Wednesday, February 29, 2012

2.27

Shirt: F21, Pants: VS, Shoes: Famous Footwear, Necklace: Sears
My pants felt so big. They were down lower on my hips so then they are too long. I need to wash them to shrink them back up I guess.
I was surprisingly wide awake. I drank coffee at work. The last time I had coffee at work was June 16.

I was able to prep for my meetings and have my meetings just fine with less than an hours sleep.   I started feeling sick.

I had a doctor appointment after work so I couldn't even get home to go to sleep.  The doctor's office wasn't busy this time. They weren't more than 5 minutes late. It was great.
I got home and ate dinner. After that I watched TV from bed. I ended up staying up until 10:30 PM which was later than Dave stayed up.

2.26 - TV

Dave and I woke up pretty early.  We decided to make breakfast.  I had eggs and toast. Dave also made hashbrowns but mine got soggy so I didn't eat them.  He also made bacon but then burnt it so I didn't eat that either.

Then we watched TV. We watched some Dexter. Then I started watching One Tree Hill.  Before that was over, I got a text from Jen and it was time to go running. So I hurried up and got ready and headed there to run.
After running, I analyzed data a bit, ran, then analyzed more.  I did some taxes for Stampin' Up.  Then at 3:30 we went downstairs to eat. We watched more Dexter. Now at 10PM, Dave claimed it was bed time and didn't want to watch any more. We ended up watching until 10:20 and stopped mid episode. I watched the rest of One Tree Hill after that. Now clearly it was already bedtime but I thought I'd watch one more show. I was going to watch one of the shows I don't super love but decided to watch Gossip Girl.  I had 11 episodes stock piling after all.
source
I remember deciding to start 1more episode thinking it would be done at 12:30 and that's not too late. Well it ended at 12:26 so that was early so I decided to watch one more.  I kept doing this until 3am when the computer broke.  The computer reboots automatically at 3am each night. Well this breaks the program that we use to watch TV. I did not know how to start it back up.  This happened last time too. Someone might have gone to bed if this happened but instead I tried to figure it out for 20 minutes.  Then finally gave up and decided to watch the rest of the episode on Hulu. I got Dave's laptop since the screen is larger. Well it wouldn't work because he disables ads and I don't know how to enable them at a 3am tired state (or maybe at a normal time).  So then I went to my laptop and figured out where I was in the episode. I had 5 minutes left in it.  I had to watch multiple commercials to get that far.  After all that effort I decided to watch one more episode. Hulu has commercials so it takes longer.  Well the TV shows on our computer have commercials but they automatically skip.

Well anyway next thing I new it was 6 am. I had to immediately close my computer and rush up to bed before Dave's alarm went off.   His alarm went off at 6:10ish and I was still awake.  I told him I was going to sleep in a bit so he was quiet for me.  My alarm went off at 6:30 and I changed that to 6:55. At 6:45 Dave talked to me since he was about to leave.  I hit snooze on my alarm at 6:55 and eventually got up at 7:13.  What a night. What a night.   That is a new record for how late I've stayed up on a work night.  (BTW I got to work around 8:05 and core hours don't even start until 9. I should have slept in longer.)

I bet there has not been a Day you watched more TV.  I was up 23 hours and think I watched TV for about 17 hours. It might have been even longer, but I forgot how long I spent watching it earlier in the day.

XOXO Gossip Girl

Ahh that's all that goes through my head since I had watched 6 straight hours of it.  Do you watch Gossip Girl? Do you find that the show is even better when you can watch multiple episodes in a row?

A Day's Worth of Twitter

04:53:58 PM - @MarnieCarlson I have a @BodyMediaFIT armband. I highly recommend it. I have posts on my blog about it.
07:56:01 PM - @MarnieCarlson Look at this http://t.co/XZvziNsb Amazon has them. or their website. They are hardcore onsale right now. I can email you more
08:35:24 PM - You can tell I'm sick. My @BodyMediaFIT is even warning me that I'm on a low calorie burn for the day.
08:36:00 PM - @MarnieCarlson i can email you about it. A few of my friends have them too. The company is Pittsburgh based too.
09:18:41 PM - Rachel Maddow is full of graphs I love graphs.
10:57:09 PM - @mikecherepko elementary school made me like math. But now I hate subtraction.
10:59:18 PM - @MarnieCarlson where is the gym you belong to? Have you thought of joining at work?
11:01:57 PM - @MarnieCarlson I don't know why. I look official. Sitting in a waiting room with a laptop. Shopping wearing express clothes head to toe.

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

February Workout Goals - Overall

Week 3 didn't go so well for anything but the running. Almost being sick and fighting it the 4th week sucked. Being sick the last week sucked.  I only met 3 goals.  I would have had 3 more if I got sick.  I forgot to work on my additional goals. 
  1. Complete 18 cardio workouts (running, exercise bike, or elliptical)  (January = 19, met; December = 18, met, November = 18, met)
    1. 2/2 Run
    2. 2/3 Run
    3. 2/5 Run
    4. 2/7 Bike
    5. 2/8 Run
    6. 2/9 Run
    7. 2/12 Run
    8. 2/15 Run
    9. 2/17 Run
    10. 2/19 Run 
    11. 2/20 Bike
    12. 2/21 Run
    13. 2/21 Bodyfire
    14. 2/25 Run
    15. 2/26 Run
  2. Complete 13 core workouts (January = 13, met; December = 12, met; November = 12, not met) 
    1. 2/2 - 5 minutes
    2. 2/5 - 5 minutes
    3. 2/8 - During Body Pump
    4. 2/15 - During Body Pump
    5. 2/17 - 5 minutes
    6. 2/19 - 5 minutes (Need 7 in 10 days)
    7. 2/20 - During Body Pump
    8. 2/21 During Bodyfire (6 minutes)
    9. 2/21 During Bodyfire (a 2nd core song so it counts)
    10. 2/26 5 minutes (really 5:30)
  3. Frequency: Run 12 times(January = 14, met; December = 10, met, November = 12, met with 15) 
    1. 2/2
    2. 2/3
    3. 2/5
    4. 2/8
    5. 2/9
    6. 2/12
    7. 2/15
    8. 2/17
    9. 2/19  
    10. 2/21
    11. 2/25
    12. 2/26
  4. Distance: Run 60 total miles [Reach goal = 70 miles (15, 15, 15, 20, 5)] (January = 13, met; December = 40, November = 65, met) 
    1. 5.12 (2/2) + 12.3 (2/3) + 12.04 (2/5) = 29.46
    2. 3.01 (2/8) + 3.25 (2/9) + 5.03 (2/12) = 11.29 {40.75 mi}
    3. 5.11 (2/15) + 5.51 (2/17) + 18.43 (2/19) = 29.05 {69.8 mi}   
    4. 1.53 (2/21) +20.22 (2/25) + 5.02 (2/26) = 26.77 {96.57} - This is my 2nd highest mileage ever. Pretty good for a short month and getting sick!
  5. Workout with Dave 9 times(January = 10, met; December = 12, but with all other activities it is hard to also workout with Dave, November = 8, met) 
    1. 2/1 - 2 mile walk after work
    2. 2/15 - at the track 
    3. 2/27 - Walk loop at work.
  6. Lift weights 5 times on my own(January = 5 met; December = 5, not met; November = 4, met with 5) 
    1. Bodyfire (lots of squats, lunges, and pushups so I say it counts)
  7. Perform yoga/BodyFlow 2 times. (January = 2, met; December = 2, met; November = 3, not met) 
    1. None!
  8. Attend Body Pump 4 times(January = 3, met; December = 3, not met; November = 4, not met)
    1. 2/8
    2. 2/15  (Need 2 in 10 days)
    3. 2/20
  9. Have 2 double workout days (morning + evening, lunch + evening, etc) [New] (January = 2, met)
    1. 2/5 - Run (12 miles) + abs & foam roller (12 minutes total)
    2. 2/8 - Run (3 miles) + Body Pump
    3. 2/15 - Run + Body Pump
    4. 2/17 Run + core and stretch
    5. 2/20 Body Pump + Bike
    6. 2/21 Run + Bodyfire
  10. Stretch for 10 consecutive minutes 2 times (January = 2, met)
    1. 2/17 (also did foam roller) 
I have a few other goals that are related to exercise but aren't me working out.
  1. Have another photo shoot to get some athletic pictures for at the top of this post.
  2. Have at least 4 nonconsecutive rest days. I have been bad at resting and fear overuse injuries coming.
    1. 1, 4, 10, 11 (and more) 
  3. Put my monthly workout goals in excel or some program so I have them all together and can pull some data based on that.
  4. Make more collages with exercise photos and add them to my exercise gallery

Feb 1 = rest day so only a walk with Dave
Feb 2 = 5 mile run + abs
Feb 3 = Run
Feb 4 = rest day

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

2.19

I woke up to run. I had a lot of trouble sleeping because I was so afraid I'd be late. I also stayed up late watching TV. So I started my day off tired.

I ran 18 miles.  I went to brunch.

I got home and said I'd shower within 5 minutes but an hour later I was still looking at my data.

I finally showered then gave Dave a hair cut.  By this time it was 3:30 PM.

Then it was off to the mall.  I shopped forever. I wrote about that in a separate post.  Before I knew it the mall closed. I have no idea how 6pm came so fast.   Then we went to Campecinos. I ordered a meal that included a taco. Everyone should be proud of me. It also came with 2 enchiladas.   I got my normal nachos and cheese but this time that was just an appetizer. We went to Yum after.

By the time we got home, I was so tired and thought it was bed time, but I had to write my blog post about my run and analyze some more data.   I was also emailing too. I ended up staying up until 11pm.  What a tiring day.
I've been wanting a new hoodie for a few years but I never actually look for one at stores. Well right before bed Dave notices a hole in the hoodie I was wearing.

A Day's Worth of Twitter

07:55:00 AM - I have a cold. Not a good day to have a 3 hour thing after work.
03:29:50 PM - I drank a half gallon of OJ today
05:32:02 PM - @MarnieCarlson Didn't mean to drink that much. Each time you fill the glass there is less left until you run out & realize you drank it all
10:42:15 PM - @lisafilipek today even with drinking all the OJ plus other drinks, I still only peed 4 times. I don't know how people go more than that.
11:10:34 PM - @DaizyCh I never knew people tried to use slow cookers at night.

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

5 miles (2.26) (The day after a long run)

I ran on Sunday and forgot to write about it.  I still will because it is my first run the day after a long run and I might want my comments for future reference.  Saturday I ran 20 miles for a race so faster than a normal 20 mile run would be.  Then Sunday, I met with some friends to run an easy 5 miles. Some of them were doing 7 or 15 but I was only doing 5.

Before we ran we took a group picture. We asked a guy who just got back from running to take it. Jen asked him how much he ran and he said "only 19 miles." We laughed at his use of only.  He said he was supposed to run 25.  He recognized my shirt and talked about the weather Sunday versus Saturday.  He was the guy on the back side of the lake with 2 kids encouraging all the runners.  His wife ran in the race.

Prior to running I told everyone (and myself) that I was only running 5 miles. I figured I had to say it in order to hold myself to it. Lately if anyone else wants to run longer, I just run longer.

We were going to do intervals with 4:1 since Ibrahim is doing the Gallaway method for his marathon training and the rest of us are versatile.   I did not want to go faster than 10 minute miles. I wanted to do it slow.  We went slow.  It was almost a struggle. Well it was a slight struggle to even keep the paces we were doing.  My hips were sore. They have been sore so that was no difference.  1.86 miles in I looked at my watch and thought we had been running way further than that. At that time, Jen commented how it felt like we ran way less than 1.86. Everyone else agreed with her.  They all felt great and refreshed but since I ran so much the day before, I was not and it was a lot more challenging.

Around mile 3 my left knee starting hurting very similar to the knee pain I had in March and April of last year.

My mentality is very different than it used to be. I thought that it was only 2 miles left with the pain so I'd just finish the run.  Back in the day, I would have stopped with 2 miles left because 40% of the distance left was enough to convince me.

Our last mile was the fastest because we chose not to walk our last walk segment.

Running the day after a long run was good so I could experience the difference in a well rested body and a fatigued and worn out body. I think it was also good to keep my joints loose.   We ran in the same direction as we did in the race and I could tell more about the road angling. I ran more towards the middle to avoid this.

Do you ever run the day after a long run?

Monday, February 27, 2012

A Day's Worth of Twitter

12:57:07 AM - I have watched too much TV today. I still have more Gossip Girl too.
04:18:12 AM - I definitely shouldn't still be up & I have to watch these on Hulu bc the tv watching program breaks at 3am & I don't know how to restart it
05:23:16 AM - Oh man. I should not still be up.
05:49:58 AM - I better go to sleep instead of watch this next episode or Dave will wake up before it is over.
07:24:17 AM - @MarnieCarlson we do the same thing with staying up too late I guess.
08:25:23 AM - I made coffee this morning. Last time I drank coffee at work was June 16
10:30:01 AM - all I'm doing is sneezing today. I guess staying up too late caught up with me.
05:46:06 PM - 28 cars between me and the light. Ugh. I hate traffic.
05:56:05 PM - @MarnieCarlson well I had to leave to get to my appointment. And I was late. Stayed at work too long.
06:07:20 PM - So they wanted me to have my spot then shot then wait. I said cant you do the shot first so my waiting is during the appt. she didn't think
06:09:37 PM - The lady couldn't even properly fold my receipt. http://t.co/clVXtCQH
06:33:21 PM - @MarnieCarlson I had one. I am just bad at leaving
06:38:25 PM - The doctor left the room to get printouts and I think I'm going to fall asleep before she returns.
06:41:45 PM - Well I just left the dr office and someone thought I worked there. I seem to always be mistaken for employees. (Express, pharmaceutical rep
09:09:46 PM - How am I still awake?
10:20:25 PM - Yup I'm still up. I'm a little crazy.

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

A Day's Worth of Twitter

11:17:23 AM - Blogging helps me out. Made me realize I didn't finish doing all the work on Fri. that I needed to so I have to work today to prep for a mtg
06:25:52 PM - @briecs it did. Surprisingly well
10:23:23 PM - Dexter is such a good show. I would stay up all night watching it if Dave let me

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

2.22


On my way to work, I realized I forgot my Garmin. I was supposed to go running with Jen after work. I figured she would have hers and we'd be OK. But then I get to work and see an email from her saying she forgot her Garmin.
Even before the watch issues, I was debating canceling because my hips were hurting pretty bad.

We ended up canceling so then I thought I could go to Body Pump instead.  Well at the end of the work day, I had issues getting done what I had to get done so I didn't go to Body Pump either.  I should have rested anyway.

I didn't get nearly enough done at work that I wanted to.  I kept starting too many things.
I picked up Pizza Hut on my way home from work.  We watched TV as we ate and continued to watch TV the rest of the night.  Dexter is such a good show. I wanted to watch even more.  We missed the debate.  We didn't realize it was on.

I am glad I chose to have a rest day but also a little bummed. I'm not going to make my workout goals for the month. Also, my hips hurt and I just want them to stop.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

A Day's Worth of Twitter

08:35:03 AM - It is cold and snowy out. Hope this race isn't as miserable as I'm predicting. http://t.co/YDboMOQr
08:50:32 AM - A very nice race pamphlet should be proof read. "fo" is just ridiculous. http://t.co/xz9qUrzj
02:01:32 PM - I ran all 20 miles in the race so I didn't have to tweet that I ran the shorter distances.
06:08:04 PM - Scrap and Run: Spring Thaw - 20 miles (2.25.12) http://t.co/pHGIThZq I didn't run a shorter distance! (@TheNewChrissy)
08:14:03 PM - @missylizzylucy what about 23 1/2 hours do you remember?
08:28:01 PM - Dedication: our waiter couldn't find his tablet so wrote our order on his hand.
09:58:09 PM - @MarnieCarlson we got Chinese food. I wasn't happy with mine. Far too much sauce. Dave's sesame chicken was Bette. I kept stealing it.
11:11:02 PM - @mikecherepko wow that got a ton of comments

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

Spring Thaw - 20 miles (2.25.12)

I ran the first 10 miles with Adrienne.  We were both registered for 20 miles.  

The weather was so cold today. It was so windy. The worst was when the wind was coming at you while you were running up hill. I wonder how fast I would have been if it was good weather.

Adrienne's ankle was bothering her.  My hips and ankle have been bothering me. Well in addition to my plantar fasciitis and how I feel like I'm getting a cold.  Adrienne and I talked about how we don't want to be stupid and we'd rather go slow/run shorter than injure ourselves so we can't run for future races.  Based on all that discussion, she decided to stop at 10 miles. I thought my lungs felt good so I would go for 15.  I told everyone on twitter I was doing 20 so when 15 rolled around and I didn't feel like I was going to die, I decided to keep going.

I'm pretty sure other runners of 20 miles don't run as sporadic as me. I also think they probably have some sort of training plan they follow.

Adrienne and I wanted to go for 10 minute mile pace. We were going faster but still were pretty consistent. Adrienne's Garmin wouldn't start before the race so she didn't have a watch to look at and had to rely on me telling her our numbers.  My watch beeps each .25 and hers usually beeps each mile so she had to adjust her way of thinking.

My left hip started hurting around mile 7. But it wasn't bad.

I thought after I ran 10, I would run intervals. I thought there was no way I'd keep it up.   When I got water at mile 10, I was walking toward the guy with the garbage bag and wasn't paying attention and I stepped in puddle/pothole; It was cold. I walked one interval but then thought I didn't really need it. Around mile 12 someone caught up to me and we talked. Her name was Christy. She's 32 and is in med school.  She already has a Phd.  One of her degrees is in mechanical engineering.  I forget. I think one of the 3 schools she already went to was Harvard too. She was really going fast.  It was a little bit of a struggle to keep up.  We did a lot of talking too.  She was only running 15 miles and around 14.5, after much encouragement, she pulled ahead to finish.  She didn't want to leave me but I kept reiterating that she could go ahead and also she was done at 15 and I had 5 more so wouldn't be giving an extra kick.  I still hadn't fully decided if I'd do 15 or 20 while I was running with her but after I told her to kick it since I was running extra, I figured I had to run extra.   Going toward the finish line I was still debating going to the finish shoot versus the lap shoot.

I folded and then pinned my number to my leg.
I thought for sure I'd do the last 5 miles with intervals since I was going to do the previous 5.  I walked at 15.5 for .08.  Then ran to 16.25 where I got water.  Right after this I stopped to tie my shoe tighter. It was tied but felt loose. It felt loose since I started running so I was surprised I lasted so long without stopping to tie it. By this point my hands were cold even with gloves.  It is really hard to tie a shoe while wearing gloves.  It took a little longer to tie it than I anticipated.  Autopause was on and it paused during this time.  I'm not sure how long I was stopped though.  That is going to mess up my garmin time versus chip time.   On this last loop there were so few people.  There was some lady behind me.  She was maybe 20 ft behind me at the 15 mile mark and will all my walking and stopping, I couldn't believe she didn't pass me up. Finally around 16.5 or so she got to me.  We ran together the rest of the way.  I stopped twice to walk with her.  We walked because she wanted to, but I enjoyed it too.  We ran together and she was running pretty fast. It was hard to keep up.  After 17.5 miles, I sure run slower.   I learned her name is Bobbi. She has 4 kids, ages 5-15.  She started running 4 years ago.  This was the longest she ever ran.  Going up the hill around 19.25, I passed her up but only by a little.  I turned and shouted to her to keep it up and we were almost there (and I'd give her stats of really what exactly we'd have left).  I knew she was speedy before and would get me on the downhill.  She did catch back up to me.   With a few hundred yards to go she passed me up.  I couldn't have any of that so I kicked it and ended up passing her.  Her friend was there and took pictures of her finishing but since we were so close, I'm in them. She said she'd email them to me.  I hope she does.
After we finished I asked her friend to take a picture of us with my iphone. She did. I already emailed that to her so then she has my email and can just reply. They were taking race photos at the finish but not each lap I did. I wonder when they will be posted.

I was worried a lot of the time that I'd miss the cutoff. The course cutoff was 3:30 and I knew I'd be close to that.  I finished about 3:20 but a little later since I had the chip time and it took 40+ seconds to start.
Me with Bobbi after the race

I sent 1 text during the race to Jen to tell her I was done with 10.

Once my hip started hurting, they hurt the entire rest of the time.  My toes on my right foot started to hurt with 5 miles left. I did end up with a few blisters on the tips of my toes.  My feet semi hurt all the time lately. When I wake up in the morning, they hurt the worst though.  My ankle didn't hurt at all though!

So after I was done, I got water and headed to the rose barn for awards. Well I got there and immediately went upstairs for awards and they were done with all the raffle prizes and everything. They were throwing the last few things to people standing there since most people had won something. I was kind of upset by this. They don't reward people who stuck it out and ran the full 20. We even get excluded. I don't know what all they gave away but running things that Elite Runners and Walkers sells. I would have liked something and totally missed it all.   I talked to Bobbi again here. We went downstairs and I got some chicken noodle soup. She got pizza. She threw away 90% of the pizza though saying it wasn't good. I think all the pizza arrived for when the 10 mile runners were finishing. The soup was at least in crock pots.  I was going to get a free massage but got sick of waiting around so left without one.

I bet I forgot to mention a lot of things. If you have any questions about the race let me know.

Official results are posted. My official time was 3:21:06.



The shirts they gave were great. I did wake up today and see the
snow and actually thought "Seriously?!"
The warmer temperatures after the race.
The day isn't even over and I burned over 1000 more calories than yesterday (and 900 more than Thursday)
Fit coach is so fun
15 mile finishers got gloves
20 mile finishers got a hat
Official photos are finally up. Here is the only one of me.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Shopping (2.19)

My generous brother gave me a gift card for JCPenney so I felt like I had to go shopping to spend it.  I wanted to see their new pricing since they don't do sales anymore.  I thought some of the prices were pretty good but didn't like some.  Then others were really good.  All the clearance stuff was insanely cheap but they didn't have anything good in my size.    I was trying to find patterns but I failed.  While shopping I overheard a lady say "This shirt is $5, but I have it at home and got it for $2."  I ended up buying a nice red purse for $10 and Dave got new jeans.   I probably spent over an hour in JCP alone. I couldn't even find sections I was looking for and then when I did, I wasn't impressed.
After JCP then it was time for the rest of the mall. I didn't have much time though so I didn't get to finish.  I went in a few stores but only purchased things at the Limited.  I had coupons but their sale of 40% off everything was better.
I've been wanting a white skirt for awhile and I couldn't pass up one for $10. It's short for work but for $10, I can have a weekend skirt. The shirts are similar to other shirts I have purchased from JCP. The purple/turquoise one has a slightly different neck and was more expensive. (But it is only 19.99 online!)   Express used to be my go to store but now the Limited had been filling my needs and I've been hating everything in Express.  I don't buy pants anymore at Express because the Victoria's Secret pants fit me way better.

Have you gotten any good deals lately? What are your go to stores? 

A Day's Worth of Twitter

04:07:28 PM - I got here at 7 to leave at 3:30 today. That didn't happen. Wonder when I'll actually leave.

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

2.10 - Skate Party

Poly tried to camouflage herself with my bags so I would take her with me.
I got to work early and was one of the last ones there.  I left close to 5:30 to head to our NA-YGN Skate Party
We got some good pictures at the party.
I got some pictures of people skating but most turned out bad.  I don't know how to work my camera well enough when it is dark and people are moving and with people so far away.  I guess I should learn how to work the camera and practice a little more. I guess if I went to Schenley park more than once a year maybe I'd remember what settings I used by the end. 
I left a bit after 11:30.  I got home and should have gone right to bed but I did not.
The pictures of my car are what my car looked like when I got home. It was full of leftover stuff that needs to be given to someone else in charge of other events for NA-YGN.

Then after that, I loaded all my pictures and started making collages. I ended up staying up far too late.   I just got too into trying to finish the collages and lighten some of the pictures. Also Poly had my arm so I only had one arm to work with.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Friend Friday: Technology

As Katy followed along all the NYFW posts and tweets it got her  thinking... "so much of what we bloggers do is all about the tools that we use. Technology certainly makes what we do easier, even if it is sometimes a major pain."

1. What are the tools you use to blog?
I use blogger to write my posts. I insert pictures from Picasa web album.  I create my collages in Picasa. I crop my photos in Picasa. Lately I have been labeling my daily photos with where I got each piece using Snagit Editor. I use Snagit when I take screen shots dealing with my runs. I print the tables from Excel to Snagit and crop it down and save it from there. If I have good pictures and want to do something fancy with them then I use Photoshop.

To photograph myself each day I use a Canon Rebel T1i. I use my Canon PowerShot Elph 300HS for all other photos unless I have to use my iPhone to take a photo or two.   I've used a variety of remotes. My current one is Alzo.  Last year I had a Satechi and liked it better, but it bit the dust and it is more expensive now so I am testing a new one.  I also have a cheap one but it doesn't focus. It is better to travel with because it is cheaper so I have less of a fear of breaking it.

I use my desktop to edit my photos.  I never have to hook up my camera to the computer because both cameras have Eye-fi cards and just automatically upload.  I use my desktop or laptop and sometimes my iPad to type the responses.

2. What technology item is on your wish-list?
Last winter I wanted some photography lighting equipment.  When I have to take my daily pictures in before daylight, I hate the harsh shadows.
I also want a better remote but I do not know which one to get so that's the only reason I didn't get it yet.

3. Through the barrage of posts, tweets, pics, poses, messages, etc... how do you avoid becoming a slave to the constant infiltration of information?
The more I read, the more I want to read and see.  The more I look at anything, the more I realize how much is out there and how little I know.  But then I think about it and think about what is really important in life and that I don't need to be up on all the information.

Last January I answered similar questions about this.

What tools do you use to blog?

A Day's Worth of Twitter

11:46:00 AM - I click to send a very important meeting invite and outlook crashes. And now I can't get back on the network
04:41:09 PM - I think my ankle pain is all in my head just because I have a big race this weekend (@TheNewChrissy)

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

2.4

Shirt, Pants, and Boots are all from VS.
I did a lot of blogging. I didn't workout. I cuddled with Poly. I found an inhaler under my sink that expired in 2006. I've moved once since it expired and probably twice or 3 times since I got it.   My printer is putting black dots on the right side of the pages.

At 7pm I went to Brie's birthday celebration.  A lot of people showed up. More than she even expected.  I stayed there until past 10, which was longer than the invite said or longer than I expected. I took 2 pictures there but the lighting was so dim that my camera took too long and then both ended up looking awful. Dave was already asleep when I got home.

A Day's Worth of Twitter

10:34:20 AM - So all the meetings I came in to work for today got canceled. The one meeting got canceled and good thing because the prep took way longer
03:22:36 PM - I thought today was going incredibly slow but then I realized it's already almost 3:30. I guess the day is actually flying by.
11:08:35 PM - Scrap and Run: Practicing Medicine http://t.co/J0P1X1Qb What are your thoughts?
11:49:13 PM - The more I walk today the more my rift ankle hurts. I don't remember doing anything to it to hurt it either.
11:50:30 PM - @MarnieCarlson you probably made that kid's day though.

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

Practicing Medicine

I guess they call it practicing medicine because it is all a matter of opinion. Each doctor has their own opinion.  They have a different diagnosis. The fix may be the same, but the diagnosis is always different.  The suggestions on what to do are often different with the same diagnosis.  What is a normal person supposed to do or know in these circumstances.

Usually you go to one doctor, one specialist, and one physical therapist so you aren't wise to how the next person would be different.

Well here's my latest issues with practicing medicine.

On Tuesday, there were free physical therapy evaluations at the gym from Steve, the husband of the owner.  I decided to ask about my hips. After 45 minutes and lots of talking, I heard a lot of the same that I've heard before. I also heard a lot of direct conflicts of things I heard before.  I also heard some official terminology that I can't remember now and I wish I had written it down so I could google it.

He mentioned something about bursitis.  He also said something else but I totally forget the name.

We got to talking about my knee and the PT I had last year and he said it wasn't my IT band.

We talked about my custom fit orthotics and he told me I need rigid orthotics since I'm a runner.  A year ago I was told my rigid orthotics were not good for runners and I got new ones made that were not rigid.  Just based on all my running, I think the orthotics I have now are much better.

I wish I remembered the recommendation for my hips.  He knew exactly where to push and have it really tender.

I'm constantly told that I need to strengthen my core.  I do core exercises at Body Pump and find them less challenging than other people do and I do other core exercises on my own.  This last time I was told that my core isn't weak but to be a good runner, I want an even stronger core.  I liked hearing that my core was strong but I just wanted it stronger because in the past I just didn't know what to listen to from people because I felt it was pretty strong.   I guess for my workout goals I shouldn't count a 5 minute core workout as a workout and I should change the minimum to 6 or 7.  I always hate it without shoes on. I can't really do planks appropriately without the so many times I have to focus on other core workouts but then it is hard to not get bored before going too long.

I was told the best recommendation for my hips is rest.  Well that isn't going to happen.  I have a 20 mile race this weekend. I have 2 long races in March too.

The next recommendation was Advil for 10 days (1200 mg/day).

Then I was told to stretch and strengthen.  Too bad the evaluation was done after a double workout day and my legs were very fatigued.  He basically said my hamstrings, quads, and abductors were weak. (My adductors were strong.  I might have my adductors and abductors mixed up. I can't remember which one of the 4 tests I did well on.)   Going to Body Pump and doing lifting at pump has contributed to weaker leg muscles because then I solely do lunges and squats and don't do any of the other exercises that I'm aware of.   Monday after Body Pump, I actually almost did the abductor and adductor machines but then I ended up talking to Jen on my way out of Pump so I didn't doing it.

I was also told my balance is bad. I always knew that. I used to sit there when I was little and just fall over. Both times I went to PT, they gave me exercises to work on balance. The thing is the exercises they always gave me were just so easy that I never continued with them after PT was done.  I guess I should use my friend, Mr. Google, about these things.

Do you ever notice hearing inconsistencies between different doctors?  How do you decide what to believe?  Do you google everything to come to conclusions on your own? 

My hips started hurting a week and a half ago and have just gotten worse.  I should have listened to my body instead of after a week and a day of hip pain deciding to spend about $200 registering for races.

Do any of you runners out there have any advice for me or things you've done if you've had hip pain?

2.14 - Valentine's Day

I wore pink for Valentine's Day.

Dave had to work late. I was going to go run at the gym but he wanted to go to dinner and I thought a run + shower would take too long. Well we ended up working until after 7:30 PM.  Granted I was super productive after most people left for the day. Most people left super early too.   Dave had to work on a project with someone even though it was the other person's project and the reason he was there late is because she has to get it done and she is going on vacation so it had to be done earlier.

Dave and I went to Long Horn for dinner. Since we got an appetizer I just got soup as my meal. I still couldn't even finish the soup.

By the time we got home it was after 9pm and Poly was very upset at us for ditching her all day.
Late at night Dave copied Obama to give me a Valentine's Day tweet.
This monkey has been in Dave's cube for years.  It can fly and when it lands it makes loud monkey noises. Well I went to try it out and the arm broke. I guess it got too old. :(  How sad.
I only got one picture of Poly all day and it was before work. Poor neglected Poly.

I forgot to mention Dave woke me up by putting Poly on me saying Happy Valentine's Day. He said he got me a cat. I thought that was pretty creative.  He went through some effort to get her because she was hiding under the bed.  She usually sleeps with me then right before we get up, she'll go hide under the bed. When my alarms start going off, she hides.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Short Run

I went on a little short run this morning before the snow or rain.  My hips are still a little sore from the long run and just in general. I set out to do 1.5 miles. I thought I might do 2 but for some reason my knee started hurting 3/4 of a mile into it.  I stuck close by so I just did the 1.5. I iced my knee afterwards.

My goal was 8:40 pace. So each split my goal was 2:10. My first split was 2:10 and my next one was 2:13 so I already had seconds to make up.  My slowest split was the split that included running up the hill at Horizon Court. I figured that'd be the worst.  The next split was 2:09 so at least I had bonus seconds again.

Next time I run around my house, my goal will be 8:30.  Most of the time that I run around my house my pace is between 8:45 and 9:30.  One other time I ran 1.55 miles and my pace was 8:18. I guess I should have pushed more today.  The weather was much better that time though (I'm good at finding excuses). If I do 1.5ish again I need to beat 8:18 pace. So I have a new goal there too.

Monday, February 20, 2012

A Day's Worth of Twitter

01:13:33 PM - I think I went 2 full days without tweeting or reading twitter. I wonder what I missed out on.
01:14:33 PM - @reedaboutme Great job. 5 miles was a huge milestone for me. When I hit 7 it was even better. Any number after that wasn't so major for me.

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

A Day's Worth of Twitter

11:02:14 PM - Just registered for the 37th Annual Spring Thaw @Race360 - do it with me! http://t.co/a1WhItCI (20 miles!)

You can find me as @smilincolleen on Twitter.

18 miles (2.19.12) - Downtown!

I met Adrienne to run today. We ran with her normal running group.  I hadn't run with them before.  They meet on Herrs Island.  I didn't even know where it was or that we had an island. I left home in plenty of time to get there just in case I got lost.  I was there 15 minutes early.  We got started about 20 minutes late. I'm not used to starting so late.

The first few miles were more of a struggle and I thought we were going too fast.  I thought we'd go about 9:45-10:00 pace and that the group would split into 2.   There were 9 people running with us at the beginning.  It was one other person's first time there too. (We took a group picture but I am still waiting to see it.)

Around every 4 miles, Adrienne's dad met up with us. He was the support vehicle. I'm not used to that and it was really nice. I removed some layers and was able to throw them in the car.  It was also nice to be able to get water.

We made a bathroom stop around mile 11.

I started running with the group and figured I'd try to make it until at least 12 and I'd definitely be done at 16 and just get a ride to the end.

Mile 15 went pretty quick because I was talking up a storm.

Adrienne and I decided to finish it out. We kept saying we'd run:walk it if need be but it never came to that.   We ran to 18 miles then walked the last .4 as a cooldown.  Overall today's run was much better than my last 18 mile training run. (My last 18 mile run involved running with a running group for the first time too.)  The only other time I ran about 18 miles was my 30k race. The 30k was 20 minutes longer and ~.5 longer.

We went out to brunch afterwards. Since I didn't know what was up with the place or anything, I didn't have a change of clothes.  One runner even showered before brunch.  I did have a different shirt to put on but that was it.  Now I'll know for next time.  There were 6 of us at brunch (5 runners plus Adrienne's dad).  All the other runners ran different cut offs to get shorter distances.  I heard them say that the group usually isn't as big as it was at the start.  I wonder how many they normally have.
Adrienne was in charge of making the route today. She made it and created direction sheets for everyone. They were even laminated. I'm impressed. I'm sad I dropped my (and another runner picked it up and kept it).  Before we left to run, Jill got her phone stuck in the hinge on her car.  That was an ordeal. She ended up with a cracked screen.  It was pretty funny that while it was stuck, it was ringing.
How Adrienne planned out the run
How the Garmin messed up in the city
Elevation and speed chart
I was surprised how easy it was to run in the city. I thought we'd be hitting don't walk signs every second but there wasn't much traffic on the weekend and we got really lucky at a lot of busy street corners.  Some people would have liked the rest at each corner though. 

My calorie burn. You can tell when we stopped at the car.
This is a different Fit Coach wording than I have seen.
My steps for the day so far
Our route. I think in 3 places it is different than the plan. The only one I remember was about a ramp near the end.
But Adrienne said she cut off distances in 2 places and added distance in 1 place. 
I could go on and on but I'm tired so I'll just have to try to remember the rest of the details for later and maybe add them here or just hope they stay in my memory bank for future long runs.

Today when Adrienne's dad saw me he said "well you didn't gain any weight I see."
Most of the people at brunch talked about eating healthy and how bad for you the brunch food we had was. I may be hardcore with my exercise but I am not with my eating.
At one point on the course we had to go down steps to get from one road/bridge to another road.  I have no idea how Adrienne memorized the course.  There is just no way I would have been able to do that.