel, but it’s exciting to make progress!

As I mentioned, when Steven and I started clearing the way for this joist replacement project, we found some wackadoodle construction under our first floor stair landing, so he and my dad took care of that during this project, too. But the first priority was the joist.

They picked up the new joist – a $19 2×10 – on Thursday night. Kind of funny to think all of this work is being done to put in a piece of lumber that costs less than $20!

And they got to work Friday afternoon. Despite our previous weekend’s work of clearing all the odd wood framing out from around the ductwork, they still had more to clear out to be able to get the joist in. You can see in the photo below that there was a lot of wood and conduit around the joist, and the stairs behind it were also in the way.

So a lot of Friday was more demolition! They ended up cutting out the drywall above the brick wall to expose the joist.

View from the other side:

They also took down a lot of ductwork and started demolishing the goofy stair platform. You can see in the photo that there was a double platform – which had no point to it. There used to be a post there too, which supported the platform. But they rebuilt it in a way that the post is no longer required!

Old photo:

They did put a jack there in the meantime though.

They kept working on Friday until they were able to get the joist in, which required cutting out part of the stair (and not taking the whole thing out THANK HEAVENS), turning off the power and moving some of the conduit. But they got it in. Yay! (This joist is under the wall next to the dining room, which is why they told me and Mom to move when we were playing Blokus in there!)

On Saturday, they focused on rebuilding the stair platform, and redesigning the ductwork that went underneath it. The wood supporting the platform hangs off of the new joist they put in, so a post is no longer required. Before, it relied on it <— dumb design.

Some of the old bottom platform was structurally supportive at the foundation wall, so they put blocking in between the old pieces, to support it more.

As you can tell, I don’t have very good before pictures (dammit, that is my job!) but the ductwork used to be below the second platform. Since they were taking that out, and rebuilding it, the ductwork could curve up, and we could have more head space there! Woo hoo!

They spent a lot of time redesigning the ductwork, and cleaning out what they were reusing (they used some new pieces, too). Then they put it all back together, and the project was DONE!

And now, we have this pile in our basement, and everything is covered in dust! But that’s how it goes with these projects. Although, what the hell was going on in the previous “design” that they had this much extra wood hanging around?! Seriously?!?!

Ha, I made them take this photo on Sunday.

Thanks for all your hard work, Steven and Dad! Dad, we’ll let you know what the next project will be for your spring visit!

If you made it this far, and can follow all of this, thanks for reading! I will be better about taking before and after shots from the same angle for future projects (because you KNOW we are going to have them)!

Comments (12)

By kilax, February 19, 2018 12:59 pm

While I was sad my parents had to leave late yesterday morning (I wanted to hang out more!) it was a blessing in disguise because Steven and I were worn the f*ck out from our weekend of doing all the things, and needed a day to be sloths. It felt good to do almost nothing after two and a half busy days!

And I am still feeling lazy so I am going to bullet this shiz up, ha!

On Thursday

• Mom and Dad arrived at 6:30 pm and we ate homemade vegan alfredo sauce on pasta! And dessert was a vegan apple pie sent from my mom’s mom!

• After dinner, Steven and Dad went to Menards to get the beam and other wood for the basement project, while Mom and I watched the Olympics, then screwed around in the basement gym for a bit.

On Friday

• I taught class at 5:00 am, and Dad and I went for a run (me)/bike (him) when I got back.

• Then Mom, Dad, and I went to the 10:15 showing of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. I laughed so much, and we all liked it. I usually do NOT like Jack Black (except in The Holiday) but his character cracked me the hell up in Jumanji!!!

• We went to Aldi after that (where we picked up a Kringle for Mom and Dad to try!), the came home and made lunch (salads and couscous). Steven came home from work and ate with us, then he and Dad got to work in the basement.
• And Mom and I got to work shopping at the outlet mall! I live so close to the outlet mall – it’s less than a ten minute drive, and I even run through there and fill up my water bottle on long runs. We found a few deals, and made sure to send my snister photos of the clothes we were trying on.

Sample photo we sent Christina, ha

I only got two soaps and a new PocketBac at B&BW. Restraint FTW!!!

• We went to Woodman’s (a grocery store) after to get ingredients so Mom could make a cake she wanted to try vegan for me (and to get some things I needed).
• Then we went home and made chili and cornbread for dinner (and had pie and Kringle for dessert!). Steven and Dad kept working until we ate, then went back in to the basement to work more, after. I’ll do a separate post about the project, but it was structural, so there were parts of the night we were told not to be in certain parts of the house (on the stair landing or in the kitchen). Mom and I were playing Blokus in the kitchen when we were told we needed to move (they were putting a beam in underneath us, so I understand why!), so we went to the living room, but they had turned the power off, so we played Blokus by candle light. Ha.

On Saturday

• Dad came to my Indoor Cycling class (then went back home to work in the basement with Steven after)!

• And Mom came to my Fitness Boxing class!

• After class, Mom and I went to the Holcomb Hollow grand opening, then ran errands at the mall. I hate going to the mall (and shopping, in general) so it was nice to have Mom with me! I got my rings cleaned, and did an exchange.
• Then we picked up everyone’s favorite El Famous Burrito for a late lunch! (Seriously, most people who visit us want to go there!)

• The boys ate a late lunch with us, sampled some of the Holcomb Hollow treats (and had more Kringle) then got back to work. Mom and I went for a swim (we swam for about ten minutes then used the hot tub for forty!). When we came back, I helped her book a hotel for her March trip with her mom to Mount Rushmore.
• I made a stir fry type dish for dinner, and the boys ate with us, then, you guessed it – got back to work. I helped them clean out one (huge) duct and later, hold some ducts in place. That is basically all I did on that project. <— so helpful (they didn’t care, but I feel a smidge guilty to be entertaining my mom and not helping much)
• After dinner, mom got to work on the cake she wanted to make. It was called a Hummingbird Cake (recipe here), and the main flavorings were banana and pineapple. She decided to make it in to cupcakes. It turned out AMAZING! We all liked it, and had some close to 11:00 pm. Oops. SO MUCH SUGAR ON THIS VISIT AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

• The boys finished up the project around 10:30/11:00!

On Sunday

• Dad and I went on a run in the morning, then I finished up this dishcloth real quick for Mom to take with her.

Ha, it’s obviously NOT blocked

• Then they packed up and were off! We took a quick usie since, of course, we got no photos of all four of us throughout the weekend.

We’re extremely grateful my parents visited to help us with this basement project. My dad is so helpful with house projects (or any project). Steven and I were impressed that they got it done in one and a half days of work, and I know that wouldn’t be the case if I was the one helping him with it (because I have way less experience)!

And I appreciate my mom running errands with me and helping me out with other things around the house! And being up for doing anything I suggest, ha.

I really do hope though, on the next visit, all FOUR of us can do something fun, like go to a movie, or bowling, or out for a meal!!! I bet we can make it happen!