Running Update

It'll be interesting to see how this idea of "using the Couch to 5K interval training to increase my speed" works out.... Currently I'm training on week 5... Brisk 5 min. walk, 3 min. run, 90 sec walk, 5 min run, 2.5 min walk, 3 min run, 90 sec walk, 5 min run.... Saturday's run was a tad bit disappointing, I wasn't feeling 100%, I didn't want to get my butt in gear and I kept choking on my own spittle (iiieeeeewwwww....). Saturday I was slow. This was irritating since I'd been doing short runs at 7-8 min mile paces.... Today was much better and I was able to clock myself better. It went as follows:

• 3 Minute: clocked at a 7 min. mile or 8.44 mph
• 5 Minute: clocked at a 9 min mile or 6.5 mph
• 3 Minute: clocked at 8.25 min mile or 7.25 mph
• 5 Minute: clocked at 10 min mile or 6 mph

Granted, it is not horribly surprising that I can maintain a faster pace over a shorter distance and that my pace will slow as I get tired. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next month or so. It seems like I almost get more tired when I take the walking breaks, though I have to admit that I'm doing a quick, speed-walking, shuffle thing in between each. I wonder what would happen with the speed overtime if I just kept oging to the whole 16 minutes.... I am hoping that I can average less that 10 min per mile for the duration come race time. That would be cool. I doubt It'll be like the dream I had last night where I completed a 5K in 20:34.... that's a little less than 7 minutes per mile. While that would be AWESOME, it would also be highly unlikely. I'm hoping I didn't kick J in my sleep because I had a sore part in my thigh this morning that's normally sore from running. : )

Basically, here's my theory... I like running, but I have a short attention span. So I'm thinking that i'll be able to do longer races if I get faster because I can go farther in the same amount of time.

* crosses fingers *

The New Experiment....

So after seeing what I have deemed to be proven results by improving my diet and increasing my vitamin and vegetable intake (well, duh...), I am now on a kind of naturally improving my well-being kick and have run across this article about Omega-3 Fatty Acids. And once again "well, duh..." I mean, people have talked about Omega-3s for quite a while and I had noticed, but it seemed like such a side note... and honestly, I wasn't sure it was anything more than another hype thing. I'm still not sure it's anything other than hype. It does seem like a giant ad for that one company, but there are also a lot of facts and scenarios presented that have made sense to me. I'm thinking it's worth a try. J has been saying he wants to eat more fish. So we'll try to work more fish in per week and I'll see about finding fish oil supplements (know I have some cod liver oil up in the closet somewhere...). The plan is to try this for a couple of months and see if I notice any difference in how I feel, in the Fuzzy-head syndrome I've been experiencing of late, and in my overall anxiety and mood swing levels. Eeeeee!!! *claps and dances * It's always fun to have a new experiment to try on myself.

*Shhhh...* Don't tell....

Funny story: As you may or may not know by now, I'm a bit paranoid that people will think I'm up to something. Dunno why. I get freaked out if a cop car passes me going the other way with lights flashing because OBVIOUSLY he is going to make a U-turn and come after me even if I'm driving like a granny.

So today I brought in a Sugar Free French Vanilla Coffee-Mate and some Bigelow White Chocolate Kisses Tea. The coffee mate actually makes the tea taste respectable & pleasant. I realized that I had nothing for portion control - no measuring spoon. So I figured an old Coca-Cola cap looks about 1/2 Tbsp.... I'll use that. So now I have a bottle cap that's crusted in fine white powder, a desk that's semi-covered in fine white powder (the stuff gets EVERYWHERE!!!) and it looks like I've been cutting a line at work. Great. : \

Thanks, Mom

I'm becoming strongly convinced that my mum & dad raised me too well. At least, I figure most of my critical skills that I cherish have come from them. I think about myself a lot... I like to call it introspection. I figure out what's bothering me, why it's bothering me, where it comes from, and then figure out a way to either fix it or work around it. I've learned over the years that this is a skill that is not common. The other thing I've gotten from my upbringing (I presume) is, to borrow Obama's phrase "Yes I can!" This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's let me be able to do most anything that I set my mind to, because I don't really believe "I can't"... Any instance of "I can't" that crops up in my life, I recognize as "I don't want to take the steps necessary to do it". Right now I can't do the uneven parallel bars, but I have no doubt that if I worked on it, took classes, and trained, that I could. "I can't understand economics and finance" is really: "the stuff irritates me and I just don't want to bother with learning about it." Really, I can't honestly think of something that I believe I couldn't do (with the exception of that just stated - is that a paradox?). As such, since I believe everything I can do is a learned skill, I have two big issues: A) stupid people irritate me to no end and B) I lack empathy when people have certain shortcomings.
Regarding A), I'm not talking about stupid as in low IQ. People who aren't smart don't bother me at all. It's people who say "I can't...." and therefore remain stupid that irritate me. I ran into that a LOT when I was teaching and I still run into it when dealing with dancing. There's not a lot of "Learning" that can't be achieved by just working on it.
Regarding B), I have a hard time when people are consistently late or insensitive or always "having issues" or etc, because, at least to me, time management, dealing with other people, and coping skills are all LEARNED skills. I have a really hard time feeling for people in certain situations because they really do have the power to "fix" their situation and just choose not to because they say they "can't".

So, thanks Mom & Dad... I'm really glad that "I can"... I don't know how you got it into me, but I'm glad you did. Now I just have to figure out how "I can" have more empathy... or maybe I should just say "f- it" and let everyone else drown in their own "I can't"-ness. hmmm....

Another Beginning

So I got back from New Years' with this grand scheme of blogging my little heart out and talking about all sorts of cool random stuff. as that continued to happen, the cool stuff kept piling up & then I'd put off writing until I could sit down and do that justice. That has not happened either and at this point it's time to just sit down, say "F- it!", sweep all that stuff under the carpet and pretend there isn't an unsightly lump in the middle. Let's try this again. Today's topic is "My favorite downfalls."


So here it is, in no particular order, My Favorite Downfalls:

• Peanut butter - yes, this whole recall has been a nightmare from hell for me.
• Cheese - I've been finding myself craving all sorts of cheese products, particularly cheese & tomato, aka ravioli, pasta dishes, pizza, etc...
• Good bread (well, really, any bread) - it makes me fart & I should avoid it, but I just can't say no. The best: I had some 'Popovers' the other night (a-MAZ-ing... aka Yorkshire pudding)
• Garlic - no description necessary
• Pad Thai - the cheesy food that cheesy Americans always order at Thai places... It's my comfort food. What can I say?

More to come later, I'm sure. By my downfall of this exact moment would be Doritos.. classic, nacho cheese Doritos (classified as a cheese downfall). This being said, I've still been doing reasonably well... I'm waffling right around 135. Not steady enough to feel like I'm allowed to indulge in my PB Milkshake that I promised myself, but I'm almost there. I'm down from the line between a size 16/18 to teetering on the line of 6 to 4... This makes me happy. Please keep in mind that I'm not intending to brag. Peek into my brain: I mention this stuff because I can't comprehend it. I feel like I need to get some sort of grip on reality. I remember looking at size 6/4 jeans and thinking "what kind of stick insects can fit INTO those???" Then I'd pick up my pants and they'd look normal. Now I pick up my size 6 or 4 and they look the same size as the 16s that I used to have. I guess I don't quite look the same in the mirror, but I look the same as I THOUGHT I looked. Also, I sit down on the toilet and I SWEAR my thighs squish the same distance over the sides of the seat. I know there must be a difference, but I can't get it into my head and I'm honestly quite worried that if I don't keep trying to convince myself of what size I really am, I could maybe turn into one of those skinny girls who're always saying "I'm fat" and trying to do something unhealthy. I've also found that I'm very self-conscious about going to the bathroom right after dinner. I'm worried that people will think I'm bulimic. Really, all people should be worried about is that I'm psychotic and have a massive disconnect between my head and reality! : )