Tag: walking

Bad Math

I did pretty damn decent with my training plan the first 4-5 weeks. Well, by my standards.

Weeks 6-9? Well, those were another story.

Disclaimer: I received an entry into CDA Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I was fine with how out of shape I am. I know it. I do. But even though I know this and I work with numbers everyday, all day, I was working bad math. It finally dawned on me during my failed long run last Sunday.

I set out for 8 miles on Sunday. Did I go early in the morning to avoid the very warm, i.e 90 degrees, May weather? No, of course not. I headed out around 2PM. Will I never learn??

It was so warm that my “run” soon turned into a walk. At first I thought that was fine. I mean, let’s be real, CDA is in 2-3 weeks, there was already going to be a lot of walking. And I would still be faster than I was at Napa in 2020. Except my brain suddenly learned how to do math again and I realized I wouldn’t be faster than Napa.

Sh**.

I finished Napa in 2:58:21. A pace of 13:28. A pace that included 3 or 4 bathroom stops as well as a lot of walking. But that pace also means there was a lot more running in there than I remember. I can’t maintain that pace by walking alone. I don’t even know if I can maintain that pace with running- I maybe haven’t been real with myself on how much I have been walking. Also the race has a measly 500 feet of elevation gain so I can’t even count on a boost from hills.

So do I try to work on my walking pace over the next few weeks or should I add in more running? Or just accept that my first live race in over a year will also be my personal worst? There are worse things I know but it’s still getting under my skin.

So, that’s where my running is these days.

Running Buddy

Disclaimer: I received a Go Dog Glo Harness from Stunt Puppy as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews.

I love getting toys and things for my dog. Seriously, she has way too many toys. And I love buying her new collars.

But she does not get walked enough. And we are both getting a little fluffy. Most of it is my bad but part of it is that finding a harness that doesn’t drive her crazy. She doesn’t play well with the just the leash- ok, well she’s not the best behaved on the leash.

Put a harness on her and she looks like she is being tortured. Seriously, the woe is me look is priceless. She’s tried on numerous harness’s at Petco- yeah, sorry about that- but no luck. And the one she does have? She runs when she sees it in your hands.

So, when the opportunity came up to test the Go Dog Glo harness from Stunt Puppy, I figured it couldn’t hurt.

%ShowAll% — All the specs from the website

When it arrived, she was super excited like she is anytime I tell her I got her something. Then she saw it was a harness. Then I put it on her. Cue not happy face.

It was a few days before I got her outside with the harness- thanks 108 heatwave- and at first she was her usual sour puss self, Then it was like she realized she didn’t find it annoying and looked at me like “let’s go!”. So we went.

The next time I brought the harness out she actually looked excited and ran towards me and stood still while I put it on her. Say what???

Now, I am not saying it’s all sunshine and roses now. She still comes to a dead halt to sniff something and I have to literally drag her away. But she no longer reacts like she choking when I muscle her away from whatever “awesome” scent she is smelling.

Now, it’s been hot hot hot here, so full disclosure we haven’t been on that many walks in the short time we’ve had it. However I am looking forward to more. I really need to work on getting up in the morning and taking her, but well, me and mornings are not the best of friends. She actually came running into the room one morning last week and I think she wanted to go for a walk but I told her no. I’m sorry!

For reference- Zoey is around 65 pounds and wears the large.

I am looking forward to more walks with Zoey- maybe I’ll turn her into a runner someday.

Does your dog run?

Week 33- Sidelined

If there is an upside to not running, it’s the fewer loads of laundry you have to do on the weekend.

Gotta find the shiny side, right? Or try to. 😛

So yeah, thanks to the UTI from hell and me not checking about the medication first, last week was super Slacker like. But maybe I needed it? I didn’t really have time to worry about my mysterious groin pain issue as the medication issue forced me to rest anyways.

Work wise, things are a little more under control after this week. I finally managed to get my inbox to 50 ish. Which is still not great but it’s way better than it was. I treat my inbox like a to-do list so the triple digits were starting to get to me. Now if I could just get my piles of paper under control. 😛

So let’s get to the very abbreviated work out week-

Monday- 1.3 miles I felt crap all day but I was trying to ignore it. I’d been living in denial for quite some time. I headed for the lake path to get in some miles but it only took one loop to admit defeat. I had a problem and I likely needed medicine. Grrr.

Tuesday- Rest Made it to the doctor and they confirmed my suspicions and my denial. Ha! Never been so thankful for medicine…until I realized the side effects.

Wednesday- More rest.

Thursday- 3 mile walk I had an appointment with my neurologist so I was home a little earlier than normal. I figured I would try a walk. Walking is not running. I listened to a podcast to try not being so bored but I so wanted to be running.

Friday- Rest Holy crap, I was so sore. What gives- it was only a walk!! And I know I have a hip imbalance but for the most part I can ignore it during and after running. After a little walk, I felt like I was walking crooked!

Saturday/Sunday- Rest I really did think about a trying for a long walk but in the end I just didn’t. I napped a lot which seems to be my MO these days. I have to get a new bed. I just keep waking up in pain and feeling more tired than I did before. I just keep hoping to make it Labor day and hoping that there will good sales. I didn’t exactly plan for this purchase. Grrr.

4.3 miles for the week. Yes, I’m counting those walking miles, they freakin’ hurt me. 😛

Now as for this week, the medication has been completed but the effects linger so I think I am going to do some walking/jogging intervals. Fingers crossed!

How was your week?

Any good running?

Slacker does Disney

Sorry, couldn’t help myself. 🙂

Ok, I hadn’t been to Disneyland since Disneyland Grad Nite my senior year of high school. People, that was last century!! I’ve been trying to go for a couple of years now but never made it work. My birthday, mom’s birthday, random day in March, nothing seemed to work out. Then last year, it occurred to me- Surf City! Disneyland is like 5 minutes from Huntington Beach. Ok, more like 30. But then that was in the middle of their not so little measles outbreak. Yeah, umm no thank you. Cut to this year.

We were torn between going to Disneyland on Sunday after the race or Monday. I was concerned with how sore I would feel- Disneyland is a lot of walking. Then my little lung issue put a kibosh on a Sunday trip. After lounging around the hotel on Sunday, we headed to Disneyland bright and early on Monday. Yay! So while this is not running related, how about a little recap of my little adventure?

Favorite Ride-

More like experience but Star Tours rocked. I remember loving it years ago, but the addition of Star Wars made my inner nerd so very happy. We even managed to ride it twice. Which was sweet because there was more than one story line!!! The second time was also the longest wait in line of the day but that’s ok, we had some visitors while in line-

Other Rides-

Throughout the day we managed to ride the Matterhorn (2x), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (story there), Hyperspace Mountain, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the teacups, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones is still one of my favorites, the sharp turns and drops are awesome. Haunted Mansion as an adult is only meh, kind of cheesy. And Pirates of the Caribbean?! Where did that come from? I don’t think I had ever been on that ride before because I remembered nothing! And considering I ended up drenched, I would have remembered that! Oh and there’s a random restaurant inside the ride? How do you get reservations there?

Fun Story-

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Yeah, normally this is a pretty speedy coaster (for Disneyland) and our first ride had started normally. Halfway through, the coaster had just started to go up a hill when it just stopped. There was a pre-recorded message about a slow train ahead on the tracks so we thought it may have been part of the ride. Nope! Soon another voice came on the speakers announcing that all the trains had stopped due to technical difficulties and that we needed to stay in our seats until we were evacuated. What?! Eventually some cast members came out and instructed us to stay in our sits as the coaster had to be anchored before we could get off. Apparently the coaster could roll if it wasn’t tied down. Then the fire department showed up. Meanwhile the couple sitting behind me and my mother were throwing a fit about their lunch plans and trying to get off before the fire department showed up. One of the cast members threatened to get security. Truthfully, I was trying not to laugh. Once off we were escorted through the tunnels on foot.

Bummer-

Due to the building of Star Wars land and some scheduled refurbishments, there were quite a few rides closed. Splash Mountain, Autopia, Jungle Cruise, Mark Twain’s Riverboat, the pirate ship and some other attractions were all closed. Boo. 😦 Also, we were in line for Hyperspace Mountain again when it too was shut down. Also it turned out to be a school holiday so the place was very crowded. And hot- who predicted temps in the 80’s in February?!

Nerd Moment-

Super Hero HQ was nerd-vana for me. Well, that and Star Wars Launch Bay. Seriously awesome. And I finally found myself a trucker hat. I’ve wanted one for running but could never find one I liked.

The take home-

We saved all the stores for last as we didn’t want to have to carry anything. I am not a huge Mickey or Minnie fan (sorry!) nor am I fond of the princesses. My favorite Disney cartoon is Lilo and Stitch. I remember seeing it in the theater when it came out years ago. I was a little over 20 and I went with my best friends-at that time they were all guys. All 4 of us were sniffling by the end, I still get teary eyed watching it today. So I wanted a Stitch stuffed animal. I finally found one in the very last store. I swear I picked it up, hugged it and proceeded to carry it around the store like a 5 year old. #noshame

Fail-

Everyone was gathering to watch the parade in the afternoon but we chose to skip it and go try Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again. While this ride was successful, we missed something big. Peyton Manning was in the freakin’ parade!!! Seriously?!

All in all it was a fun and tiring day. Maybe someday I will finally make it to California Adventure. 🙂

Ever been to Disneyland?

Favorite ride?

Favorite Disney character? Who is Mr. Toad?

Walk for a Purpose

Saturday started a little rougher planned.

I had set an early alarm because I was heading down to SLO to take part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. I dragged myself out of my nice, comfy bed before heading out to work town to pick up T before continuing to SLO. It was that drive that turned rough. I saw something that I know happens but have never seen happen and never want to again. Let’s just say it involved a deer and a car. I learned that I must have a soft heart because I literally cried for the next 10 miles.

Yeah, I had to put an epic filter on it- it deserved it

Once picking up T, I had to laugh. She hadn’t wanted to get up anymore than I had and was wearing a nice comfy maxi skirt and flip-flops. And she rocked them both for the whole 5K. Thanks for the smiles T! We met up with R and L and headed over to the park. There was a good size group of people walking at the event. Some in regular clothes, others in exercise gear. Checking in and getting our shirts was a breeze. Then we headed to a table to pick up a promise flower. The flowers were different colors representing different things. I was torn between yellow- you know someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s- and orange- you support the cause to end Alzheimer’s. Both applied, but in the end I went for orange. We could write names on the flowers to honor those we knew. As we crossed the starting line, we handed them to volunteer. They were going to make a promise garden for when we returned.

I ran a race in this park years ago so I should have knownn better. 2/3 of it was trail. I was thankful I had worn running gear. However I think they should have put this on the website, people might have dressed a little differently. One older gentleman fell. It was also freakishly warm with little shade. However they did have the Grizzly Academy handing out water bottles along the course. There was also a 3K option if you didn’t want to do the 5K. Along the course, they had signs of people with Alzheimer’s as a way to honor them. It was great to see so many families out there. I also know that a good amount of money was raised as well. After completing the walk, we could view the promise garden. There was also a breakfast booth and various vendors and live music. Over all it was well put together event. Just next year, they should warn about the lack of paved course.Following the walk, we headed to the Madonna Inn. The original intention was for Bloody Mary’s but it turned into breakfast. A little truth- I drink so rarely you could say I don’t drink. All I wanted was a Diet Coke. They ordered the Bloody’s and food and I ordered the french toast. I did try T’s drink, apparently my face was hilarious. I should have asked what was in it first. 🙂 But the Diet Coke was awesome. The food was good too.

From there I headed home for the usual errands. Later in the afternoon I decided that it had been too long since I had taken the puppy for a walk. So once I wrangled her into her harness, we headed out for an easy 3 miles. She kept a good pace and never once laid down.