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By kilax, June 7, 2016 4:51 am

Until recently, the only issues my wonky supination had given me was the occasionally sore left side, shoes that didn’t last very long, and goofy race pictures:

Until recently. A few months ago I started getting a pain on the ball of my left foot around a hardened part of the skin, at what looked like a void. It took me until last week, but I finally figured out what it is – a seed corn.

I was finally inspired to figure out what it was because it hurt SO bad. I had to wear shoes/sandals all the time – pressure on it bare-footed caused a lot of pain on the ball of my foot. It was ridiculous to me how something so little could cause so much pain.

My normal method of cutting hurty things off my foot didn’t work. It keeps growing back. Grrr.

So the internets said to soak my foot and rub the seed corn with a pumice stone to relieve the pain, and – drumroll, please – it seemed to work! The pain went away after I did that. The corn is going to keep coming back, since that is where my left foot lands when I run, but at least now I have a way to deal with it – apart from completely changing my running style!

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By kilax, June 5, 2016 2:23 pm

Highlight of the Week: Feeling energetic and being able to work out the amount I wanted to (and feeling better than last week, in the humidity)!

Monday | May 30, 2016: 5 m run
Loc: Van Patten Woods, Temp: 77°/78°, Time: 48:39, Pace: 9:44 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: hot, still getting used to it!
Tuesday | May 31, 2016: rest
Wednesday | June 1, 2016: 5 m run (incl. 400, 800, 400, 800, 400) + 15 mins strength
Loc: hood, Temp: 64°/64°, Time: 44:54, Pace: 8:59 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: hot, spent, but okay
Thursday | June 2, 2016: 11 m run + 3 m run
Loc: DPRT, Temp: 62°/69°, Time: 1:48:07, Pace: 9:50 avg, Difficulty: medium then easy, Felt: legs tired first half, fine for second!
Loc: hood, Temp: 78°/78°, Time: 27:29, Pace: 9:09 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Friday | June 3, 2016: teaching strength class + 6 m run + bike/run brick (w/Jack)
Strength: medicine balls and Airex pad, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good, felt it right away!
Loc: hood, Temp: 72°/75°, Time: 55:25, Pace: 9:14, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great!
Loc: Illinois Beach State Park, Temp: 73°/73°, Time: 34:31/8:37, Pace: 16.3 mph avg/8:37, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good!
Saturday | June 4, 2016: 14 m run
Loc: DPRT, Temp: 66°/73°, Time: 2:17:04, Pace: 9:47 avg, Difficulty:mostly easy, Felt: good, legs a bit tired
Sunday | June 5, 2016: 3 m run + 20 min bike + teaching fitness boxing
Loc: hood, Temp: 60°, Time: 29:25, Pace: 9:48 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: okay but tired
Indoor Ride Time: 20:00, Pace: 14.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: better
Strength: Boxing pads and gloves, Difficulty: easy (mostly observing), Felt: good

Notes:

• This week was so much better than last week… and the last month. I finally felt like I had some time to work out, work, AND get house stuff (and errands!) done too. Ha. It definitely helped that I had Monday and Friday off. Ha ha ha.
• Geesh, the backs of my knees were so swollen from mosquito bites that it was affecting my run Thursday am – it made my legs feel a bit stiff, and well, swollen! Stupid effers!
• I ran in to Bobbi and Dawn during my Thursday am run and that was a treat! And it gave me some energy to run a bit faster.
• I’ve enjoyed my runs but been spending a lot of the time during them thinking about biking and swimming – things that keep me cool when I work out! I hope to hop in the pool a few times this summer, and to definitely get out for more rides.
• I was able to ride outside this week! I was already thinking about asking Bobbi’s son if he wanted to join me, and it was perfect timing – he had his first tri today, but hadn’t ridden outside yet, or done a brick, so we did a small brick on Sunday. I enjoyed sharing my small amount of outdoor biking and tri knowledge with him.
• During my long run on Saturday I ran across a race on the trail called “Outrun the Cops.” People were chasing the cops, and some of them ran in full uniform! That was fun to see, and it got me pumped up and made me pick up the pace a bit.

• Monthly recap time! May has been my worst month of the year so far. Laziness and a busy schedule was not a great combination for me, and it definitely left me feeling crappy. Onward, though! In May I ran 115 miles and cycled 86.5 miles (5 indoor rides, 2 outdoor rides). I taught 8 strength classes and 3 fitness boxing classes. I only did 1 strength session at home. My coldest outdoor run was 41°F and my warmest was 83°F.

Link to Training Week 345

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By kilax, June 2, 2016 11:29 am

• Freddie and Bill seem to be conditioned to the sound of the dump cart – they hear it coming and think I am coming with food! Which, I usually am, but last night I was actually using the dump cart to clear out logs and brush from around the pond. But they came running up, anyway. Sorry, guys! Luckily, I was able to empty out a feeder for them. They must be STARVING. Ha ha.

Not food

Also, not food (you can barely see the cart, ha!)

• I was unprepared for how sad I would feel, cutting down a few trees, even though we talked about it, and we want a bigger clearing by the pond (and need it for some of the fountain equipment) … and have a LOT more trees on our property. Sigh. It’s the nature girl in me. I better get used to it though – we’ll have to take down more in the future to make our land a bit healthier (not enough light is getting to the forest floor).

Lots of trees

• This year is the first time I’ve made time to run on “Global Running Day” (which is always the first Wednesday in June, and previously called “National Running Day”). For years, I’ve been in the office every Wednesday, and not made the time to run with the hours commuting. But my team switched our required office day this year (it changes every other week) and it was easier to fit a run in on the “holiday” this year, because I was working from home! I think these made up holidays are a bit hokey (National Donut day is tomorrow!), but I do like starting my month off with a run! May was crap (workout-wise) and I am determined to make June better.
• Damn though, my June schedule is getting NUTSO. Someone asked me when I was free for a meeting (outside of work) and I had two dates to give them… out of the whole month. And now one of those is no longer available. Eek. How about July?
• My ankles are sore from unclipping out of my bike pedals on their own from my fall. Ouch! You can’t see the bruise/swollen-ness too well in this photo… but you can see my ridic tan line! Ha!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 100

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By kilax, May 30, 2016 10:06 am

It finally happened! I finally fell off my road bike!

I’ve had my road bike since the end of summer in 2013 and have said multiple times that I’m surprised I haven’t fallen off it yet. I figured my first fall off would be a slow motion, coming to stop and not unclipping fast enough sort of thing – because that seems to be when most of the people I know fall off their bike.

No, mine was riding my bike through what looked like a long shallow puddle of water, only to find out that underneath the water was a layer of slimy mud.

It was a very fast skid and fall with no time to unclip. My ankles seemed to do that on their own when I hit the ground (ouch).

I immediately got up because I heard my dad fall behind me – he fell when he hit the brakes so he wouldn’t hit me! Ugh! Luckily, Will saw it all in time to put his feet down (he was on a recumbent) and get off his bike to walk it.

Then, just walking through the water was a challenge because of the slimy mud. Dad fell again! And ended up with the most impressive road rash:

You can barely see the scrapes on my shoulder – my shirt (and bra) got the worst of it (and I woke up sore from it, today):

(Funny thing – whenever I pick a jersey to ride I almost always think “I should wear something with sleeves because it provides more protection in case I fall!” But wanting to be comfortable (heat-wise) and not wanting a farmer’s tan always seems to win. So yeah, I had a tank on when I fell).

And this all happened less than a mile in to our ride! Ha!

We were saying there should have been a sign out – there are signs all over the rest of the trail for MUCH smaller puddles. And lots of signs to dismount, too.

But really, if I saw that sign, and saw how low the water was, I would have had no idea it had a layer of slimy mud underneath and still probably tried to ride through. But we all know I won’t ever do that again! Ha! I was very cautious of puddles after that!

We continued on with our ride. I noticed my left handle bar was crooked from where I landed it on it (the guys helped me push it back in place), but my tires were spinning evenly and the gearing was all working, so I wanted to keep going! My hometown has a great paved trail system that is fantastic for road biking and I had really been looking forward to riding with Dad and Will!

The rest of the twenty miles were mostly without incident. We did come across a tree that was down on the trail (they had a nasty storm last week), but it was timed perfectly for Will to put in a bid on eBay, ha!

And then there was an incident where a goose thought I was riding too close to him and his family and flew in front of my bike and was flapping his wings in mid-air while I tried to ride forward… silly goose.

It was a fun ride, despite it starting with our falls! I can’t wait to ride a day of RAGBRAI with Dad and Will (and Will’s sister Julie, and Gina). Two months to go!

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By kilax, May 29, 2016 10:42 pm

Highlight of the Week: Going on a bike ride with Dad and Will (my brother-in-law)!

Monday | May 23, 2016: teaching strength class
Strength: soft balls and cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but distracted and pissed about work (and I had the day off)
Tuesday | May 24, 2016: 2 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 83°/73°, Time: 18:40, Pace: 9:19 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: legs sore from Monday… then had to turn around to use the bathroom
Wednesday | May 25, 2016: 5 m run + 10 m ride + 10 mins strength
Loc: hood, Temp: 68°/65°, Time: 47:58, Pace: 9:35 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay, legs still tired
Indoor Ride Time: 34:56, Pace: 17.2 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: pissy about the TV not working, but good, otherwise, ha
Thursday | May 26, 2016: rest
Friday | May 27, 2016: teaching strength class + 3 m run + 5 m run
Strength: med balls & Airex pads, Difficulty: easy, Felt: decent, hot
Loc: hood, Temp: 69°/70°, Time: 27:55, Pace: 9:17, Difficulty: medium, Felt: tired legs (from pond work?)
Loc: hood, Temp: 74°/76°, Time: 47:35, Pace: 9:31 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: SO WARM
Saturday | May 29, 2016: 5 m run + 5.1 m ride (both w/Dad and Will)
Loc: to Prairie Lake, Temp: 62°/63°, Time: 47:57, Pace: 9:36 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: tired and sweaty
Loc: Cedar Prairie Trail, Temp: 63°/65°, Time: 32:43, Pace: 9.4 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great, no longer so sweaty!
Sunday | May 30, 2016: 21.4 m ride (w/Dad and Will) + 2 m run (incl. 3×400)
Loc: Around Waterloo, Temp: 63°/68°, Time: 1:58:52, Pace: 10.8 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Cedar Prairie Trail, Temp: 68°/68°, Time: 17:22, Pace: 8:40 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: so hot

Notes:

• I was really pissed off about surprise office days (my commute is two hours each way) messing up my workout schedule (and home life balance!) this week. Grow up, Kim.
• We got our first real taste of summer weather this week – humid humid humid. If I feel that horrible when it’s in the 60s/70s and humid, how will I survive the 80s? Ha ha. I will adapt. I do each year.
• On my Friday lunch run I was a bit suspicious of a car waiting on the end of my street (on my way back home). I stayed clear of him when I ran in, but he called out to me, “Do you have plenty of water?” Aww! Just a neighbor being friendly! I thought that was nice.
• I went to my hometown this weekend and got a chance to ride with two of my RABGRAI compadres – Dad and Will! We had an interesting ride Sunday, but more on that, later!

Link to Training Week 344

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By kilax, May 25, 2016 6:37 am

You know who is really courteous to runners (at least where I live)?

FedEx Freight drivers.

My safest (traffic-wise) route takes me on a country road back to a one+ mile sidewalk next to FedEx Freight. I worried at first they’d be annoyed I was running near (not on) their facility, but they’re always so nice to me! Ha, maybe they are annoyed and are just really good at hiding it.

photo along the route this am

This is my go-to route for runs under six miles, so… almost all my runs lately. Thankfully those drivers are so friendly!

(The dog on the first house I pass? Not so much! I blame that on him being chained up all the time though. Poor thing!)

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By kilax, May 22, 2016 11:56 am

Highlight of the Week: Teaching a fun, high energy boxing class / getting back to my weekly mileage goal.

Monday | May 16, 2016: 6 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 46°/44°, Time: 55:43, Pace: 9:17 avg, Difficulty: medium then easy, Felt: good
Strength: soft balls and cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | May 17, 2016: 5 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 52°/51°, Time: 44:07, Pace: 8:49 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, annoyed with the wind at first
Wednesday | May 18, 2016: 6 m run
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 57°/58°, Time: 53:37, Pace: 8:56 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good! thirsty!
Thursday | May 19, 2016: 3 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 41°/47°, Time: 26:32, Pace: 8:50 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, thirsty
Friday | May 20, 2016: teaching strength class + 10 m ride + 3 m run
Strength: soft balls and cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Indoor Ride Time: 37:55, Pace: 15.8 mph, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great to ride after so much time off
Loc: hood, Temp: 60°/59°, Time: 26:01, Pace: 8:40, Difficulty: easy, Felt: really good
Saturday | May 21, 2016: 11 m run + teaching strength class + 2.7 m run (w/Anne)
Loc: DPRT, Temp: 53°/57°, Time: 1:44:30, Pace: 9:30 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: body felt great, lungs a bit tired
Strength: Boxing and body weight moves, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 67°, Time: 35:00, Pace: 12:59 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, thirsty
Sunday | May 22, 2016: 3.3 m run (incl. 6×1:00) + walk (w/Steven, Mica & Harrison)
Loc: hood, Temp: 65°/66°, Time: 29:48, Pace: 9:02 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: a bit tired, but good!

Notes:

• Last week when I was leaving for a run at work, the security guard asked me “You running five?” I said “Yep! And maybe speedwork too!” (<— that didn’t happen). This week, he said “You running five?” I told him yes, maybe six, and he asked “what was that thing you were talking about doing last week while you run?” It took me awhile to remember speedwork! But I explained it to him and he sounded interested. I’ll have to ask if he gave it a try the next time I see him! I like how nice the security guards are at my building. Another guy and I used to chat above movies all the time. I can’t get too attached though, because they get rotated to different buildings based on seniority.
• I’m so thankful my body is on autopilot. I get up at 3:45 am on Fridays to teach. Somehow, my alarm was turned off for this Friday… but I still woke up at 3:45 am, thinking “Isn’t this when I am supposed to get up?” Eek, that would have been bad if I kept sleeping!
• I rode my bike on Thursday after not riding it since Monday the previous week! I thought it would feel horrible but it felt so great for my legs. I’ve still only ridden it outside one time this year though!
• I listened to a podcast for most of my long run on Saturday. I forgot how I used to do that. And now I remember one of the reasons I stopped – it slows me down quite a bit and takes a lot of my energy to focus on what they’re saying! It was a nice change of pace (har har) though.
• Anne’s birthday was Saturday, and we boxed, ran, and ate lunch together! What a fun treat to get to spend so much of her birthday with her!

Link to Training Week 343

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By kilax, May 19, 2016 6:35 am

• Whoa! One hundred Random Thoughts Thursdays! I wrote the first one on July 14, 2011. I don’t write them every week, but have been on a kick with them for awhile. It’s a nice way to share little thoughts that don’t warrant a full post.
• Gah, Data is still being a turd. Steven text me on Monday to tell me Data snuck out again. Then Monday night, Data decided he didn’t get enough popcorn, and had to get some on his own. Ha ha.

(It’s not a spanking to hurt him – just a gentle tap to remind him who’s in charge.)

SO HUNGRY. (It cracks me up so much that Data doesn’t like any human foods… except popcorn.)

• My brain is so fried from my work training. But I did learn a lot, and actually enjoyed it! I liked that the class was math based, and the group activities were solving numerical problems, rather than setting up project plans, flow charts, etc. I like that it was logic based and there was basically one right answer.
• I switched out my Chicago Marathon shadow box for Dallas! I am anxious to hang it up now! I think I will put it, and one of my medal racks above my desk.

^before

^after

• Has anyone every had this weird message pop up on their iPhone – “you must change your iPhone unlock passcode within x minutes”? It showed up for me and kept popping up each minute. I didn’t find a reason online as to why this is happening (there were theories about exchange servers and VPNs but that did not apply to me) but I did try someone’s suggestion to clear my Safari cache/history and do a hard reboot and that seemed to do the trick! Other people said they did change the password and it forced them to do six digit passcode (which I think you can change back to four digits in the settings)? So strange.

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 99

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By kilax, May 15, 2016 7:18 pm

Highlight of the Week: Having the energy to run after teaching.

Monday | May 9, 2016: 5 m run + 10 m ride + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 53°/52°, Time: 46:55, Pace: 9:23 avg, Difficulty:easy, Felt: good, legs a bit stiff
Indoor Ride Time: 38:19, Pace: 15.7 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, need to work on getting the sit bone comfortable
Strength: soft balls and cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | May 10, 2016: rest
Wednesday | May 11, 2016: 5 m run
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 61°/61°, Time: 44:54, Pace: 8:59 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, legs still stiff
Thursday | May 12, 2016: 7 m run
Loc: Lake Andrea, Temp: 69°/70°, Time: 1:02:05, Pace: 8:52 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but legs still off
Friday | May 13, 2016: teaching strength class + 2.8 m run
Strength: soft balls and cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 47°/48°, Time: 26:17, Pace: 9:23, Difficulty: easy then hard, Felt: fine then NO ENERGY
Saturday | May 14, 2016: teaching fitness boxing + 5 m run (incl. 2×800 4×400)
Strength: Boxing and body weight moves, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 45°/45°, Time: 43:40, Pace: 8:44 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good
Sunday | May 15, 2016: SMA Walk

Notes:

• This is the first week in awhile I’ve thought “speedwork sounds fun!” (That’s usually what happens when I’m off plan, like I am now.) But the two days I wanted to do it (Wednesday and Thursday) my body said no. Gotta respect the recovery. Luckily I felt ready on Saturday.
• I had plans on Friday to do a double. I felt great after teaching and went out for just under three miles and bonked at mile 1.5. Of a less than three mile run. What. The. Eff. I was out of energy and felt DEPLETED. It was so odd. I ate enough Thursday… but maybe not enough after class?! I felt thirsty on the run, and this is a good reminder that it’s the time of year to start carrying water and a gel on all runs. No matter the length.
• We had some high winds on Thursday and Saturday that were giving me flashbacks to the half marathon! Ha, during my Thursday run, I actually saw someone wearing an old Wisconsin Marathon shirt and asked if he did the race last week and when he said yes, I told him the winds were giving me horrible flashbacks… he didn’t laugh. Maybe he did the full marathon and it was too soon to joke about it. Ha ha ha.
• When I complain about my monthly mileage being so low at the end of May, remind me of this weekend where I decided to sleep in (until 7:00 on Saturday and 6:00 on Sunday, ha ha!) instead of getting up and running before our weekend morning commitments. Eh, based on how my body was acting this week, I needed it!

Link to Training Week 342

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By kilax, May 12, 2016 6:23 am

• We haven’t been to a wedding since my snister’s in June 2014! And this year we’ve been invited to three!
• Do you use the phrases “on point” and “clutch”- like, the trendy versions of them? In one week, I saw the phrase “on point” in five or more articles. So odd. These phrases are not part of my vocabulary. I hear clutch and think of a car. I hear on point and think of ballet (with an “e” at the end of “point”). Get with the times, Kim!
• I took leave at work yesterday for my Alaska trip and it felt soooooooooooo good!
• Yesterday the Dallas Marathon announced a new title sponsor – BMW – and opened early, limited, discounted registration! Funny, Gina and I were just talking about when registration would open earlier this week! I’d like to run that marathon again, but I’ll wait and do late registration if I do. I want to focus on getting in 5K shape (read: lean and strong) and see what happens from there. (The new logo is hella schweet though.)

• I don’t think I’ll be updating my “Raced in / Run in Map” with any new states raced in this year, but I do think I will add some new states run in – Alaska, and maybe Ohio.

• Data has taken to going outside on his own now. Sigh. He waits at the door and escapes! He never did this at the old house! Steven took this pic of him yesterday – Steven opened the front door to grab a package and Data jumped out through the gate! Luckily, Data doesn’t run when he gets out. Little turd.

• A little crowdsourcing – any favorite, not-horrible bridal shower games you’ve played?

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 98