Lost Toe-Nail. Reward?

posted by Stacy

It's gone.  Just like a loose tooth, it wiggled and fell off!  I am planning on sticking it under my pillow to see if there's a toe-nail fairy and just how much a toe-nail is worth these days.  Fingers crossed.  Toes missing nails.

My Kind of Spin Class

posted by Stacy

Okay, you can sign me up for this spin class, I'd show up every day!

 

  

Check out my cool cruiser with the big bars...

you just can't find those at the gym!

Be careful not too ride too fast either, the locals will yell at you.

"Slow down mon!  What's your hurry?  

Life's too short to go so fast!"

ahh yes, my kind of spin class!

I need a membership...pronto!

This Little Piggy Went Jogging

Posted by Stacy

This little piggy went jogging, that little piggy did too.  The next little piggy wanted new sox, it's friend to the right did too...and because I kept jogging anyway it decided to turn black and blue!

UPDATE:  I took this photo a little too soon.  today, this little piggy looks like someone colored it in with a black permanent marker.  And now a second one is turning colors too.  Lovely.  Anyone have dark nail polish I can borrow??

Hot Mama

Posted by Stacy

Okay, I'm gonna keep running.  It might be working.  Today while crossing a parking lot a man stopped me and asked me if I was married.  Of course I said YES so he asked me how many kids I had.  "Four." I said.  He raised an eyebrow and said,

"You're one hot mama!"

Admittedly, the guy was in his early 50's but hey, I'll take ANY compliment.  So today when I put on my shoes it was a little easier to run knowing that I'm on my way to looking better to the slightly blind over-50 crowd!  Oh yeah!  Give me a Woot! Woot!

Two Numbers

Posted by Stacy

iMix, iRun

Posted by Stacy

Okay, now that I got that last post/rant out of my system I shall post something a little more encouraging that I read today (nothing new here but I liked it).

"Music is a legal drug," says Dr Costas Karageorghis, professor of psychology at Brunel University in London and musical consultant to the Run To The Beat Half-Marathon. "It reduces the perception of effort by blocking fatigue messages to the brain, and it can elevate positive mood."

...so that is why I get so impatient in between songs while I run.  When the old song stops and you have to wait for the new one, I get totally edgy.  Funny huh?  I'm gonna have to mess with my running mixes so they flow better without the wait.

Here's my latest running playlist that keeps the rhythm going. I need to make it last longer, any suggestions?? Keep in mind, I'm going for beats per minute to keep up my "positive mood"!

Please Don't Leave Me-Pink

La La- Ashlee Simpson

Bhangra Fever- MIDival PundiZ

Fergalicious-Fergie

Switch-Will Smith

Single Ladies-Beyonce

Land of a Million Drums-Outkast
Boom Boom Pow-Black Eyed Peas

Crazy-Gnarls Barkley

Gold Digger-Kanye West & Jamie Foxx

Womanizer-Britney Spears
Pon de Replay-Rihanna

I Got a Feeling-Black Eyed Peas

Hot in Herre-Nelly

U Can't Touch This-MC Hammer

Don't Lie-Black Eyed Peas

Buckin' Bronco!

Posted by Stacy

Was going for a new PR of 10 miles when suddenly, at 8.5 miles my dang treadmill stopped suddenly and bucked me off!  @#!!$#!   Yesterday it bucked me off after reaching 7 miles.

I would have finished my run outside except for the fact that it was pitch black outside, there's a rapist on the loose in town (not kidding), and the wind has been raging at hurricane force for the last several days.  It was so windy that it blew my huge BBQ out onto the lawn TWICE...and the darn thing was BOLTED down!!  Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Nirvana

posted by Stacy

Yesterday I really really did NOT want to put on my shoes.  I even told Mark I was just tired of pounding the pavement every day because I just don't like it all.  I hate it in fact.  I resent having to work so hard to keep healthy.  BUT I gave my blue bracelet a snap! and put on my shoes anyway.

The wind was whipping sooo hard that it almost blew our BBQ off the porch, and the thing is bolted down!  So I opted for the treadmill.  I spent the first two laps cussing and swearing that if I could just do another two more I just might quit after I'd reached a measly mile.  The next two laps were no better, and I resentfully dabbled in more cussing.

Then something interesting happened.  As I began to get warmed up I slipped out of my jacket and I started to feel okay about the whole thing.  Then suddenly, like a switch had been flipped on, everything began to clear up.  My mind, my aches, my knee, the sox that didn't feel right; everything.  I just went blank and seemed like there was no space or time.  Total oblivion.  Nirvana.

I pushed my jacket over the top of all the lights and gauges of my treadmill and just enjoyed the moment.  I thought, I'll just run till the pain and hatred comes back.  So I just ran.  It was AMAZING.  I have never run more than 5 miles before and by mile 4 I was still suspended in time so I started thinking I just might pass up 5 make 6 miles!  I did and kept on going.

I set a new PR for distance: 7 miles.  The funny thing is, I could have kept going.  7 miles may not be a record setting milestone for anyone but me...but this is ME were talking about here!  And considering the fact that I hate running AND the fact that I'm a self-proclaimed athletic wimp (unless the sport involves something gas powered), I'm pretty giddy about my achievement.

I realize that every run won't be like yesterday but I'm totally happy to finally experience a little of what so many runners out there claim to achieve from time to time.  A little NIRVANAAAAA.

Three Sisters

Oh it was soo good to have Steph out for the holidays. My jogging has been sporadic at best since the dreaded Monster Dash on Halloween. It was so GREAT to have Steph out making me run every day. It was even more fun to add Wendy to the mix! She's the amazing Hercules runner who routinely jogs the steep hills on Valley View. I swear that girl only jogs UP. And as for me, the weakest of the bunch, it was just great to try and keep up with them as we jogged over the holidays, including a great run on Christmas day!

Here's an AFTER photo when Mark jogged with/past us...

Good times, despite the looks on our faces!

I am grateful to have two sisters who I could put on my shoes with!  Sure wish we could do it all the time!

Monster Dash!

Posted by Stacy

Okay, I totally admit I got a little too excited about a 5K I found that was being held right here in Ashland! So excited, I convinced Wendy and Sheralyn to run with me.  That was a smart move.  Signing up BEFORE previewing the route, that was a stupid move.

The Monster Dash 5K Fun Run was, well, anything but fun.  (Next year I will offer to re-design their posters.  I will use Halloween words like; "Murderous", "Diabolical", and "Frightening" to describe the event.  and will totally take out the words "Fun Run".)  The first two miles of the course threaded up Lithia Park through the steep hills of Ashland for 2 miles.  After that it was a steep downhill most of the way back, you had no choice to run fast if you didn't want to end up on your FACE!

Thank goodness Wendy and Sheralyn signed up to do it with me.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have shown up for the race if they were not meeting me there rain or shine.  This morning I got up and the weather was terrible.  I would have quit then had I been going solo.  Then I picked up our race packets a few hours before the race and decided to drive the route.  I was nearly in tears, filled with total intrepidation.  STEEP, so steep I was muttering swear words all the way back home to get ready for it.  But I knew they'd be meeting me there, no way I could back out now, thank goodness I had planned to build-in some peer pressure to see me through!

Here we are just before the race...

...and this one speaks for itself...

Oh man!  We did it!  I was sooooooo glad these two amazing girls ran with me, or, I should say, "in front of me".   They both kicked my butt.  I totally admit that just three minutes into the race I thought about quitting cause it was nothing but steep.  But they kept me going!  I'm so glad they were there!

Here's our times:

Sheralyn   30 minutes

Wendy     31 minutes

Stacy        37 minutes

I don't care if I was the last of the three, I'm just glad I finished.  And, I realized that my last 5K back in Utah with Steph-also my first, I finished it in the same amount of time...and that one was fairly level.

Now for the interesting part of the race...Halloween, costumes encouraged kinda race, and you know here in Ashland that's gonna go wrong, really wrong.  Here's a small sample of the lovely folks we had to run with (and sometime pick up the pace to get away from!):

A lovely front/back of this dude who defies explanation:

This guy was dressed like our local "Lady Godiva" a lovely lady in town who likes to ride around on her bike naked.

And these guys here:

This guy and I ran together for about 1/4 of a mile, I felt like I was running with a member of the Grateful Dead...wasn't sure if it was a costume or not!

The best part of all, it ended up being a BEAUTIFUL fall day which was so lovely!

And the streets downtown were closed down to only one lane of traffic so we got to run right down the middle of the street.  I love this beautiful town!

Thanks to Wendy and Sheralyn, I showed up and ran!  ...and didn't quit when I felt like puking!  Whew!

Focus

posted by Stacy

Hey lady on the beach, you inspire me. Can I stand on the beach with you? I'm sorry I cut out something on the other side of your page. But the words I didn't cut out, well, they inspire me too.

Oh, and since you asked, lady on the beach, today I am going to focus on fitting in my jeans like you fit in yours.

Faster, Lighter, and in the Groove!

Posted by Stacy

A series of unfortunate events is clearly not just a kid's chapter book, it's actually a real phenomenon that has been a sad calamity that describes my recent journey into techno-hell. First my camera has started to make funny grinding noises, then my loyal friend for the past seven years, my MacBook, just conked out on me! As if this was not enough pain for one human to suffer, three days later my I-Pod died too! Ca-put!  This final deprivation was the real injury, because I jog with it. It's the only thing that motivates me to keep running and not cuss, stop, and turn back for home.

The sad part about it is that this was one of the old I-pods, the thing weighed about 25lbs! Which is why the whole family called it "The Brick". But "The Brick" was my faithful companion that belched out inspirational Slim Shady songs that keep me running. Now what?? I absolutely HATE running to the sound of my pathetic panting, I get irritated by the sound of my feet on the pavement, the crunch of rocks under my shoes (all the stuff the die hard runners love). The truth is, I hate running. I'm certainly NOT out there to enjoy mother nature and bond with the breeze and trees. I run to fit into my jeans and that's basically it.

So when the brick died, so did my lackluster enthusiasm. I missed my old friend. I also loved the fact that because the dang thing weighed so much, I felt like it was adding to my workout! Like running with a backpack full of rocks, only I'm sure my I-pod weighed more.

After three days of having to listen to myself breath like an asthmatic, I had enough. I went out and bought a new one...except I opted for the tiniest thing I've ever seen...the new shuffle-it's smaller than my pinky. This baby is light and wonderful, though now I feel like to get the same workout I was getting with the Brick, I have to jog farther to compensate for its lightness. I miss the Brick, and worry this new-fangled thingy is gonna get lost because of its teeny tiny size, but wow! MUSIC AGAIN! Ahhhhh!

Me and My Big Mouth...and Thighs!

Posted by Stacy

I put on my shoes!! Yes, a miracle!  But that's what happens when you open your big fat mouth, which was my plan exactly.  I haven't run since the Clinton Days Fun Run with Steph.  Tons of excuses, from wedding planning to I'm home with the swine flu.  Anything real or imagined to keep me home on the couch watching The Office re-runs.

Something drastic had to be done if I was gonna get running again.   So I called up everyone I know and talked them into doing a race with me, knowing perfectly well I wouldn't be able to finish said race unless I got moving...which, frankly, still didn't motivate me.

Meanwhile Steph keeps texting me that she's running everyday!  And yesterday, Wendy sent me this message via e-mail:

"I actually ran 3.5 miles today and didn't die (yet).

I haven't run this far...ever!"

Wendy

So I got off my rear today, put my shoes on, and ran!!  Looks like my evil and painful master plan of getting humiliated and peer-pressured into running is actually working!

The Sisters Put on their Shoes!

Posted by Stacy

Steph was so pumped up about Mark's Tri and getting back in shape that when she discovered a nearby town was having a 5K fun run she got all excited. She mentioned we should enter the run and go for it, I think mostly as a plot to get me to stay a little longer in Utah and not so much because she actually wanted to run the dang thing. Motive aside, I took the bait and we went down and registered for the run the day before the race. Nice training huh? I figured that it's only been 4 weeks since I last ran and I could probably take it on without serious ramifications and Steph figured, oh heck, I don't know what she figured. Steph hasn't been on a real running regimen in some time so perhaps she figured when the race got tough she'd walk some of it. I thought it was a pretty bold move on her part! I was proud of her for doing it even if it was a plot.

This was a first for both of us, we had never entered any type of event like this...EVER. I'm not really fond of running in a large crowd of people (I'm not even fond of running at all). In fact, I've spent most of my sporadic and laughable jogging career exclusively on a treadmill. After my ACL surgery my darn knee has still never been the same so I've been babying it on the cushioned deck of a treadmill. That was until I was told by Keith Williams...ahemmm...Doctor Keith Williams, to "pre-medicate and move on". So I started chugging aspirin and hitting the pavement and it seems to work! Glory Be! I have since learned to like running outside and shunned my inner domesticated exerciser. Mailboxes and signposts have become my dear friends as I stretch my route farther down the road. And heck, I've never been honked at on my treadmill, you can't beat that!

So race day was interesting for a first-timer. They had so many people show up that they ran out of numbers. Of course Steph, who was in line right in front of me got one, but they ran out of numbers on me! So Steph got to be #462 and I just went by "The Purple Blob". As if that wasn't enough trauma for a first-time racer my headphones quit working so I ran sans music. How was I gonna run without Emeniem? I figured that most official races won't let you run with headphones anyway so I chalked it up to fate. Steph meanwhile, enjoyed her Barry Manilow or whatever she was listening to, lucky dog.

Not having raced before, it wasn't too terrible running in a crowded mass of scantily-clad people. I took it slow and easy until I overheard a young girl midway through the race tell her friend the pace and not to let me pass them. They had been walking and then sprinting, walking, sprinting, the entire first half and each time I would catch up to them when they were walking, they'd start to sprint. I really didn't care cause I was just keeping my normal pace-steady jog, that is until I heard them plotting on me! Of course when I overheard them, it got me all fired up so I picked up my pace, passed them up, and ran the last half a bit harder that I should have but they never did catch up! I wanted to tell them they just got passed by a 40-year old when I went by but I didn't. Too bad we didn't have our legs marked up like in Mark's Tri! So much for just keeping my pace, I couldn't help it, it was like a double-dog dare!

I end my tale by saying that there was nothing fun about that run and that calling it a "fun run" is very misleading. While I was jogging I kept thinking of alternate names they should have called the event:

• This-Really-Isn't-Fun Fun Run
• Sweat Under the Hot Sun Run
• Chaff your Fat Thighs Run
• This Is Making Me Cuss Too Much Run
  
• We're Just Calling it a Fun Run to Get You To Sign Up Run
• What the Hell Was I Thinking Run
  

By the look of this photo, Steph's probably making of her own names to call this race!I've discovered something interesting despite it all. These things can be kinda like getting a tattoo or jumping out of an airplane. Not sure it's a good idea at the time you're doing it but when it's over you get this sicko compulsion to do it again. So ultimately, I guess I'm going shopping for another run. Beats a tattoo right? And cheaper than jumping.

Here's Steph crossing the finish line! Way to go Steph! I'm sure she'll have a rebuttal tale to regale when she gets internet hooked up at her house! Can't wait to read her version. Until then, we sisters busted a move!And now, off to search for another run...
Race Results:

Stacy   38:48
Stephanie   41:46