Posts by primadonna98

Hi all! jfk61 I love the idea for a change in posting once we get within 200 miles! If people are unable to post daily, maybe we could chunk it? I imagine once we get that close, it will be a race to the finish with people running extra just to be the one break the line. Like a virtual race!!

My goal for Aug. 1st is just to run. I spent almost all of last week in the hospital and am now totally off running wise. Forget the July challenge... I've logged somewhere around 26 miles this month so I'm not even close!

Today I panted through 1.5 miles but overall spent 50 minutes on the treadmill, so I'm happy.

And, is it possible to backlog 4 miles from Sun. the 19th? I forgot to post it before I went to the ER on Tuesday (I don't know what I was thinking...).

Jenka that totally stinks. Hang in there; you know what you are doing is the right thing to do. Maybe you should create a new July challenge that challenges you to keep the mileage down and crosstrain? Just throwing it out there. Congratulations to the Mileage Markers!!! Fitnessfreak --1000 MILES!!! Kscout you are moving fast!! Didn't you just join the site?!

In order to celebrate my surprise day off (a therapist that I was scheduled to oversee called out sick) AND me not messing up which mileage calculation week was mine, I'm posting something to motivate everyone. Maybe I'll dig around for some other discussion worthy topics. How's that for a run-on sentence??

I've taken this from John "The Penguin" Bingham's website: Dear John: Letters to the Penguin. Can anyone tell he's one of my favorites? You can find this and other letters at: http://rodale.typepad.com/the_penguin/

July 10, 2008 Motivation to Keep Trying

Dear John,
After getting out of the military several years ago I gave up on running.  I had never liked it and found it boring.  Two children and about 60 extra pounds later I decided I needed to get back in to shape. I mapped out a schedule and set off on my journey.

I should tell you that I am still overweight but very dedicated to my running and cross training.  I entered a 10-K race that had a 90-minute time limit and a very small field of runners.  When we took off from the starting line I was left going my slow comfortable pace while the rest of the field blazed away.  It was discouraging but I continued on to finish in 1 hour 25 minutes, just under the cutoff and third from last.

I had been running well during training, yet when race day came, all the strength and motivation seemed to leave.  I don't want to give up on running. Do you have ideas on why this may be happening and any suggestions on how to keep the motivation going?  Even though I am slow, I have come to enjoy my time out on the roads.  I just want to get better. - Jenny

Hi Jenny,

Thanks for the great e-mail. You have identified one of the most difficult parts of becoming a runner. How do you enjoy the process if the outcome isn’t what you expect? Well, the good news is, you can.

I finished last, or nearly last, in lots of races. One time, at a 10-K in Little Rock, Arkansas, by mile one I couldn’t see anyone in front of me. Luckily, another participant was kind enough to stay with me so that I wouldn’t get lost.

It can be discouraging if you’re comparing yourself to everyone else out there. I don’t. I only compare the “me” that I am now with the “me” that I used to me. As I tell people, if you think I look bad running, you should have seen me drunk.

I also remind myself that I am a work in progress. Even after nearly 17 years of running and walking I’m not what I want to be. Some goals I now realize that I’ll never achieve. Others, like completing a 50-K or 50-mile event, are still out there somewhere.

So, line up proud. You’re out there. You’re giving it your best shot. You’re changing your life with your own two feet. And that is something to celebrate!

Waddle on,
John

2.5 miles from yesterday. Our internet has been sketchy so I'll read and write more tomorrow b4 I lose the connection. ;-)

Wow, I didn't think the post would stir the pot as much as it did. But I'm glad!!! joyfulake, you make good points, but I think (humbly) you are getting caught up in the semantics. What I took from the question and response was that, so many people do get caught up in the semantics. The terms are relative. The elite runners still "jog" on a day off or a light day. But their "jog" is still much faster than my "run." And I run and jog, it depends on my training goals for the day. Lately, after that brief hiatus, I've been doing much more "jogging," which is what I need. But I still run races and events. After all, it's not called a 5K jog/walk, it's called a 5K run/walk. And the sport isn't called Jogging, it's called Running. So, it doesn't matter who my audience is -- I'm a runner.

I don't know how long you've been reading Runner's World, but the debate picked up quite a bit about a year ago, when the magazine ran an ad that distinguished runners and joggers. The ad made me (and many other readers) a little frustrated. In his column in the November 2007 issue, John Bingham wrote a fantastic response called, "I Am Not a Jogger." I put it in a journal entry on my profile.  You can click on my picture to get the link or go to http://caloriecount.about.com/users/primadonn a98/202218.html. I was going to post it here, but it seemed kind of long. Although, I would love to here why everyone else calls themself a runner.

Anyway! 3.55 miles yesterday.

Like you, wrm2105, this humidity has me wilting, although your 91+ miles toward your goal is fantastic! I can't seem to get up early enough to beat it, and it's still too thick at night. Jenka, thank you sooo much for posting the June challenge results. What a fabulous addition to the thread!

EDIT: Jenka, what happened to your plumbing?? Did it get worked out? I just briefly read the threads so I probably missed the one with the update. Tell me -- did you rob a bank?!! ;-)

Joyfulake and leafsfan, I updated your mileage on the online spreadsheet and will log back in as RATW to update the OP.

BTW, skinny, happy to hear you had pain FREE miles!!! Hopefully the test results will come back sooner than 3 weeks. Hang in there! (Ha ha, I just had that image of the old poster with the cat hanging out of the tree and underneath, the phrase: "Hang in there!" Yikes, I need sleep.)

Ciao everyone!!!

Original Post by shannymedic:

Today I got 1 mile in!  It seems like maybe i'm the slacker here!  1 little mile compared to all of you!  I'm trying to work on it!  Give me some pointers!  Help a girl out!!  I did get up to 3 miles at one point but then quit for like 2 weeks when my grandparents died 2 days apart from eachother.  Ever since, I am finding it very hard to increase again. 

Hang in there, shannymedic. I can't imagine losing 2 grandparents 2 days apart. Two weeks before my wedding my grandmother died, and I remembered reading an article about a man who ran every day -- even on days of funerals and births. I remembered the story in my head and thought, if I run, I'm sure I'll feel better. But I didn't. I couldn't. When I did start running again, I had quite a few runs with tears streaming down my face, but despite that it helped a lot to be by myself both to think about the past and the future and to focus on the now. It made me feel better ultimately, and I started running more. We all grieve in different ways, so you do what you have to do to get through it. When you're ready, running will be there waiting for you.

3.55 tonight making my weekly total 14.45 (I think). Thanks!

matty_h, I think your goal sounds great!!! Don't get intimidated; the beauty of running is that it's easy to take it at your own pace. Good luck in meeting your own personal challenge this month!

Congrats, jfk!!! It sounds like you did spectacular! And thank YOU shannymedic! I'm loving all these June challenges. This thread is really inspiring me to do better. All my recent traveling is definitely taking its toll on my stomach... meaning I have quite the nice spare tire. Blech! I'd love to make another June challenge be lose like 20 pounds, but realistically the traveling won't end until July so it'll be next month's goal.

Anywho, add 2.9 for me tonight -- a last minute run after a very trying day but worth it none the less.

Hmmm, I may have forgotten about this, BUT I did run 5.6 miles in 60 mins on Saturday, so extrapolating a 5K is about 33:12? I think I did the math kind of right. Hope it still counts!

Jenka I was wondering how it was going with the in-laws!!! I thought of you often and hoped you were having a good time.

kscout we have all been there. Sometimes if that happens to me, I'll give myself a minimum knowing that once I get started I can keep mentally challenging myself to pick it up and then it becomes fun! So, I may start by saying, all I have to do is run to Store X and back. Once I do that, I think, well I did it in 18 mins, I might as well run another 7 mins. Then, I may say to myself, that's nothing, shoot for a last loop around the park. Etc. Etc. Etc. But, don't worry, on those really crappy days, I run to the gym (a block), get on a stationary bike and then run the block back. I'm glad to hear your workout went great in the end!

rk1 glad you're back. I was wondering where you had gone! Super job on the 10K!!! Also, I'm very jealous about going to Hawaii; kudos to you for running while on vaca!

TO ANYONE LIVING IN CHICAGO!!! I will be in Chicago this weekend for a conference and need to know where I can run. I'm staying at the Hilton on South Michigan Ave. I'm sure the hotel has a fitness center, but I'd like to run outside when I can. Please let me know via thread or PM. THANKS!!!

wrm you did AWESOME!!! Way to accomplish your goal! Nice job. I can't wait to read the race report.

2 miles for me from today.

3 miles for me from Thursday (I forgot to post it and then went off to a wedding).

Welcome startreadingandstopeating, phimegaphi, peacelovehominy, and ducklinger! We are happy to have you and the miles you run. Please don't forget that our weeks run from Wed. to Tues. You can post daily or weekly mileage here or PM the RATW userID.

A blissful 5.3 miles for me tonight putting my weekly total to *drum roll* a low 7.8. But I needed the time off after Broad St. Tonight I'm trying something the running store employee suggested during non-training weeks -- instead of going out with a mileage goal in mind, I'm going out with a time goal. In other words, tonight my goal was to run for a minimum of 30 mins but no more than 60 mins. I took it very easy, so when I got to 30 mins, I thought, "Well, this is too much fun to stop." Then, when I hit 45 mins, I thought, "Geez, only 15 more minutes and I hit 60, so why stop?" 5.3 miles later I felt very relaxed. Exactly what I needed during end-of-the-school-year wrap-up. I think I'll stick to this strategy until I start training for the fall half-mary's.

BTW, has anyone been to Egypt? I'm going this June for work and was hoping for some advice from fellow travelers. Thanks!

PS -- The mileage will be updated tomorrow night -- I have to finish work stuff tonight and it'll give everyone a chance to post last minute miles.

2.5 for me tonight.

ooo Jenka I was feeling your pain after Broad St and went out and bought new shoes today!! I went with the Brooks Trance again but the new Mizunos were nice (just bulky for the summer). What did you get? I LOVE new shoes, so I hope yours come in super fast. Until then, enjoy the break on the eliptical.

matty_h I look forward to reading that article in Runners World. There was a glitch and my May issue just arrived. I lost my April issue (I think unless that never arrived either...) so I need to call and see if I can reorder one. It would be a smart alternative. I'm not sure I can afford it; I'd need to weigh the pros and cons. Thanks for pointing it out!!!

thinthought I'm not sure if you want a response here or under the OP but it sounds like a regular, run-of-the-mill stitch. Go slower during your runs and don't push at the end, and see if that helps. Listen to your body, if you have to walk, you have to walk.

Congrats, wrm!! That was awesome --  you smashed your old record!!

Broad Street today! Man, I felt like crap the entire time. I just couldn't get my breathing right. All in all, I did fine, so I'm trying to not be too hard on myself. It's just a big bummer to fall back as far as I did compared to last year and last week's awesome 5 miler. As I took periodic walk breaks, I kept hearing everyone on the boards who over the past few weeks have been saying, "Listen to your body!" So I did. I still finished with a strong sprint (yay!), but from about the mile 3 marker to the mile 9 marker, I just felt really off. My superstitious self blames it on the bib number (mentally, I prefer bib numbers that have some sort of mathematical relationship -- don't ask. It's weird, I know.). Ok, ok, enough. I still ran the 10 miles in 1:39:17 (chip time) and finished 11386 overall (out of 19,111), 4383 out of 9290 women. While I'm not too happy with it, I know it's a great job -- blah blah.

SO ANYWAY, 10.1 miles for me with the warm-up/sprint to find my gear bus. Now I focus on the Fall Half-Mary's!!!

Another 3.25 for me tonight -- that should be 17.5 for the week. Thanks!

Thanks for all the congrats, everyone! I'm super excited for this weekend's 10 miler now. You guys are soooo motivating! Jenka, I am usually not friendly pre-race, but the delightful thing about this weekend's 5 miler: the starting line was a 5 min jog from my apartment.  I've never been so well rested for a race before (an AM race anyway). Skinny, what does DH mean? jfk, I have no idea what any of that meant, but I think it loosely translate into "MY bike f-ing rocks!" Yes? Am I getting it? trinzaka, orienteering sounds incredibly thrilling. Way to go for doing something so exciting!!! minie, you can never go wrong by listening to your body! energygirl, I've always wanted to take a spinning class! They sound super intense - what do you think? wrm, good luck on the marathon!!! ultra, congrats on Big Sur!! kscout, congrats on finishing your 1/2 Mary!!! You did awesome! That's a great time; you should be happy!! I hope you weren't too sore the next day. I read a great trick if you were (although it probably won't help now...), walk down steps backwards in the post-race days of soreness. I can't remember why it helps, but man, did it ever make me feel not so sore going down steps after my long races. Good luck training for the fall marathon!

Ok, that ends Alicia's Post Catch-up. Happy Running!!!