Category: Slacker

A Slow Return

I really didn’t plan on a running break this long. As of this morning, I had not run since the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. After the wonderful but calorie laden birthday dinner for my parents, I was going to try and run the next morning. I had my doctor’s appointment Wednesday morning so I had some extra time. My alarm went off; I silenced it and checked the weather- 25 degrees. Umm, no thanks. Hello winter and I rolled over and slept more.

Back to Tuesday, I had mentioned that my mother wanted a cake? Thanks to the Madonna Inn, I delivered. Sugar Rush anyone?

I also presented with the Pops with this shiny new Garmin.

Right now I honestly can’t remember what I did Wednesday night, so not sure why I didn’t try for the gym. Hmmm, oops. Thursday was school, and I have to say, I cannot wait for class to be over. This class has dragged on and on and on. Just 2 more weeks. I have a plan to submit, a presentation and a final in that time but it’s so close!!

Friday was a little crazy at work. Someone called in sick and then later in the afternoon, the system crashed. It was a short outage but was no fun while it lasted. The tree was finally delivered but it came so late that it still isn’t decorated. Bummer, but that leaves something to look forward too for next week.

photo 5 (2) — But here’s a little of my tree!

I met a friend (NikeC) after work for dinner to catch up. We ended up chatting for a few hours; I think the restaurant may have been a little irritated, oops. It was a good talk, life and running, plus good food, good times!

Today started out cold again, so I slept in a little. Then I ran some errands and ate a yummy lunch. I was trying to find an inexpensive party dress for next week’s work Christmas Party. I found one that fit the budget but I am still on the fence. I have a week anyways. And then it was after 3. I so did not feel like going to the gym. The Slacker in me was whispering “one more lazy day, maybe one last weekend, you can run on Monday”. The whispers were so very tempting. It was cold and I had rolled my ankle yesterday ( I was stepping down from a credenza onto a squishy chair wearing 3 inch heels, so in other words my own damn fault). It was a little twinge, but it needed rest right?

No!!! I changed speedy fast and was out the door. I was wearing long sleeves but forgot gloves and an ear warmer, oops. I knew I was going to be sluggish and I was. But it felt good to be out and running, cold ears and all. I ran the neighborhood, hills and all. 3.8 miles later I was done and was greeted with this cuteness-

My ankle was fine throughout the entire run, but I have felt it ever since. That twinge feels very tendon-y. hmmm. I have some Christmas shopping to get done tomorrow, and hopefully I will get in another run. Fingers crossed!

How has everyone’s weekend been?

Any Racing?

The Slacker in the Sisterhood ~

It’s Monday!! And the first one back from vacation. Note to self, never go back on a Monday. Overall it wasn’t bad, one person called in sick but we made it work. After work, we all hung out and ate pizza and decorated for Christmas. We hung so many lights, going up and down the ladder felt like a workout. There are garlands wrapped around the beams and lovely silver bells hanging down as well. Snowflakes and lights fill the windows. There is a little more to finish up tomorrow and then the tree comes on Friday!! It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Well as long as you don’t go outside, it was a lovely 70+ degrees today with a bright shining sun.

Today was also my mother’s birthday so I then rushed home with flowers for her. She wanted a cake…oops. Tomorrow the plan is to take her and my pops to dinner for their birthdays (his is Wednesday).

There is a decided lack of running in my schedule right now but I have chosen no to stress about it. I am calling it a rest period. I am going on day 5, let’s see how long til I get twitchy. After the last race, I was tired, so I figured a little rest won’t hurt. But it will only be a little one!!!!! I promise, help hold me accountable people!!

In brighter news, I was recently nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. Say that 5 times fast. The nomination came from the wonderful TIA and the awesome Tartan Jogger. Thanks Ladies! I won’t lie, sometimes these awards confuse me. They are amazing to get, don’t get me wrong, they sometimes bring back memories of signing yearbooks and never knowing what to write. “Have a bitchin’ summer” anyone?

So the rules are as follows (I think)- Thank the blogger who nominated you, answer some questions, nominate 10-12 other bloggers and notify them on their blogs. Easy enough right? So Q&A time-

Favorite color– Alternates between purple and grey, depends on my mood.

Favorite animal- Cats- they are self-sufficient enough for my admittedly Slacker self, and slightly anti-social like me, ha!

Favorite non-alcoholic drink– Diet Coke, seriously I’m addicted.

Facebook or Twitter– I’m still working out Twitter (17 followers, woo hoo 😦 ), so Facebook.

Favorite pattern– Ummm, help? Chevron?

Favorite number– 394, anyone know why?

Favorite Flower– Rose, is it narcissistic if that’s also my middle name?

What is your passion– Still looking for it, but when I do, I will shout it from the rooftops.

So next- my nominees in no particular order-

Don’t Blink. Just Run

I Thought they said RUM

See This Girl Run

Lucy on the Lookout

Hmmm, just noticed a lack of female bloggers I follow. I need to find more!!!! Any suggestions? I would have nominated TIA and Tartan Jogger, but someone beat me to it! 🙂

Ok, I totally admit that I am a Slacker, and I am going to do my best to notify everyone on their blogs, (yearbooks again) however, if I do not in the next 24 hours, and any of my nominees read this before I do, please don’t wait for me, enjoy your shout out!!!!! Also if you have previously been nominated just use this as confirmation that you rock.

Hope everyone had a good Monday!

Any Reindeer or Jingle Runs in the future?

The trouble with pants

Can I just say that pants and I have a love-hate relationship? I am presently on the hate side. And running capris? Well, they are the devil.

A few weeks ago, I committed a big race no-no while running the Spooner’s Cover 5 mile race. I wore something I had never ever run in. On a race day. I ran in a skirt, I didn’t even own one, I had to borrow it from my mother. (She has a ridiculous amount of running/ tennis clothes.) I had never really been interested in running in a skirt before. I know that tons of people do and I have seen some super cute ones, but in my mind, skirts were for tennis and shorts were for running. But I just could not stomach wearing capris so I figured I would try a skirt. Actually, it was pretty comfortable, I may buy myself one.

But off point, the last month or so of posts, I have mentioned some stomach discomfort. I figured I would share a bit. I have a thing, I hate words like disorder or syndrome or condition. Anyways, that thing is gastroparesis. Or at least that’s what the doc is going with now.

I have had problems for years and went to multiple doctors and nutritionists and had numerous tests done, yet very little help. No allergies to speak of and then last year, they finally came back with gastroparesis. What that means is that my stomach doesn’t like to digest food, and it does so extremely slowly. See, even my stomach is a Slacker. 🙂 So that can cause some discomfort and irritation and make running uncomfortable. It also can cause some blood sugar drops which lead to lovely dizzy spells. Woo hoo!

Back to the pants, there are times that pants just suck. In fact I own plenty of dresses for that exact reason. Ok, well some are just really cute ( and great for lazy days 🙂 ) I even have one that all my coworkers know I wear when I just refuse to wear pants. Running capris are the worst. Why are they so damn high-waisted? I have tried so many brands and types but all the same. I have tried rolling the waist band down too, no such luck. I love my Nike shorts because they sit low enough. Sometimes, it’s uncomfortable just crossing my arms, which sucks because I always cross my arms.

So, verdict is that I should be a grazer, and have to moderate my carb intake among some things that I shouldn’t eat. Despite the food pictures I have posted on this blog, I really do monitor my carbs, but those pictures would be boring. I have literally had the same thing for lunch and breakfast, with slight variations, for the last 11 months. Yawn.

Anyways moving on, I have had a better year than previously but November has not been my month. Hence the whining on my posts and the very uncomfortable last 2 miles of my last race. But I see my doc next week, so I will be sure to whine to him, but this may wander back into the blog at some point, just giving you a heads up.

I have debated posting anything about this, but I figured why not? It can’t hurt and maybe something good will come out of it. Maybe someone out there has similar issues, who knows. Otherwise, my next post should have some actual running in it :).

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Any crazy AM shoppers out there?

Turkey Trot and too much food

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had good food and a good time.

I don’t say it enough but I am truly thankful for my family and friends. I don’t know where I would be without them. They put up with a lot of my crap 🙂

When my alarm went off this morning, I admit to questioning my sanity in running a race on Thanksgiving. Once I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, I was wishing that the race was a 5K and not a 10K. I was feeling ill so eating prior to the race was not an option. I got ready and then headed out to meet C and her husband. It was going to be her first 10K 🙂

The race was small as was expected. Could it have been better organized? Yes but they still did a good job. Start and finish was in actually in a supermarket parking lot, which was hopping. More people than I expected were out getting last minute items for Thanksgiving. We started on time and we were off. The race was an out and back along a back road. It was primarily flat with a fairly decent downhill around mile 2.3 until the turn around. Thing about that downhill? It was uphill on the way back. Ugh. But there have been way worse hills in other races, so I sucked it up and ran. I passed C and her husband on the way back up.

Mile 4, my stomach cramped and it never really went away. It made for an uncomfortable last 2 miles. Heading back towards the parking lot, I could see my family on the corner. It was a Thanksgiving miracle, my pops and brother were there with my mom as well.

I crossed the finish line at 56:21. I felt like I was slower than that so woo hoo! We were told our times at crossing and then had to report them to the registration table. There were only 3 age groups- Amateur (high school), Open (18-35), and Master (35-up). I was either 3rd in my age group or just 3rd to report in, not sure which. I then waited to see C and her husband come across. I think I will always try to get one these in our races (well until they become faster than me)-

The rest of the day was spent with my family, possibly eating too much food. But it was yummy. We watched some TV (Independence Day- we were holiday confused) and played with the puppy.

Tomorrow is Christmas Tree day 🙂 I will avoid all stores as much as possible. I plan to meet C and another friend for lunch and maybe hit the gym in the afternoon. Hopefully neither of those places will be too crowded. I really should do homework as well. Ha!

On the upside, today’s race pushed me 5 miles passed my Pile on the Miles challenge for November!! I followed through with something!!!! And I have 2 days to spare.

I hope that everyone had a truly wonderful Thanksgiving!

Almost Turkey Time!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!!!

Anyone racing tomorrow? Have to rationalize the calories someway right?

A puppy is tiring and she isn’t even mine. Just playing with her is exhausting. She passed her first vet check with flying colors. What is it about the vets office that makes all animals want to cuddle? She didn’t even have a frame of reference, but she was not happy. She also finally has a name. Meet Zoey–

Vacation brain has somewhat set in but I was able to get in a 5 mile run on Tuesday. It started out really sluggish but all in all it was a pretty good run. I never quite got up to speed but I felt good at the end. This run also put me within 1.1 miles of my Pile on the Miles goal! Woo hoo! I may succeed at a challenge!

Tomorrow’s Turkey Trot will be the final push needed to meet my goal. It should be a smaller race, there’s only race day registration available. But it’s also fairly cheap and it benefits the local high school wrestling team as well as the food bank. I am planning on meeting C and her husband there tomorrow morning. It’s close, so I can pretty much roll out of bed and head over there. (See- Slacker!!!!) I would not say that I am super prepared for this so my goal is just have fun. It will be more for the camaraderie than the pace. I say that now, we’ll see if I follow through or bolt at the starting line 🙂

I thought by this point of vacation, I would be going a little stir crazy. But, nope, just slacking it big time. I should be Christmas shopping, I have an advertising plan that I am woefully behind on. Actually forget Christmas, both my parents birthdays are next week. I need to register for classes, etc etc. I did manage to get my car to the dealer to fix the door locks and made it through a dentist appointment with flying colors. 🙂 I also met some friends for a yummy lunch today. We couldn’t decide where to go, so we hit the Irish pub. I had never been there before. Pretty sad considering it’s 2 blocks for where I used to work…for 5 years. We ate some of the largest salads I have ever seen. M’s made me laugh, it was called the “Man Salad”. It looked amazing though. We may have gone over their lunch a bit, oops.

Now its time to get some rest for tomorrows race and family fun to follow. Plus puppy time!

I hope anyone who’s traveling has safe journeys.

Anyone else running a “trot” tomorrow? Good luck!