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By kilax, November 1, 2009 3:16 pm

Day 8 | October 26, 2009: Stretch and Strengthen

I followed the same “Strengthen” routine as last Monday – minus the crunches, plus the moves below. I am really enjoying strength training. I feel focused while I am doing it, and nice and relaxed and tired when I am done.

Lunges: 10 each side with 5 lb. weight each hand. Thanks for the recommendation diane and ChezJulie!
Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb.
Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb.

Day 9 | October 27, 2009: 3 m run

I felt like I was pushing it, in a good way, this entire run. It made me hopeful that I will get back to my normal pace soon. Of course, it’s still too slow for Steven… unless he has to go to the bathroom, that is! Muah ha ha.

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 32:34 | 1: 10:55 | 2: 10:55 | 3: 10:37

Day 10 | October 28, 2009: 2 m run or cross

This was pretty casual cross-training… we took a walk but didn’t even change out of our street clothes!

Distance: 2.00 | Time: 30:02 | 1: 14:58 | 2: 15:01

Day 11 | October 29, 2009: 3 m run + strength

I got up super early (4:30) so that I could do my strength routine (same as Monday) before work. Usually I do it at lunch and take it nice and slow, but I felt rushed because a coworker asked me to go to an 8:00 am meeting for them at the last minute. Meh.

Steven and I ran together in the evening, in the light rain. I like running together in the evening. It gives us a good chance to talk to each other with few distractions.

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 32:14 | 1: 10:57 | 2: 10:47 | 3: 10:26

Day 12 | October 30, 2009: Rest

Day 13 | October 31, 2009: 30 min cross

We took a walk during trick-or-treat time, so it was fun to see kids in their costumes and our neighbor’s home decorations.

Distance: 1.79 | Time: 27:30 | 1: 15:22 | 2: 12:08

Day 14 | November 1, 2009: 4 m run

Ugh. I really thought this would be an easy run since the other two this week went so well, but my breathing was all off, and I felt like I was struggling. And I also felt bad that I was slowing Steven down. I hope this gets easier soon.

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 43:31 | 1: 10:52 | 2: 10:57 | 3: 10:57 | 4: 10:32

Week Summary: 13.79 miles

I felt pretty good while running this week, so I am hopeful that my speed and ease will continue to increase each week. I am still icing my shin a few times a day and massaging it.

These recaps have been pretty lame. Sorry. I just like to keep track of my training here!

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By kilax, October 25, 2009 1:21 pm

Last Sunday I was cleaning off my desk and found a printed-out copy of Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Novice Training Plan. “Hmm,” I thought, “I should see when I need to start training for the January 9th half marathon we signed up to run.” Even though we may not do it, I still want to train like we are.

Yeah, it’s a good thing I checked. I needed to start training on the next day – Monday the 19th! (Um, so I was originally going to run a marathon on the 17th and start half marathon training the 19th?! Bad idea, Kim!)

So… my Sunday training posts are back! MUAH HA HA! I am not sure how much I will have to modify them, because of my shin, but my plan is try to to run three days a week, but cut it down to two and walk one if I need it.

Day 1 | October 19, 2009: Stretch and Strengthen

I used the office gym weight equipment for the first time the week of October 12th and damn… my arms were SORE! Like, “you can’t put your coat on” sore. I am hoping that will go away!

I don’t know much about weights, so I did three sets of 15 reps (to build endurance?) on each machine. With the arm machines, I rotated back in forth between two at a time, but with the leg machines, I did all three sets together.

So… I am doing it right? I put my workout in small print below because it’s boring.

Seated Row: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @45 lb
Lateral Raise: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 37.5 lb., 15 @ 37.5 lb
90 Degree Chest: 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 40 lb
Shoulder Press: 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb. Yeah, these are killer!
Pectoral Fly: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 30 lb
Arm Curl: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 25 lb. OUCH!
Leg Press: 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 60 lb, 15 @ 60 lb
Leg Extension: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 45 lb
Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb
Crunches: 10
Bicycle Crunches: 10

Day 2 | October 20, 2009: 3 m run

Steven and I “ran” these 3 miles together, in the dark, but in a perfect running temperature – 55°F! The nice thing about running in the dark is that you are not constantly checking your Garmin. The bad thing about running in the dark is that you CAN’T check your Garmin to see if you are running too fast (well, I can’t figure out the back light). Oh, and that you might trip and fall. Or mistake a branch for a snake, as Steven did. Ha ha.

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 32:33 | 1: 10:23 | 2: 11:10 | 3: 10:58

Day 3 | October 21, 2009: 2 m run or cross

Yawn. Treadmill walking…

Distance: 2.00 | Time: 30:00 | 1: 15:00 | 2: 15:00

Day 4 | October 22, 2009: 3 m run + strength

I did the same strength work-out as Monday, just mixed it the order a bit. I’m liking it so far. I can feel its effects. I think I need to add some lower-leg strength moves though. Do you know any lower-leg exercises?

I put the 3 miler off until Friday, since it was raining.

Day 5 | October 23, 2009: Rest 3 m run

So, I ran in the rain, on Friday with Steven! The “hills” in our neighborhood were killing me, but I can tell my fitness level is increasing!

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 33:05 | 1: 10:48 | 2: 11:08 | 3: 11:07

Day 6 | October 24, 2009: 30 min cross rest

Day 7 | October 25, 2009: 4 m run

Another “run” with Steven, with more difficulty on our neighborhood “hills.” I am struggling with breathing now. I used to not have to think about it at all, so it’s frustrating. But I did enjoy the nice fall weather – clear blue skies and a nice temperature in the 50s.

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 46:02 | 1: 11:02 | 2: 11:19 | 3: 11:47 | 4: 11:51

Week Summary: 12 miles

Starting over is exciting (because it seems like you are reaching a new goal each day) but frustrating (because you feel like the goals you are reaching are something you did months ago). I have been making sure to take it nice and slow, and stop if I feel any strong pain in my shin. I hope I don’t have to modify this training schedule too much!

Comments (11)

By kilax, September 29, 2009 7:01 pm

… I just want to go to bed.

I’m not sure if I am ready for another dark and cold season. Each year I try to come up with a new way to deal with it, but I always feel a little crummy overall. I suppose last year’s method of keeping myself purposefully busy helped somewhat. I’ll try that again.

Comments (15)

By kilax, November 3, 2008 5:19 am

A few months ago, I decided it was time to quit chewing my nails for good. I’ve gone through many phases of not chewing my nails – it never lasts very long though. I end up get stressed out at work, usually on a Monday afternoon, and chew every single one off. Sometimes, I would just go into the bathroom, take the clippers out, and cut all my fingernails there so my coworkers won’t be annoyed by that biting noise (because it really, really annoys me!).

What was different this last time? Really, it’s a mix between an appearance and work-related thing. I don’t like the look of short, stubby, bleeding fingernails (duh), but I also do a lot of pointing and explaining at work. I print out a plan, section, elevation, whatever, and say – “This is where such and such will be” or “This is how I imagine this will work.” If someone was presenting something to me, and had those nasty fingernails like I used to, I would be distracted!

This time, to get myself to stop, I just painted my nails in one of my standby OPI shades – No Bees Please, from the GardenParty collection. I only put on two coats, and it turns into a nice, natural, sheer pink. Every time I looked down at my nails, and saw that pretty shade, I thought about how nice it looked, and how much nicer it would look if I would quit chewing them.

A friend introduced me to the OPI nail polish brand quite a few years ago, and I have been hooked ever since. Their polish is the highest quality I have ever used. It seems to always go on smooth, and does not chip for a long time (sometimes 5 days or more!).

I usually do stick to sheer shades, but have been branching out more lately to try some darker ones – see Crêpes Suzi-ette and Eiffel For This Color, above (along with two other sheers I like).

I always paint my nails at home though. I got a manicure ONCE. On a whim. At one of those “college-salons” where people go to learn how to cut hair and poor college students go to get their hair cut. The girl who did my nails did SUCH AN AWFUL JOB, that I picked the nail polish off as soon as I got away from her, and stopped at a store on the way home to buy those travel nail-polish remover pads. (She didn’t let the base dry and put it on WAY too thick. Duh.)

That turned me off manicures. Of course, I realize that was just her, and not all are that bad. But if I can do a decent job at home, I just do it there.

It’s easy with sheer colors, but the dark ones are different. Mistakes are more noticeable! You really have to devote the time and patience to putting on the dark colors at home. Below are a few tips I read in the November InStyle about wearing dark polish:

• Keep Them Short: Trimming the nails to 1/4″ past the fingertip keeps them looking more modern. You’ll be able to tell if it looks a little… vamp! Time to trim!
• Be Well Rounded: Have you heard of the “squoval”? That is the shape salons recommend for nails – a rounded off square (hence, squoval). Straight hard edges look a little – straight and hard and uptight!’
• Take Your Time: Set aside an hour – dark shades dry slowly. I like to read blogs or type while mine dry!
• Stay Smooth: Moisturize and take care of those cuticles!

And my advice? This is only from experience of mistakes I’ve made.

• Use a Base Coat: Dark polishes STAIN your nails. Use a base coat so it won’t be as difficult to remove the polish, and you won’t have funny colored nude nails!
• Try One Coat: After the base, apply one coat. It may be enough! These dark colors put a lot in on one coat, unlike a sheer, where you have to apply a few shades.
• Add a Clear Top Coat: If you do go with one coat, think about adding a clear top coat for a bit of shine and to protect your nails.

And two general tips:

• Buff Your Nails: Use a 4-way buffer stick. They work wonders and smooth our your nails beautifully. AND add shine!
• Know the Return Policy: If you are spending $8.50 on a bottle of OPI nail polish, make sure you can return it. Ideally, you can use those little fake nails thing in the store to see if the color will work on you, but they might not have them. I really thought Tickle My France-y was going to look great on me, but it didn’t. I gave it to a friend who thought it would look nice on her, and it didn’t (who does this polish look nice on?!). A friend told me I could return it at Ulta. Phew. They’re not all meant to be!

Any advice/favorite brands to share with me? What polish are you wearing these days, if any?