Officially Training for another 15K

I officially am registered for the Hot Chocolate 15K! It feels good. This will be the second time I'm running this event. I know, I know. Branch out, try something new. But I enjoyed this race. It's a lot of people, but I'm okay with that. Plus, I liked the chocolate at the end. :) In preparation, I downloaded Hal Higdon's 15K Training Guide, Novice edition. I haven't been running consistently much this year, so the Novice program seemed a better fit for me. I strongly recommend Hal's (we're on a first name basis) programs. I'm a little late to the training game, but only by a week.  Not bad at all. I printed it on Friday, which was a rest day. So I rested. Who am I to argue with Hal Higdon?! ;) Yesterday was a 2 mile run and today is 30 minutes cross training. Hopefully, my normal Sunday cross will be swimming. Hopefully. We'll see once it gets to 60 minutes of cross training... Today won't work anyway because I can't leave Little Man alone. Instead, I will do a cardio workout with Leandro. It's been months. I assume there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

No more excuses!

I have a lot of excuses. I'm great at making excuses. Main excuse this summer?... Too Hot! It's been super hot and that has been my excuse for slacking. It's not a good reason, especially since I have a treadmill... And Leandro (Brazil Butt Lift guy)... And a Y membership... Sheesh. I'm sounding pretty lame right now.
Another excuse... the Olympics! I like to watch the Olympics. Nothing like watching a bunch of super fit people compete while I sit on my rear and eat snacks.

Anywho...no more excuses. I have (yet again) cycled back round to little activity. This is a dangerous place to be given how much I enjoy eating. So I have enlisted the help of my running buddy. Since I struggle with commitment, I like to have my accountability partner, who has been dedicated to me for the last two days. Yes, I said two days, and for the record I only ran one of those days. (guilt!) I've also received some homework to do as I look forward to this 3-day weekend.

1. Make some goals:
   Such as buying new clothes or making a contest for myself, e.g. killer abs or weight loss. Honestly, the struggle I'm having with goals right now is that I have too many. And some of them may be a little out of reach. For example, I would like to look like Megan Fox. That might be a tad unattainable. I may have to settle for a slightly less fluffy version of SuperJulia. Body-wise, I'm not 100% sure what my goals are. I tend to think that the better short-term goals for me are races. The Hot Chocolate 15K is November 4th. The goodie bag includes a technical hoodie sweatshirt. I like hoodie sweatshirts...and chocolate... I have two months...hmm...
2. Scope out an exercise plan:
   None of the "I feel like walking today" or "I think I'll run" or "I'll skip". Make a plan and stick to it. Obviously, life happens, but it's about stopping the excuses and just getting out there. I've worked like this before. I like programs. I stick to programs.
3. Cross train
   Plan both cardio and strength training to maximize the effects of exercise. I found this out with Leandro. The mixture of cardio, core, and toning was awesome. And now that I have the aforementioned Y membership, I have good access to weight machines. And my little man has swim lessons starting on Wednesday. Excellent.
4. Eat proteins, fruits, and vegetables. Low carbs:
   I almost lost it when I was told, "I pretty much think potatoes and cheese are evil." BLAS-PHE-MY!!! I have not met a potato I didn't like. And cheese...oh that creamy, sweet goodness! But certainly my yummy homemade dinner rolls were listed under 'good carbs'. Hey, I figure if I'm happy eating them, that must me they're good for the health of those around me, right? Right?? :)
   I do get the point though, and it's one I try to live by. Portions and limit the foods that are not good for your body. (She typed after finishing her little man's fries...I only said I tried, not that I succeeded)
5. Journal or log the exercise:
   Perfect! I already have this blog. Why not continue to go public with my adventures?!
6. Take a before and after picture:
   "But don't post it on your blog." Thanks. Clearly, my before picture will be hideous. At least that's how this mind interprets that qualifier. :-| 

So here's to continuing the adventures! And now to plan...

Brazil Butt Lift

Week 1 of the Brazil Butt Lift is done! Three more to go. Then I need to decide whether to keep with the intensive training or tailor it back. I think that will depend on the condition of my posterior.

Spring Training

I saw a picture of myself...ugh. Traveling 3 out of 4 weeks has not been good for my figure. Little exercise has been accomplished. And I want to finish 3 sprint triathlons? Time for some serious spring training.

If you put junk in, you get junk out

Ah, the time from Halloween through New Year's... Not my best eating time of the year. Taste-wise, it's awesome. Pound-wise, not so much. The bad eating habits also negatively affect my running. Today I ran with Bethie for the last three miles of her ten mile run... complete with an arm work out a little over a third of the way through for her... And I was the one struggling. Further proof that if you put junk in your body, you get junk out. When will I learn? Oh well, tomorrow's a new day. One with a four miler waiting. I think I'll choose something better than cookies for breakfast this time...

Running my fingers tonight...

Tonight's therapy will be running my fingers instead of my legs...(warning: paragraphs of stream-of-consciousness ahead)

I'm in a funk. I'm not really sure why. Maybe because I'm overtired. No, probably because I'm overtired. It started on Friday. An experiment that didn't go smoothly and one of my coworkers was teasing me a lot. "Oh, not used to seeing you working. Here, let me take a picture to capture this rare moment." Normally, I banter with this coworker, but that particular line of bantering irks me for, hopefully, obvious reasons. I'm not the hardest working gal on the planet, but I get my work done. Plus, I get irritable when experiments don't go well. The situation really just put me in a lousy mood. And I had been in such a good mood the whole week...up until Friday. Ah, the emotional roller-coaster that comes with being me. I try to remind myself that it's not just me that stumbles and has flub-ups. This very same coworker printed a picture from Facebook on work's printer 531 times. 531! How does one make that mistake? And then the stack of papers was left by the printer. I laughed so hard my sides hurt and my eyes teared up. 531 Good stuff. So, since this person had left for the day, I did the mature (*cough, cough*) thing and wrote "I know what you did!" on the 531st page and taped it in the perpetrator's cube. Then I hid the remainder of the pages in a cabinet. I felt a little vindicated about earlier in the day until the teasing about the failed experiment continued on Facebook. And that brings me to this moment in time, when insecurity rears it's ugly head and my hypersensitive self takes over.

Saturday morning, I woke with a revelation. I cannot stand to fail. I don't like to struggle even a little bit. When faced with something difficult, I want to just stop, not even bothering to try. If I think I should be able to do it well, then can't...watch out, because cranky, crazy Juls comes out. My daughter is the same way and that was my revelation. She gets it from me! I shared this revelation with Matt and was met with complete and utter un-surprise. Apparently this novel idea was only novel to me. I guess that explains why that characteristic in my daughter annoys me so much.

Now that I've had this awakening, what's next? Still tonight I am dealing with the insecurities that rise up when something doesn't go well. How do I just "not let it bother me", like Matt suggests? How do I act like a normal person when this ugly part of my personality takes over?

Hmm...

Two halves...

This Fall, I decided to run to Half Marathons. One with a group from work, and one with my running buddy Beth. I'll begin with the second one...

The Tyranena Beer Run, Lake Mills, WI
It was a beautiful day for running. I rode up with Beth and Sarah, Beth's CARA running buddy. Mike was the brave man to drive us. We stopped to pick up a college friend of Beth's, Barb, then we were on our way. Last year, Bethie was in physical therapy for a back injury, making in necessary to defer a couple marathons and work back into the distance running.  A feat she has accomplished with her usual determination and spunk when many others would have just thrown in the towel and called it a day.  This race would be her first Half since running this same race last year. We had a great ride there with lots of girlfriend time and laughs, mainly at Mike cursing his dislike for all things WI (except Barb), and admiring Beth's engagement ring while listening to the engagement story from both her and Mike's perspectives.
The race started out just like any other race, with everyone jockeying for position. I pulled ahead of the other three, thinking they were still behind me. In the first few miles, I heard other women talking and always thought it was them. Then the women would pass me and I realized it wasn't them. Finally, after about 5 miles, I turned to look behind me (not something I like to do...probably from being told not to do that in high school racing) only to not see them behind me. I was going this race alone. Fortunately, there were plenty of people around me, so that I never felt alone. The race was scenic with mainly gentle, rolling hills. There were only two major hills. One of them, which Beth warned us about, took me by surprise. We were heading toward a hill but the course turned just before going up that one. I was relieved until I turned and saw a much steeper hill waiting for us. I was determined. I ran up all the hills. There was also quite the headwind. All-in-all, the race went well. I stuck to a good pace despite the hills and wind. Beth had an awesome day finishing her first Half in a year with a smile on her face. Afterwards we enjoyed the lasagna dinner that came with our registration and some beer from the Tyranena Brewery that sponsors the race. Then it was home again with a quick stop at the Cheese Castle. Our Wisconsin trip wouldn't have been complete without cheese.

Prairie State Marathon and Half Marathon, Libertyville, IL
The first one was in the beginning of October and was at a forest preserve near my work. I should have known it would be a warm day because it was the same weekend as the Chicago marathon. The Chicago marathon always seems to have 'unseasonably' warm weather. Fortunately, since it was in a forest preserve there was quite a bit of shade. Unfortunately, for those running the full marathon they had to pass the finish with 8 miles to go, and they had the hottest part of the day to run in. The warm weather was affecting some of their times.
I ran with a group from work. Well, maybe not running with them, but we tried to meet up after the race was done. We had bought team shirts that said "The pain is temporary. The pride is forever." although not everyone wore theirs. I was glad I had mine on because I caught up to a man, Chuck, who works in my building. I didn't know him prior to meeting him on the trail...isn't it great how running brings people together?... :) (Side note: a fb friend who ran the Chicago marathon for World Vision posted that at a dinner the night before, one of the Kenyan runners said that great thing about the marathon is that you can have runners of all abilities competing in the same event. Not something you see in other sports. Pretty cool.) Chuck and I talked for a few miles. He shared with me his story of getting back into running. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. After many, many rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, he was declared cancer-free. But chemo and radiation are devastating to more than just the cancer cells and Chuck was left frail and thin. He didn't want to just be cancer-free, he wanted his health back. With this thought, he and his wife decided to adopt a dog. During the interview process, the interviewer looked at Chuck sitting there "looking half-dead" (Chuck's words) and was concerned that he would not outlast the dog. Determined, Chuck assured the person that he was cancer-free and he was not going anywhere soon. They brought the dog home. Chuck and his new companion had to start off slowly for Chuck's sake, just walking a block or two. As he regained his strength, he and his pup went further, then started running more and more until Chuck was healthy enough to start running marathons and half marathons. Now, seven years later, it's Chuck's dog who is not able to run anymore. Chuck knows the end is near for his furry friend and he's determined to see him through. The dog was more than just a pet to Chuck, he was a companion, a champion for Chuck, running with him through to health.
I left Chuck after a few miles, and went on to run a PR. But the best part of that run was the brief connection with Chuck. How he shared a little bit of his life story with me. Because the best part of the run is the part that's shared.

Run on, friends. I'll see you out there.