Went back to the doctor today...
Not a big shocker that he said walking the RunGirl 13.1 would NOT be a good idea. For the record, I'm still picking up my race packet, though. Long sleeved tech t-shirt? Yes, please! Technically I paid for it, right? I may not have earned it, but well...circumstances beyond my control.
He went into his spiel about 4 to 6 weeks for recovery. I explained to him that this weekend will make 6 weeks since my last run, so I don't understand why we don't have more progress. He countered with the whole...4 to 6 weeks once I *rest* it. Huh?! He suspects that all the walking around in the parks was a wee bit counterproductive to my recovery. He then explained my elliptical usage should be on a low incline. Ohhh....ooops! I was mostly doing my mileage on the weight loss program which is kinda up and down. Yeah, apparently that wasn't right. Well...in my defense, I had not done the elliptical in 3 weeks either. He said stress fractures are tricky and we have to be patient. Hmmm...back to that whole patience thing. Yeah, I don't have any of that.
He told me that these things never happen at a convenient time - it's always when someone is working hard for something which is what makes it so devastating. He was quite sympathetic, which I appreciated, BUT well...we had one more matter to discuss... I asked him about the Aramco Houston Half. I explained that I had knocked my full down to the half and was now wondering what my status was going to be for this race. He said he wants to see me in another month and we can evaluate at that time. I told him that I have until 12/19 to bail out. He said he hates to tell me I can't do something I've been working towards and then asked me if I could walk that one...he would feel better if I walked that and thought I would be in a position to walk a half marathon in another 7 1/2 weeks. Um...that's not how I saw me taking Houston. It has a 4 hour time limit for the half, so yeah...I could totally walk it in that time, BUT this isn't what I wanted...this isn't how I imagined it. It's bad enough it isn't the race I initially signed up for, but now to not even be able to RUN the half... I know what you are thinking...I was perfectly willing to walk the RunGirl 13.1 if he would have allowed me to. It's different. RunGirl 13.1 is like a local half...it was part of my training...Houston was the big ticket item. I don't want to do it half-assed. Houston has a policy in place that if you can't race, you can defer your registration for 2012 (by 12/19). I have an email out to the committee to find out if they will honor my full marathon registration since I had prematurely knocked my registration down to the half 3 weeks ago. Regardless of their answer, I will be deferring my registration to 2012...come half or come full.
So, there you have it. No RunGirl 13.1. No Aramco Houston Half Marathon. Just me wishin', hopin', and prayin' for a full recovery in the next 4 weeks so that I can get back in the game. I only have a year to prepare for a marathon, after all, and we all know it's gonna take me that time to get my act together - mind, body, and spirit!
Showing posts with label marathon training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marathon training. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Weekend Recap
Friday
My dad and I flew out at 7:25am to Chicago for our annual management meetings. We pulled the whole aisle/window seat game hoping nobody would be in the middle seat and...IT WORKED! Yay! Had to finish reading a book that was required reading for the meetings. =/ When it was done, I started reading a book recommended by my friend, LaShaune, called "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" - Essays by Sloane Crosley.
We were picked up from the airport along with my uncle Mike and then taken to our headquarters to say hello to all the peeps. After an hour, we were taken to our hotel where we would spend the next 24 hours.
First was lunch, then meetings, followed by the award banquet. The last 2 years, my service center walked away as The Big Winner, so it was a bit humbling to not receive the same honors this year. =( We did earn 3rd place in customer service and then we had some drivers earn special recognition for their efforts, but it was a bit disappointing because I know we have the skills and the talent to perform better. I'm beginning my plan of action to regain our elite status for next year!
Saturday
I decided to go walking with two of my favorite people out of our New Jersey operation at 5am. Maybe not the wisest choice considering I went to bed at 1am, but hey...I only see these people once a year! I took my Garmin with me so we would know how far we walked and we hit 3.75 miles in an hour - not too shabby considering I was all kinds of achy (maybe due to the coldish weather?)! I then showered and met the rest of the peeps for breakfast before we started our meetings. We had a half a day of meetings followed by lunch and then...that's it until next year! Most everyone flew home in the afternoon, but since my family is from Chicago, my dad, brother, and I always stay the extra day at my aunt and uncle's house. We went over there and hung out. I got my aunt and brother hooked on Angry Birds (cuz my friend Amy got me hooked on it on Thursday). We were sitting there playing it while my uncle and dad were watching football. Later we went for a yummy Mexican dinner and then I went to bed because the life had been sucked out of me.
Sunday
I woke up at 5:15am to hit the gym. 14 miles was on the schedule for my running group, so that meant 14 miles on the elliptical. I downloaded a book on my Nano this time - "Devil in the White City", to help make the time go by faster. It was hard to get into the groove though - for one thing, this book is strictly a narrative - would have made for a better read, than a listen. I actually switched over to music for the last 3 miles for a change of pace. Secondly, these were different ellipticals than I am used to, so the miles were going by more slowly. I hopped off my elliptical at mile 5 and went on a different machine - not sure what it was called, but it looked sort of like The Gazelle, but a bit more complex. I only did it for 1/2 a mile because it was a killah and it took me 10 minutes just to do that much - yikes! Then I went back to the elliptical for the remainder. It took me 3 1/2 hours for the entirely of the 14 miles (ugh) and I was booking it, so that was kind of obnoxious! My family was nice enough to wait for me to go eat. I got back to the house, showered uber fast, and then we went to Walker Bros Pancake House - a staple in my family! I ordered scrambled eggs, rye toast, and this month's special - pumpkin pancakes! Yes, I sound gluttonous, but I was HUNGRY after all that work! When we were parking the car, he pulled into a 2 hour limit spot and I asked him if that was going to be okay. He answered with, "this ain't no Kim at the gym!" It made me laugh! =D After brunch, we headed back to the house to hang out until our flight. My dad and I did not fair as well on the ride home, so I kindly did not make some stranger sit between us and scooted over to the middle. We landed and went to my parent's house. My mom made us some homemade soup and sugar free / fat free apple cinnamon bread. I then retrieved my dogs from her care and went to my own home! Ahhhh...home sweet home UNTIL Saturday when I leave for Orlando!!! =D
My dad and I flew out at 7:25am to Chicago for our annual management meetings. We pulled the whole aisle/window seat game hoping nobody would be in the middle seat and...IT WORKED! Yay! Had to finish reading a book that was required reading for the meetings. =/ When it was done, I started reading a book recommended by my friend, LaShaune, called "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" - Essays by Sloane Crosley.
We were picked up from the airport along with my uncle Mike and then taken to our headquarters to say hello to all the peeps. After an hour, we were taken to our hotel where we would spend the next 24 hours.
First was lunch, then meetings, followed by the award banquet. The last 2 years, my service center walked away as The Big Winner, so it was a bit humbling to not receive the same honors this year. =( We did earn 3rd place in customer service and then we had some drivers earn special recognition for their efforts, but it was a bit disappointing because I know we have the skills and the talent to perform better. I'm beginning my plan of action to regain our elite status for next year!
I decided to go walking with two of my favorite people out of our New Jersey operation at 5am. Maybe not the wisest choice considering I went to bed at 1am, but hey...I only see these people once a year! I took my Garmin with me so we would know how far we walked and we hit 3.75 miles in an hour - not too shabby considering I was all kinds of achy (maybe due to the coldish weather?)! I then showered and met the rest of the peeps for breakfast before we started our meetings. We had a half a day of meetings followed by lunch and then...that's it until next year! Most everyone flew home in the afternoon, but since my family is from Chicago, my dad, brother, and I always stay the extra day at my aunt and uncle's house. We went over there and hung out. I got my aunt and brother hooked on Angry Birds (cuz my friend Amy got me hooked on it on Thursday). We were sitting there playing it while my uncle and dad were watching football. Later we went for a yummy Mexican dinner and then I went to bed because the life had been sucked out of me.
I woke up at 5:15am to hit the gym. 14 miles was on the schedule for my running group, so that meant 14 miles on the elliptical. I downloaded a book on my Nano this time - "Devil in the White City", to help make the time go by faster. It was hard to get into the groove though - for one thing, this book is strictly a narrative - would have made for a better read, than a listen. I actually switched over to music for the last 3 miles for a change of pace. Secondly, these were different ellipticals than I am used to, so the miles were going by more slowly. I hopped off my elliptical at mile 5 and went on a different machine - not sure what it was called, but it looked sort of like The Gazelle, but a bit more complex. I only did it for 1/2 a mile because it was a killah and it took me 10 minutes just to do that much - yikes! Then I went back to the elliptical for the remainder. It took me 3 1/2 hours for the entirely of the 14 miles (ugh) and I was booking it, so that was kind of obnoxious! My family was nice enough to wait for me to go eat. I got back to the house, showered uber fast, and then we went to Walker Bros Pancake House - a staple in my family! I ordered scrambled eggs, rye toast, and this month's special - pumpkin pancakes! Yes, I sound gluttonous, but I was HUNGRY after all that work! When we were parking the car, he pulled into a 2 hour limit spot and I asked him if that was going to be okay. He answered with, "this ain't no Kim at the gym!" It made me laugh! =D After brunch, we headed back to the house to hang out until our flight. My dad and I did not fair as well on the ride home, so I kindly did not make some stranger sit between us and scooted over to the middle. We landed and went to my parent's house. My mom made us some homemade soup and sugar free / fat free apple cinnamon bread. I then retrieved my dogs from her care and went to my own home! Ahhhh...home sweet home UNTIL Saturday when I leave for Orlando!!! =D
Monday, November 8, 2010
survivor
Okay...first things first. I bet you are wondering if I was able to master the 13 miles on the elliptical. Well...I didn't only master it, I overachieved it by 0.1 of a mile just to make it a half ellipticathalon. You see 26.2 miles is a full ellipticathalon. I don't ever want to go that far. If I do, PLEASE have me committed.
My plan was to hit the gym bright eyed and bushy tailed, but that didn't happen because Runner's World was doing a live blog feed of the ING NY Marathon and I was drawn to it like bees to honey! I was pulling for Shalane Flanagan to win it for the women, but I was quite proud of her 2nd place finish! Imagine running your first marathon and finishing 2nd place?! Bananas! Then again, when she competed in her first half marathon here in Houston in January of this year, she won it! She's amazing!
Okay, so once the winners were established, I geared up, grabbed my Powerade Zero and my iPod shuffle and headed to 24-Hour Fitness. I picked my machine, tested the ol' iPod to make sure there were no technical difficulties and then I was off. My quad/thigh was a bit achy at first, but I told it to "man-up" and I adjusted the intensity and the incline and eventually found my rhythm. The machine only allowed me to set it up for 60 minute segments, so after the first 60 minutes, I reset it for another. About half way through my second 60 minute segment, I had to briefly pop off the machine to refill my bottle - water was gonna have to do it for the rest of my jaunt. I took that opportunity to stretch my legs. I hopped back on the machine and finished up that 60 minutes. I reset the machine for the final 60 minutes knowing full well it wasn't going to take me that long. I worked on my arm swing during the entire work-out since I know that has been a weakness for me. I would have killed for an audio book, FYI. Half ellipticathalons are MEGA BORING! 33 minutes later, I was done. 13.1 miles completed. I can honestly say I have never before spent 2 hours and 33 minutes in the gym in one segment before. I would love to say that I will never do that again, but sadly this may not be the case depending on what's going on with my injury.
Good news is that my leg doesn't feel any worse for the wear today. Honestly - my upper back and shoulders are a mess (from the arm swinging). Weird, right?!
I was able to make an appointment with the sports medicine ortho at the practice I go to. The ortho who did both of my ACL knee surgeries ('94 and '98) retired several years back and the ortho who helped me through my hip tendonitis (earlier this year) is a joint specialist, so I decided to go with the sports medicine expert. This one lists running as his hobby, so he'll understand!
I took today off (as I would after a long run), but I'm hitting up my elliptical new BFF again tomorrow. I'm planning on a 4 to 5 miler.
Where there is a will, there is a way! Destiny Child's Survivor popped up on my shuffle while I was laboring away. The lyrics inspired me. Here are just a few:
I'm a survivor,
I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gon' stop,
I'm gonna work harder,
I'm a survivor,
I'm gonna make it,
I will survive,
Keep on survivin'
Oh and I almost forgot to share with you that my blind beagle, Penelope, stole 2 packs of Clif's Shot Bloks, 5 Larabars, 2 Luna Bars, and 2 South Beach bars while I was at work today. I had a bag full of my goodies on top of my desk in the kitchen and she must have been desperately seeking something/anything to satisfy her hunger?! Hmmm...guess who is NOT getting dinner tonight.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
fighter
Since I am not eating bread carbs right now, I made myself a breakfast of 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 lite mini baby bell cheeses, and 2 TBSP of almond butter. I washed it all down with water.
I geared up with Nike capris, a light weight long sleeve shirt, my shoes, my Spibelt, my Garmin, my iPod Shuffle, and my visor. I stretched VERY thoroughly and then headed out the door at 6:45am.
I had a positive attitude. I knew that I might not be able to do all 13, but I felt that surely I would be able to do the same 7 I had done the week before. I promised myself I would stop if I hurt.
My team met up at the picnic table, discussed the plan of action, and headed out. I had a bit of a struggle with my iPod. It wasn't working and I panicked that I was going to have to run without it. Just me and my thoughts?! Yikes! No worries...got it working. I started jogging and BAM...pain in my thigh...all the way around it. That is where the pain has moved to - from the hamstring to the glutes, back to the hamstring, then to the entire thigh/upper leg. Do you see how this is the weirdest injury ever?! It keeps moving. I'm thinking at this rate, in two weeks, it's going to be in my ankle. Sheesh!
I just stopped. What was the point? I could feel myself running with a limp. I don't want to put myself out of commission, so I turned around and walked back to my car. I almost cried. I wanted to, but I stopped myself. I am not giving up here. I have done everything that I could on my own, so it's time to take it to a doctor (I will call my ortho on Monday and make an appointment). What's my biggest fear here? It's not really that he will tell me not to run, because I don't believe my injury is that serious. He didn't tell me to stop running when I had the tendonitis in my hip, after all. My biggest fear is losing my training. I don't feel like I can go another week of nothing and then be expected to pick up where I left off. I feel like if I don't pick up where I left off, I will be getting too far behind to catch up. In other words...continuing to build distance is going to be a problem.
I have a plan. I'm going to the gym tomorrow morning. I want to try the elliptical first. It's low impact and I control the intensity/tension of the machine. I will know instantly as to whether or not it is aggravating my injury. If it does, I get off and try the bike. If it doesn't, I do 13 miles. I know it isn't the same, but it's something.
I don't know if I've mentioned it on my blog before, but I consider my theme song to be Christina Aguilera's
"Fighter". Most of the song applies to my life regarding a rather unfortunate experience I had (for several years), but that withstanding...isolating some select lyrics can be applied to this situation:
Makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
I am a fighter. I'm going to fight my way through this injury. You fight for what you believe in. I believe in me. I just have to fight smart.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
3 months - Eeeek! (I GOT THIS!)
3 months, my friends...3 months until I set forth to do the most challenging event of my life thus far - the Houston Chevron Marathon. So many questions fill my head - will I be ready? will I be able to finish? will I be able to finish in 6 hours? Then I tell those questions to go fishin' cuz I don't want to have negative thoughts filling my head right now. It has been said (by several people) that I am my own worst enemy. I believe this to be true, but I don't want this to be me anymore. Does that make sense? Instead of the "will I?" or "can I?" or "what if?" questions that I've been occupying my time with, I want to run with the notion of I GOT THIS!
You see, I could totally go all Negative Nelly on myself today for my 12 miler that wasn't, but I'm not. You know why? It's cuz I listened to Kenny Rogers and I knew when to "fold 'em" and that is far different than the Kim of days gone by. If you haven't caught wind through my Facebook posts or my Tweets, I've been nursing an injury I got from my half marathon (that wasn't) last weekend. I got a massage, I've taken Epsom salt baths every night, I've foam rolled, I've popped Advil Liqui-Gels, I've Bio-Freezed, and I've even sat on a sock filled with 3 tennis balls in the hopes of fixing myself prior to today's run. I know that I did everything I could, but my body was not healed. I probably should not have ran at all, but I'm going to be proud of the 7 I did do and I'm going to be proud of the fact that I called it quits when my body screamed "NO MORE!"
On a fun note, at family lunch today, I felt like I had gone trick-or-treating as my mom gave me a pumpkin filled with all kinds of goodies. I got a Carmel Apple soap from Bath & Body Works, a Nutmeg Cream candle, a can of almonds, a coupon for Kohl's, and a gift card for the movie theater. She's such a thoughtful mom!!!
On a parting note, I have been blessed with some truly amazing friends. Laura may live in Tallahassee, but thanks to Facebook, we are ever present in one another's lives. She is always so encouraging and positive and somehow knows just what to say when I need to hear it. Laura sent me an incredible email last night with two videos that I'm going to post here. She explained that there are others who experience set backs and disappointments, but that it is not over. She asked where I will be in 6 years... She's such a thoughtful friend!!! Please take the time to watch these videos as they are truly uplifting (and rather emotional - I cried watching both)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWYRH5jnQBo
and then...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIwJwbxBQ4&NR=1
Have a Happy Weekend and a Happy Halloween!
You see, I could totally go all Negative Nelly on myself today for my 12 miler that wasn't, but I'm not. You know why? It's cuz I listened to Kenny Rogers and I knew when to "fold 'em" and that is far different than the Kim of days gone by. If you haven't caught wind through my Facebook posts or my Tweets, I've been nursing an injury I got from my half marathon (that wasn't) last weekend. I got a massage, I've taken Epsom salt baths every night, I've foam rolled, I've popped Advil Liqui-Gels, I've Bio-Freezed, and I've even sat on a sock filled with 3 tennis balls in the hopes of fixing myself prior to today's run. I know that I did everything I could, but my body was not healed. I probably should not have ran at all, but I'm going to be proud of the 7 I did do and I'm going to be proud of the fact that I called it quits when my body screamed "NO MORE!"
On a fun note, at family lunch today, I felt like I had gone trick-or-treating as my mom gave me a pumpkin filled with all kinds of goodies. I got a Carmel Apple soap from Bath & Body Works, a Nutmeg Cream candle, a can of almonds, a coupon for Kohl's, and a gift card for the movie theater. She's such a thoughtful mom!!!
On a parting note, I have been blessed with some truly amazing friends. Laura may live in Tallahassee, but thanks to Facebook, we are ever present in one another's lives. She is always so encouraging and positive and somehow knows just what to say when I need to hear it. Laura sent me an incredible email last night with two videos that I'm going to post here. She explained that there are others who experience set backs and disappointments, but that it is not over. She asked where I will be in 6 years... She's such a thoughtful friend!!! Please take the time to watch these videos as they are truly uplifting (and rather emotional - I cried watching both)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWYRH5jnQBo
and then...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIwJwbxBQ4&NR=1
Have a Happy Weekend and a Happy Halloween!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
I was thirsty...so very thirsty...
I didn't exactly have the best run yesterday. It wasn't terrible, either. I just had these high hopes of it being this great pre-cursor to my half that's coming up next week. I know I'm putting so much pressure on myself and I know that it isn't really all that fair, but...well...here's how it all went down....
I got to the park a couple minutes late (oops), but that's okay because I wasn't the only one and my team was just standing around and sharing some stories. Some of the guys had run the 10 for Texas race the week before and were recapping. They explained what we were to do...run 3/4 of a mile warm-up, then 1/2 a mile counting our steps. I had missed the week (due to my whole food poisoning issue) when my team first did that. That's hard, y'all. Have you ever tried to count your steps?
Next, we were to head from Meyer Park around the fishing lake over to Collins Park out to Cypresswood Drive and run past TC Jester and out to Kuykendahl and then back. We were then supposed to finish it with a timed lap. We were told there was water placed out for us and where it was, BUT (and this is the part that sucks) I got confused and didn't find it (more on that in a bit).
Before heading out to Cypresswood, Collins does have a bathroom/water fountain house, so I did stop to take advantage of this as I did not know how far away the water was and/or if I was going to have to use the bathroom. It always makes me nervous to leave the park because it's awkward if you need to use the bathroom. I mean if you are in a race, at least there are port-a-potties in case of emergency, you know?! Anyway, this was all at mile 3 according to my Garmin and I was quite thankful I at least had drank that water.
I then headed out to Cypresswood. Shortly thereafter, my coach passed me on a return trip (he was JUST putting in 5 after having done 22 the day before - can't even fathom that). He reminded me how to pump my arms and once I put it into practice, I started flying (well...for me, anyway). Seriously, though...I was maintaining sub 13 miles and feeling great! Funny how when we had done our 7 miler how far away TC Jester seemed and now...eh...not to bad at all! I love that! I will say it was much cooler out than that 7 miler day, too, though, but still! So, we were told that we would have to cross the street and there was a little park and the water was on a park bench. I thought this was perfect, so I planned on eating either my Larabar or some of my Shot Bloks with the water. I kept going and going and going and finally I hit Kuykendahl. I was totally ready for some water.
So, I got there and crossed the street into a subdivision...a little bit up the road, I saw what looked like a park...as I approached it, I saw that it was all closed up with a sign that said private park. I couldn't see any gate open or any water on any of the park benches inside. I stopped and stood there and honestly just wanted to cry. My Garmin was at 5.75 miles and I knew I was going to have to run 2.75 miles back to the Collins water fountain. I went ahead and took out my Banana Bread Larabar...ate it hoping it would give me energy...and then a fresh piece of gum hoping it would somehow hydrate me...and I wished I had been smart enough to throw a couple dollars in my Spibelt because there was a gas station on the corner (I will definitely not leave home without a $5 with me next time). I then started a much slower run back to the park...I was defeated.
When I finally made it to the Collins water fountain, I surely gulped gallons (slight exaggeration) of water from the fountain. I was so thirsty. I had gone 5.5 miles without water...I was now at the 8.5 mile mark and ONLY had 2.5 miles left to go on this jaunt. I (still) slowly headed up the trail in Collins back towards Meyer Park. I finally made it to Meyer and headed to our picnic table. It was our breakfast day - our coach had made us oatmeal with egg and raisins. He had brought bananas and honey for us to add into it. I had thought he would have been gone by the time I got there, but he was still there along with one other girl. I told him I never found the water. We went over where it was supposed to be. Apparently I misunderstood...it was at a little park off of TC Jester, not Kuykendahl - he said that way we could get the water twice - once going past it to Kuykendahl and once heading back to Collins. Well that only makes sense...too bad I'm a dum-dum! He told me I didn't have to do the timed lap, but I still had 1.1 miles left to go to hit my 11, so I gulped down my entire bottle of G2 (taking Amanda's advice that maybe I needed some calories coming from my drink - although it probably would have helped earlier in my run - ha)! My coach said he would have oatmeal ready for me when I got back. Um...okay. The last thing I want when I first finish running is food. I headed out do to my lap, but at the 1/4 mile mark, the charlie horses started making their presence known. I continued to the 1/2 mile marker and they were just there at the surface threatening every few steps...I finally said "screw it" and ran on the path that lead back to the table not caring if it shorted me the 11 (which it did - I only got 10.8 in total).
My coach insisted on the oatmeal, so I had some. It actually did hit the spot and the bananas were good for the charlie horse issue, I'm sure. He gave me some water since I had finished my G2 before my last little bit of run and then the three of talked for a while.
I'm left not feeling as confident for my half next week as I did after my 9 miler a few weeks ago due to my poor hydration issues the past couple of weeks. The only thing that gives me some comfort is knowing that the race offers up hydration stations every 2 miles and that my race plan is to walk through each and every station taking full advantage of the opportunity to hydrate.
So, one thing you can bet your bottom dollar on this week - you won't catch me without a bottle of water in one hand at all times! I'm not taking any chances!
Special shout out to my friend Lauren who is running the Nike Women's half today in San Fran! Wish her well!
I got to the park a couple minutes late (oops), but that's okay because I wasn't the only one and my team was just standing around and sharing some stories. Some of the guys had run the 10 for Texas race the week before and were recapping. They explained what we were to do...run 3/4 of a mile warm-up, then 1/2 a mile counting our steps. I had missed the week (due to my whole food poisoning issue) when my team first did that. That's hard, y'all. Have you ever tried to count your steps?
Next, we were to head from Meyer Park around the fishing lake over to Collins Park out to Cypresswood Drive and run past TC Jester and out to Kuykendahl and then back. We were then supposed to finish it with a timed lap. We were told there was water placed out for us and where it was, BUT (and this is the part that sucks) I got confused and didn't find it (more on that in a bit).
Before heading out to Cypresswood, Collins does have a bathroom/water fountain house, so I did stop to take advantage of this as I did not know how far away the water was and/or if I was going to have to use the bathroom. It always makes me nervous to leave the park because it's awkward if you need to use the bathroom. I mean if you are in a race, at least there are port-a-potties in case of emergency, you know?! Anyway, this was all at mile 3 according to my Garmin and I was quite thankful I at least had drank that water.
I then headed out to Cypresswood. Shortly thereafter, my coach passed me on a return trip (he was JUST putting in 5 after having done 22 the day before - can't even fathom that). He reminded me how to pump my arms and once I put it into practice, I started flying (well...for me, anyway). Seriously, though...I was maintaining sub 13 miles and feeling great! Funny how when we had done our 7 miler how far away TC Jester seemed and now...eh...not to bad at all! I love that! I will say it was much cooler out than that 7 miler day, too, though, but still! So, we were told that we would have to cross the street and there was a little park and the water was on a park bench. I thought this was perfect, so I planned on eating either my Larabar or some of my Shot Bloks with the water. I kept going and going and going and finally I hit Kuykendahl. I was totally ready for some water.
So, I got there and crossed the street into a subdivision...a little bit up the road, I saw what looked like a park...as I approached it, I saw that it was all closed up with a sign that said private park. I couldn't see any gate open or any water on any of the park benches inside. I stopped and stood there and honestly just wanted to cry. My Garmin was at 5.75 miles and I knew I was going to have to run 2.75 miles back to the Collins water fountain. I went ahead and took out my Banana Bread Larabar...ate it hoping it would give me energy...and then a fresh piece of gum hoping it would somehow hydrate me...and I wished I had been smart enough to throw a couple dollars in my Spibelt because there was a gas station on the corner (I will definitely not leave home without a $5 with me next time). I then started a much slower run back to the park...I was defeated.
When I finally made it to the Collins water fountain, I surely gulped gallons (slight exaggeration) of water from the fountain. I was so thirsty. I had gone 5.5 miles without water...I was now at the 8.5 mile mark and ONLY had 2.5 miles left to go on this jaunt. I (still) slowly headed up the trail in Collins back towards Meyer Park. I finally made it to Meyer and headed to our picnic table. It was our breakfast day - our coach had made us oatmeal with egg and raisins. He had brought bananas and honey for us to add into it. I had thought he would have been gone by the time I got there, but he was still there along with one other girl. I told him I never found the water. We went over where it was supposed to be. Apparently I misunderstood...it was at a little park off of TC Jester, not Kuykendahl - he said that way we could get the water twice - once going past it to Kuykendahl and once heading back to Collins. Well that only makes sense...too bad I'm a dum-dum! He told me I didn't have to do the timed lap, but I still had 1.1 miles left to go to hit my 11, so I gulped down my entire bottle of G2 (taking Amanda's advice that maybe I needed some calories coming from my drink - although it probably would have helped earlier in my run - ha)! My coach said he would have oatmeal ready for me when I got back. Um...okay. The last thing I want when I first finish running is food. I headed out do to my lap, but at the 1/4 mile mark, the charlie horses started making their presence known. I continued to the 1/2 mile marker and they were just there at the surface threatening every few steps...I finally said "screw it" and ran on the path that lead back to the table not caring if it shorted me the 11 (which it did - I only got 10.8 in total).
My coach insisted on the oatmeal, so I had some. It actually did hit the spot and the bananas were good for the charlie horse issue, I'm sure. He gave me some water since I had finished my G2 before my last little bit of run and then the three of talked for a while.
I'm left not feeling as confident for my half next week as I did after my 9 miler a few weeks ago due to my poor hydration issues the past couple of weeks. The only thing that gives me some comfort is knowing that the race offers up hydration stations every 2 miles and that my race plan is to walk through each and every station taking full advantage of the opportunity to hydrate.
So, one thing you can bet your bottom dollar on this week - you won't catch me without a bottle of water in one hand at all times! I'm not taking any chances!
Special shout out to my friend Lauren who is running the Nike Women's half today in San Fran! Wish her well!
Monday, October 11, 2010
bustin' out that 10
We all know I had a plan in place for bustin' out my 10 miles while out of town this past weekend. Let me quickly recap - I was going to run from my hotel to a park located 2.1 miles away. The park had a 5K course at it, so I was going to run that twice. Then, I was going to head back to the hotel - the final 2.1 miles - for a grand total of 10.4 miles.
On Friday, I received a text message from one of my cousins that she had heard from one of our aunts that there was a 38 mile course right outside our hotel. WHAT?! Surely she meant 3.8 miles, right?! On Saturday when we arrived, I asked my cousin if she had typo'd that puppy and she said no - there is a 38 mile course that runs from the back of the hotel around the city. Well...that didn't necessarily sound like it offered up the perks of a park - meaning bathrooms and water fountains, so I decided to stick with my original plan.
I had brought along my breakfast with me from Houston - a multi grain bagel from H.E.B., a packet of Justin's maple almond butter, and a banana. I took a pack of Clif's Shot Bloks with me in my Spibelt for refueling during my run. When we arrived in town on Saturday, we stopped at Walgreens to get some drinks, so I bought me a Powerade Zero for when I finished my run to replenish my electrolytes. I headed out the door at 6:30am with my map of how to get to the park and walked out of the hotel.
Oooops! I grabbed the wrong map - turns out I grabbed the map to the movie theater and I didn't want to disturb younger sister Linda who was still sound asleep inside our room, so I just decided to try to go off of memory and try to find the park. About 2 1/2 miles into my run (running around in circles getting lost), I found a jogging/bike path. Eureka! I was just hoping this path would lead me to water because I needed it BADLY! 1.75 miles later, I happened across my park - totally accidentally along this path - go figure! Yay - bathrooms and water! I then had a decision to make - find the 5K course at this park, or continue on my jogging trail. I had figured out at this point that I must actually be on the 38 mile path that runs throughout the city. I decided to stick to my trail and I ran another 1.25 miles past the park before I turned around and headed back. This meant I hit the water fountain again at mile 6.75. I drank some water, stretched, and ran back on the path. Since I knew where I was going this time, I knew it wasn't going to take me as long to get back to the hotel. I got off the path at mile 8 and started running out of steam. I knew I was dehydrated and I remembered where that Walgreens was, so I ran to it and went inside and bought me one of those zero calorie rehydration drinks - it had potassium and Vitamin B in it. I drank all 20 oz. outside before I continued my run back to the hotel. At this point I was at 8.75 miles. I started running and got to the hotel and knew I was going to be short my mileage, so I ran around the block, then back to the hotel - running into the lobby and to my room and my Garmin literally turned to the 10 mile mark right as I hit the door to my room. I then drank the entire 32 oz of my Powerade Zero. For the rest of the day, I never stopped drinking...it was either water or iced tea until the Wedding and then it became champagne! ha!
I almost forgot about my blister. My right pinky toe decided to grow one. I don't know if it's fair to say my shoe or sock caused it because I had some issues the night before with my heels at the rehearsal dinner and I did Vaseline up my feet before my run. Oh well... It was just another obstacle and I conquered it.
10 miles down - ran all of it - no walking breaks. I stopped twice for bathroom/water breaks and then the Walgreens hydration break. This Saturday's run is 11 miles and then I have my half on October 24th. I'm really hoping to run the entire thing with the exception of the water stations. I'm also hoping to shave 24 minutes off my previous half marathon time. I'm on target to make that happen!
Next post will be a recap of the Wedding Weekend!
On Friday, I received a text message from one of my cousins that she had heard from one of our aunts that there was a 38 mile course right outside our hotel. WHAT?! Surely she meant 3.8 miles, right?! On Saturday when we arrived, I asked my cousin if she had typo'd that puppy and she said no - there is a 38 mile course that runs from the back of the hotel around the city. Well...that didn't necessarily sound like it offered up the perks of a park - meaning bathrooms and water fountains, so I decided to stick with my original plan.
I had brought along my breakfast with me from Houston - a multi grain bagel from H.E.B., a packet of Justin's maple almond butter, and a banana. I took a pack of Clif's Shot Bloks with me in my Spibelt for refueling during my run. When we arrived in town on Saturday, we stopped at Walgreens to get some drinks, so I bought me a Powerade Zero for when I finished my run to replenish my electrolytes. I headed out the door at 6:30am with my map of how to get to the park and walked out of the hotel.
I almost forgot about my blister. My right pinky toe decided to grow one. I don't know if it's fair to say my shoe or sock caused it because I had some issues the night before with my heels at the rehearsal dinner and I did Vaseline up my feet before my run. Oh well... It was just another obstacle and I conquered it.
10 miles down - ran all of it - no walking breaks. I stopped twice for bathroom/water breaks and then the Walgreens hydration break. This Saturday's run is 11 miles and then I have my half on October 24th. I'm really hoping to run the entire thing with the exception of the water stations. I'm also hoping to shave 24 minutes off my previous half marathon time. I'm on target to make that happen!
Next post will be a recap of the Wedding Weekend!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
cloud 9
I still didn't get the 7 or 8 hours of sleep I had hoped for, though I did at least turn my ringer off early on in the evening so as to not be disturbed. I'm just terrible about getting proper sleep. BAD KIM! I did get about 6 1/2 hours. For breakfast I ate a hard boiled egg, a whole wheat English muffin with reduced fat cream cheese, and a banana. I brought along some Clif's Shot Bloks with me in case I needed a pick me up, and I headed out the door.
I wasn't sure where we were headed on this run as it was our first time hitting 9. When they described the plan, I expressed concern over getting lost since I'm so much slower than everyone and since I have a penchant for getting lost. A lot of my running mates have been on this team in the past, so they know the route. Everyone was supposed to run a warm-up lap at the park before heading out, so my coach suggested that I run that warm-up lap later and go ahead and head out of the park so that by the time the rest of the group catches up with me, they will be able to guide me through the tricky areas. It was the perfect plan and it worked! I only got a little lost after they passed me, but I figured it out and made it work! ha!
Here's the best part of it all...I ran the entire 9 miles without walk breaks! I stopped once at mile 6.25 for a bathroom stop and then I had a couple of water stops, but they were quick sips and go...NO WALKING! I averaged 13:29 - not great, but below the 13:45 marathon pace cap.
My last lap was a timed one, as always. One of my teammates was still hanging around and offered to run it with me. I warned her how much slower I was and she said no worries...she would use it as a cool down, so we talked...or rather I tried to talk while she talked normally for my last remaining 1.27 miles. I actually managed to take 12 seconds off my time from last week. Not bad for having added 2 miles since last week, either!
Confidence temporarily restored! Cloud 9 feels pretty darn good! I hope this weather sticks around as I suspect it had a lot to do with my success. It's yet another reason why I need to make the transition to morning weekday runs.
Monday, September 27, 2010
flush this weekend down the toilet
I did not have a very good weekend. It makes me sad to think about it because usually I wish the week away to get to my beloved weekend. Honestly, Monday couldn't have come fast enough. How sad is that?!
It all started Friday night...er...Saturday morning. AND that makes me mad because I had a really nice Friday evening with my parents. They were in between out of town trips and my mom had invited me over for dinner. I dined with them on grilled steak, brussel sprouts (don't judge me), and a baked sweet potato, and then we watched tv together. Granted, they were catching up on shows that I had already seen, but it was nice mommy, daddy, Kimby time, so I loved it. I finally went home and caught up on Mafia Wars and Sorority Life for a bit and then went to bed way too late - around 11:30. This meant 6 hours of sleep before my scheduled 7 miler with my running group the next day. I don't really want to get into too many details, but let's just say there was an hour of unpleasantries from 1:30am to 2:30am dealing with unexpected and unwelcomed text messages from someone in my past and then follow-up repetitive doorbell rings (5 to be exact) which meant dogs barking and chaos before that someone finally bought a clue and left me alone. I'm thinking alcohol was involved. Regardless, I was upset, angry, tired, rattled, annoyed and this meant it took me a while to go back to sleep. Needless to say, my 5:30am alarm went off way too soon.
My 7 miler turned out to be 7.5 miles and I kinda cheated at that. I took one little short-cut otherwise it would have been about 8.25 miles. I never claimed to be an over-achiever and since the schedule said 7, by golly...they were lucky to get 7.5 out of me. This time we left the park and so this time I got a little lost. I had to ask a park employee on a golf cart to help me. =/ I'll know for next time. It was challenging because it was quite humid out and when the sun came out, it came out with a vengeance and I forgot my visor. The good news is that this little cool front that came through is supposed to last through this coming weekend, so my 9 miler coming up should be under better conditions. After my run, I went home to shower and get ready for lunch. I waited a bit and text my sister where we were going and she text me back that they weren't going. Well they were the only ones in town, so it hurt my feelings. I text her back with "ok" and a minute later she called me and apologized and said she felt bad, but that they could eat with me if we went somewhere a little later and if they ate something light cuz they had plans later that afternoon. I told her I had already eaten. She said, "in the last minute?" I said yes. I was clearly pouting (and lying). She apologized again and I accepted her apology and so we had family lunch after all at ol' faithful BJs. I then set out on some of my errands. There was the library, then there was birthday present shopping for several birthdays - Lauren's, Cathy's, and my dad's. I didn't finish buying all the presents. I went back to my house to get my dogs and bring them to my parent's house and I threw something in the dryer really quickly (you know, to iron it) and accidentally broke it...the dryer. How? Well, about 8 years ago or so, the knob broke off that you turn to start the dryer. No worries, I just use a plyers to turn on the dryer. Well after years of doing this, I snapped off the little thing I was using the plyers on. Now, it appears, I have no means of turning my dryer on and off. Can you hot wire a dryer? =/ So, I gathered my belongings and my pups and headed to the parentals' house. I got the dogs all settled and then went to get a pedi. Afterwards, I went back to the house to get ready for Lauren's bday party. When I headed out to leave, I noticed a river of transmission fluid beneath my car. That can't be good. =/ I ended up taking my mom's car to the party.
I had lots of fun at Lauren's. I got to finally see my Meliska - it has been ages! I got to finally see Lauren - it has been since the Bearkat Bash. I got to meet some friends of Lauren's - all super nice. I hope they weren't uber annoyed with all of our running speak! I left there and went home after 11pm. I was exhausted.
On Sunday, I was kinda lazy most of the day. I just had a nail appointment at 1pm, so I did that. Then I went grocery shopping cuz I planned a killer menu for the week. I brought all the groceries to my parent's house. I stuffed everything into their fridge and then watched Lifetime movies for the rest of the night.
This morning when I woke up, I noticed the fridge was open. Everything inside was warm. My fresh mozarella cheese I had just bought, my other shredded cheese, my shrimp, my turkey lunch meat, my ham, my yogurt, my eggs, all of my parent's stuff - RUINED! I told my dad I was replacing everything when he called me this morning. He told me not to, but I am...well most things, at any rate.
I had to come home and wait for the tow truck to get here, so while waiting I cleaned out the refrigerator and made a list of what I need to buy. Speaking of the tow truck. I called the repair place at 8am. They told me they would have a tow truck dude call me to schedule a time with me for the pick-up of my car. Sure enough, 5 minutes later I got a call from the tow truck dude. We decided on 9:30am. I got to the house around 9:15am and started cleaning out the fridge. At 10:20am, I made a phone call to discover that the tow truck dude had a blow out and will be here in another 30 minutes. Nice communication. I don't mind him being late...I mind him being 1.5 hours late without letting me know. RUDE! We are already off to a great start.
At least it's a pretty day. Too bad I don't have any lunch or dinner cuz my menu is ruined since I don't have any groceries. I don't have to come home during my lunch break and deal with these mongrels, though, since they are getting their attention now. Guess who is grocery shopping during lunch?! Yep...me! Oye...
Lessons learned: if the knob breaks off your dryer, replace the knob & don't force things into a refrigerator and hope the door stays shut
How was your weekend? Hopefully less eventful.
***Update: Turns out it wasn't transmission fluid, it was coolant or something that is orange. Transmission fluid is pink. I guess now I'm color blind. Whatevs. So, with the tow (he was 2 hours late, by the way) and the fix, it's a $350 problem solved kinda deal versus the $1000 to $3000 nightmare I was fearing.
****More Update: I replaced a good portion of my parent's portion of the groceries for $60. Forget about my groceries...we'll save that for another day.
It all started Friday night...er...Saturday morning. AND that makes me mad because I had a really nice Friday evening with my parents. They were in between out of town trips and my mom had invited me over for dinner. I dined with them on grilled steak, brussel sprouts (don't judge me), and a baked sweet potato, and then we watched tv together. Granted, they were catching up on shows that I had already seen, but it was nice mommy, daddy, Kimby time, so I loved it. I finally went home and caught up on Mafia Wars and Sorority Life for a bit and then went to bed way too late - around 11:30. This meant 6 hours of sleep before my scheduled 7 miler with my running group the next day. I don't really want to get into too many details, but let's just say there was an hour of unpleasantries from 1:30am to 2:30am dealing with unexpected and unwelcomed text messages from someone in my past and then follow-up repetitive doorbell rings (5 to be exact) which meant dogs barking and chaos before that someone finally bought a clue and left me alone. I'm thinking alcohol was involved. Regardless, I was upset, angry, tired, rattled, annoyed and this meant it took me a while to go back to sleep. Needless to say, my 5:30am alarm went off way too soon.
My 7 miler turned out to be 7.5 miles and I kinda cheated at that. I took one little short-cut otherwise it would have been about 8.25 miles. I never claimed to be an over-achiever and since the schedule said 7, by golly...they were lucky to get 7.5 out of me. This time we left the park and so this time I got a little lost. I had to ask a park employee on a golf cart to help me. =/ I'll know for next time. It was challenging because it was quite humid out and when the sun came out, it came out with a vengeance and I forgot my visor. The good news is that this little cool front that came through is supposed to last through this coming weekend, so my 9 miler coming up should be under better conditions. After my run, I went home to shower and get ready for lunch. I waited a bit and text my sister where we were going and she text me back that they weren't going. Well they were the only ones in town, so it hurt my feelings. I text her back with "ok" and a minute later she called me and apologized and said she felt bad, but that they could eat with me if we went somewhere a little later and if they ate something light cuz they had plans later that afternoon. I told her I had already eaten. She said, "in the last minute?" I said yes. I was clearly pouting (and lying). She apologized again and I accepted her apology and so we had family lunch after all at ol' faithful BJs. I then set out on some of my errands. There was the library, then there was birthday present shopping for several birthdays - Lauren's, Cathy's, and my dad's. I didn't finish buying all the presents. I went back to my house to get my dogs and bring them to my parent's house and I threw something in the dryer really quickly (you know, to iron it) and accidentally broke it...the dryer. How? Well, about 8 years ago or so, the knob broke off that you turn to start the dryer. No worries, I just use a plyers to turn on the dryer. Well after years of doing this, I snapped off the little thing I was using the plyers on. Now, it appears, I have no means of turning my dryer on and off. Can you hot wire a dryer? =/ So, I gathered my belongings and my pups and headed to the parentals' house. I got the dogs all settled and then went to get a pedi. Afterwards, I went back to the house to get ready for Lauren's bday party. When I headed out to leave, I noticed a river of transmission fluid beneath my car. That can't be good. =/ I ended up taking my mom's car to the party.
I had lots of fun at Lauren's. I got to finally see my Meliska - it has been ages! I got to finally see Lauren - it has been since the Bearkat Bash. I got to meet some friends of Lauren's - all super nice. I hope they weren't uber annoyed with all of our running speak! I left there and went home after 11pm. I was exhausted.
On Sunday, I was kinda lazy most of the day. I just had a nail appointment at 1pm, so I did that. Then I went grocery shopping cuz I planned a killer menu for the week. I brought all the groceries to my parent's house. I stuffed everything into their fridge and then watched Lifetime movies for the rest of the night.
This morning when I woke up, I noticed the fridge was open. Everything inside was warm. My fresh mozarella cheese I had just bought, my other shredded cheese, my shrimp, my turkey lunch meat, my ham, my yogurt, my eggs, all of my parent's stuff - RUINED! I told my dad I was replacing everything when he called me this morning. He told me not to, but I am...well most things, at any rate.
I had to come home and wait for the tow truck to get here, so while waiting I cleaned out the refrigerator and made a list of what I need to buy. Speaking of the tow truck. I called the repair place at 8am. They told me they would have a tow truck dude call me to schedule a time with me for the pick-up of my car. Sure enough, 5 minutes later I got a call from the tow truck dude. We decided on 9:30am. I got to the house around 9:15am and started cleaning out the fridge. At 10:20am, I made a phone call to discover that the tow truck dude had a blow out and will be here in another 30 minutes. Nice communication. I don't mind him being late...I mind him being 1.5 hours late without letting me know. RUDE! We are already off to a great start.
At least it's a pretty day. Too bad I don't have any lunch or dinner cuz my menu is ruined since I don't have any groceries. I don't have to come home during my lunch break and deal with these mongrels, though, since they are getting their attention now. Guess who is grocery shopping during lunch?! Yep...me! Oye...
Lessons learned: if the knob breaks off your dryer, replace the knob & don't force things into a refrigerator and hope the door stays shut
How was your weekend? Hopefully less eventful.
***Update: Turns out it wasn't transmission fluid, it was coolant or something that is orange. Transmission fluid is pink. I guess now I'm color blind. Whatevs. So, with the tow (he was 2 hours late, by the way) and the fix, it's a $350 problem solved kinda deal versus the $1000 to $3000 nightmare I was fearing.
****More Update: I replaced a good portion of my parent's portion of the groceries for $60. Forget about my groceries...we'll save that for another day.
Friday, September 24, 2010
the power of suggestion
I started getting that same feeling - excitement, adrenaline, a little bit of anxiety all mixed together - that I got when I first thought about signing up for my Chicago Rock 'n' Roll half. I knew this meant one thing....JUST TO IT! I went ahead and signed up.
So, yeah....the girl who just started running in January...who did her first 5K on January 31st, will be running her 3rd half marathon on December 12, 2010.
The cool thing is that there are 7 weeks from The Houston Half to RunGirl 13.1. That means 7 whole weeks to track my progress and to strive for improvement. Then, there are 7 more weeks from RunGirl 13.1 to the Chevron Houston Marathon. This is just enough time to get my head in the right place, work some more mileage, stabilize my pace, and hydrate!
What's your next race?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Kim versus the 5K: Bearkat Bash
Before we get into the details of the race, my little buttercups, let's discuss the events leading up to it, shall we?! This is a bit long winded, so I apologize in advance...
So, as previously discussed I've been having some awful headache issues and an occasional bout of the dizzies. I once again awoke in the middle of the night (2:02am to be exact) with the head pounding very sarcastic yay here>. I rummaged through my medicine cabinet...er drawer...and discovered some slightly expired migraine OTC medication. What's your take on expired medicinal products? I personally don't buy into it...I think it's just the manufacturer's way of getting you to buy more - or at least that's what I'm going with here. So, I popped 3 of them (shhhh...recommended dosage was 2, but I wasn't messing around with this hammering) and then I did something bad. Instead of returning to the comfort of my bed, I went to my laptop to check on how my job was coming along in Tokyo (Sorority Life on Facebook). Uh oh...only 16 minutes and 22 seconds before I could collect my earnings. I could just go back to bed and collect the yen when I awoke again, but where would be the fun in that, so I decided to go to Las Vegas (Mafia Wars on Facebook) in the meanwhile and fight mob bosses and the lot until my 16 minutes and 22 seconds were up. When the time was right, I collected my yen and then I thought about how I had just enough to buy this really cute Japanese print dress for 38,000 yen, so I bought it and then I had to try it on my little Sorority pledge, but then I kinda thought it made her hips look big, so I put her in an olive green Kimono instead with a pink sash. Ah...that was the ticket. Anyway, once I found the perfect shoes, the right hairstyle, and the appropriate accessories, the fashion show was over and I retired once again to my bedroom not so much because I was tired, but really just to shut my little doggies up who were both whining (one of them, Delilah, had already gotten out of bed to come check on me). It was now 2:39am and my alarm was set for 4:30am.
I tossed and turned and tossed and turned some more. I had one of those laugh out loud moments, too. The other day there was some dialog going on amongst my brother-in-law Craig, my double cousin Danielle, and I (or is it me?) on Facebook. Craig ended the dialog by saying, "Too late. Head is Uge!" This was making fun of my father who has a special problem (he likes to call it a disability) and can't pronounce the Hs in words beginning in H for some reason. So, what made me laugh out loud was I thought of a sentence - How long is the flight to Hawaii? Only I removed all the words starting with Hs, which made it Ow long is the flight to Awaii? Maybe you would have to have been there with me or just know my dad to appreciate this. Regardless, I think what made me laugh the most was how just earlier that evening, double cousin Danielle was insisting that 2:30am is hilarious. I told her I hardly doubted that was the case, but now I think she might be on to something... The dogs were getting a bit annoyed with me - it was obvious by their big sighs and their exasperated switching sleeping positions. Whatever, dogs. I'm in charge here and clearly so mature. I decided to go to the bathroom. One of the dogs (Delilah, again - shocker) decided to steal my spot on the bed. She was removed, no worries. I settled back down and must have eventually fallen asleep until that dreaded alarm sounded off just a short while later.
I got up, got ready, ate a whole wheat bun lightly toasted with Justin's almond maple butter and banana, stretched A LOT - especially that IT-band, and eventually headed out the door to the park. Meyer Park has two sides and my team always meets on the one side in particular. This side, for some reason, was closed. There were cops there informing us that we must go to the other side. This was weird. In my head, I had decided there had been a murder on the other side. This goes to show you how morbid I am. One of my teammates thought that perhaps there was going to be some sort of event later that day. Another teammate thought maybe there had been a drug bust. Regardless, it annoyed us because our routine was thrown off. Our coach gave us our swag bags which had our bibs, d-tags, tshirt, and some goodies in it. I went to put the bag in my car after securing my bib and d-tag, and then I started doing some mileage. I did about 1.75 miles at the park and then headed out towards the high school. I found the route the 5K was taking and kept asking the volunteers if I was winning. They laughed! I hit the mile 2 table and they even offered me water - bless their hearts I was in need and took them up on their offer. I continued all the way to the high school and it ended up being 3 miles. I got there in just enough time to use the facilities and I found Lauren and her sister, Sarah. I was sad that I somehow lost my spare piece of gum, so that meant I had to run without it. This sucked royally because that's how I control my breathing and how I stay hydrated even though some people (younger sister Linda WHAT?!) beg to differ.I started off strong. My first mile was 12:36. Yes, this is good for me. I know...le sad compared to so many others. ha! I'm okay with being a turtle. Remember that my motto is slow and steady to finish the race. I was a bit annoyed, however, because there were bunches of high schoolers running the race (that's not the annoying part) and some of the girls were just plain obnoxious. They would walk in a line blocking faster walkers or runners and then they would all the sudden start sprinting just to stop and walk again. They were rowdy and I guess what it boils down to is that they just didn't take it seriously. I'm all about having fun, don't get me wrong, but to me...a race is a big deal and they were just doing it so nonchalantly that it kind of demeaned the event, if that makes any sense. Maybe my age is showing? Ah well... I'm glad nobody made me take off my illegal headphones (yes, they tried to say they weren't allowed for insurance purposes - first race I've seen that).
I ran mile two MUCH SLOWER and with half the heart. My energy was diminishing under the burning sun. After my Garmin read mile 2, I walked to the water station. It was cute when I picked up a water and the one kid said, "I remember you!" Kinda made my moment, you know?! After I finished my water, I tried to start running again, but I got dizzy. Ugh! Not again!!!! I walked it out for a quarter of a mile, then tried to start running again and then came the charlie horses - it was like deja vu from my half marathon. I walked it out for another quarter of a mile or so and then started a ridiculously slow jog towards the finish line. I had to catch myself from stumbling over my own feet 5 times - NOT COOL, but eventually I finished the race with the worst 5K time I've ever had. =( Then, I drank tons of water cuz dang...it was HOT and HUMID. Oh and my finishing song was Jason Mraz's "Mr. A-Z".
It was my hottest 5K to date. It was also the only 5K I've done where I've run 3 miles BEFORE running the race. I've also been fighting these headaches all week. Yes, I know...all just excuses...
Instead of running back to the park to get my car, I thought it best to ask Lauren and Sarah to give me a lift back and they were so sweet to do just that. This race marked the 4th race Lauren and I have run together! Doesn't look like we will have any more opportunities this year with me training for The Houston Half on October 24th and the Houston Chevron Full on January 30th while Lauren is training for the Nike Women's Half on Oct. 17th. Okay, enough of my ramblings...I know this was a VERY long post. How's your weekend looking?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
a run to be proud of *finally*
Saturday 6:30am finds me where? Oh yeah...training with my group for the marathon. It was, of course, humid. Bet you know I was gonna say that, huh?! =P I actually had two options this morning. I could run 5 miles or I could attend the clinic on how to transition from walker to runner and then run, though I'm not sure if it was going to be a 5 miler if I went that route, so I opted for the 5 miler sans the clinic.
I've been thinking a lot lately about my interval method...currently I do the 4 minute run / 1 minute walk intervals, if you recall me mentioning on many different occasions. I've been wondering if this is the right method for me. Part of me wants to break free from it and pull a Forrest Gump and just run. Now I know I'm not capable of any great distances, but just wonder if I'm limiting my growth/capability by sticking to the intervals. My point in discussing this with you is that the reason I considered attending my mentor's clinic was to find out how to transition from the intervals to just simply running.
I decided to do a little experiment. I started running and only glanced at my Garmin every once in a while to check my pace and/or to see how far I'd gone. My mentor has said on many occasions that it is more important to build distance over speed. Several other peeps in my group have told me you can expect to take off as little as 30 seconds and as much as 60 seconds per mile once it gets cooler out, so I don't necessarily think it's fair to judge my time right now either since most of my races will be run during cooler temperatures.
After my first mile, I thought, okay just for for another half mile. I then pushed myself to two miles. Truth be told, I still had more in me to give. I then told myself to make it to a 5K. When I hit the 5K, I walked 0.15 of a mile, and then I ran the remaining 0.75 of a mile. That lead me to the final timed lap. That was kind of disastrous, but only because I slugged down over half of my bottle of Powerade Zero before running it and it was sloshing around in my stomach. When am I going to learn that lesson?!
The point is that I learned I can run a 5K non-stop. If I can do it in this heat and humidity (while still recovering from the attack of the cold/allergies/sinus issues), then imagine what I will be able to accomplish in the upcoming months with increased training and better weather?!
I might actually be able to do this marathon. My confidence is building.
What have you accomplished lately that you are proud of?
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
the hill from hell
for reals
I'm not even being dramatic.
I can prove it since I can already feel that you doubt my sincerity.
The hill stole my car clicker. How's that for being hellish? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Are you thinking I have a habit of losing my keys since it's happened once before? Well first of all, that was when the key fell off the key ring and I couldn't start my car - I could get in it. This time I purposely locked my key in my car and I took the clicker with me and put it in my trusty Nike shoe pocket that turned out to be not so trusty. Well, to be fair to Nike...the hellish hill stole the clicker, so Nike never really stood a chance.
I had my second marathon training session at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning. Once again, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty when I only had a little over 4 hours of sleep AND I woke up feeling gunky courtesy of allergy issues AND the humidity was thick in the air. We were scheduled for 4 miles and it wasn't going to be a simple 4 miles as in run the course at the park...instead it was all kinds of cRaZy which meant I was sure I was going to get lost. Thankfully, the peeps in my group are quite considerate despite the runners being significantly faster than me and they made sure I knew where I was going. We basically ended up in a church parking lot and there is a hill there and we had to run up and down the hill 5 times. I don't do hills - like EVER - and when I do, they make me grumpy. I did them and then I was grumpy. Upon completion of THE HILL work, the half marathoners went back the way they came while the marathoners had to then run around the parking lot and then go back the way we came. Once we finished the rest of our route, we had to do one timed mile. I didn't have as quick of a timed mile as last week, but I didn't expect to considering I was having some breathing issues (courtesy of the allergies and the humidity).
Once I returned to our table to get my drink, I went to go get my clicker out of my shoe pocket because I had to get a check out of my car to pay the Bearkat Bash ladies for the 5K we will be doing on September 11th. Come sign up with me!!! Anyway, imagine my horror to discover the clicker wasn't there! I panicked and freaked out, but one of the ladies that was at the picnic table said she thought one of our coaches had found one and shouted out his name as he was walking over to the bleachers where the rest of our group was. He shouted back that it was over by the cooler on the table and voila - there it was! I have never been so glad to see my little clicker, y'all.
I knew it was the hill - I knew it stole my clicker! I got confirmation later, but I just want it known that I knew.
Then I walked over to the rest of the group that was having a lecture on "body in motion" by one of our coaches, my mentor. It was there that I found out one of the girls, Rachel, had actually found my clicker. She's awesome! It was on the hill. See, I did know. Imagine if I had to go back and retrace my steps?! She also gave me a book recommendation called The Glass Castle. It's a memoir. I ordered it on Amazon.com, but haven't read it yet since I'm currently reading The Other Bolyn Girl and Marathoning for Mortals.
Lesson Learned: Secure my clicker via a more reliable means - I'm thinking zippered pocket or my SPIbelt.
Have you ever lost your key or clicker during a run? Are you reading a good book?
I'm not even being dramatic.
I can prove it since I can already feel that you doubt my sincerity.
The hill stole my car clicker. How's that for being hellish? Yeah, that's what I thought.
I had my second marathon training session at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning. Once again, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty when I only had a little over 4 hours of sleep AND I woke up feeling gunky courtesy of allergy issues AND the humidity was thick in the air. We were scheduled for 4 miles and it wasn't going to be a simple 4 miles as in run the course at the park...instead it was all kinds of cRaZy which meant I was sure I was going to get lost. Thankfully, the peeps in my group are quite considerate despite the runners being significantly faster than me and they made sure I knew where I was going. We basically ended up in a church parking lot and there is a hill there and we had to run up and down the hill 5 times. I don't do hills - like EVER - and when I do, they make me grumpy. I did them and then I was grumpy. Upon completion of THE HILL work, the half marathoners went back the way they came while the marathoners had to then run around the parking lot and then go back the way we came. Once we finished the rest of our route, we had to do one timed mile. I didn't have as quick of a timed mile as last week, but I didn't expect to considering I was having some breathing issues (courtesy of the allergies and the humidity).
Once I returned to our table to get my drink, I went to go get my clicker out of my shoe pocket because I had to get a check out of my car to pay the Bearkat Bash ladies for the 5K we will be doing on September 11th. Come sign up with me!!! Anyway, imagine my horror to discover the clicker wasn't there! I panicked and freaked out, but one of the ladies that was at the picnic table said she thought one of our coaches had found one and shouted out his name as he was walking over to the bleachers where the rest of our group was. He shouted back that it was over by the cooler on the table and voila - there it was! I have never been so glad to see my little clicker, y'all.
I knew it was the hill - I knew it stole my clicker! I got confirmation later, but I just want it known that I knew.
Then I walked over to the rest of the group that was having a lecture on "body in motion" by one of our coaches, my mentor. It was there that I found out one of the girls, Rachel, had actually found my clicker. She's awesome! It was on the hill. See, I did know. Imagine if I had to go back and retrace my steps?! She also gave me a book recommendation called The Glass Castle. It's a memoir. I ordered it on Amazon.com, but haven't read it yet since I'm currently reading The Other Bolyn Girl and Marathoning for Mortals.
Lesson Learned: Secure my clicker via a more reliable means - I'm thinking zippered pocket or my SPIbelt.
Have you ever lost your key or clicker during a run? Are you reading a good book?
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
you win some, you lose some...you pay for some
Well, I didn't win the "lottery". I started getting tweets from some tweeps on Sunday afternoon who I knew had signed up for the lottery for the Houston Chevron Marathon wanting to know if I, too, had received an emailed receipt. I knew it wasn't a good sign that I hadn't...I had that sinking sensation. Everyone told me to keep the faith...keep the hope, but I already knew.
It was confirmed later that evening when I noticed my status was "not selected" on the website and then I tweeted the Houston Chevron Marathon to find out if that was their final answer and it was, in deed. Consequently, I got the official email Monday morning.
The funny thing is that I had picked my back-up marathon (Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras) not really thinking I would need to actually use it. The thought never really occured to me that I wouldn't get picked. I just picked the back-up because it seemed like the thing to do and researching races is...well...kinda fun (yes, I'm a dork).
I felt defeated, at first. It would have been amazing to do my first marathon with home court advantage which meant automatic family and friend support and the ability to crawl into my own bed and die afterwards. These were not the cards I was dealt, however, and so it was not meant to be...OR WAS IT?
I am sure you notice I blog a lot about one of my best friends, Melissa (sometimes I call her Meliska). She is the main reason I decided to start my so called running adventure. She is also the one who strongly encouraged me to blog. Through blogging, I have made some friends - wonderful ladies who though I've never met face-to-face, I feel like I've known them for years. They inspire me and I admire them. That was also one of the things that made not being selected for Houston so difficult - two of my blogger friends (Allie and That Pink Girl) were selected. Another thing that made not getting selected so difficult for me was that another friend of mine, a different Melissa who will be embarking on her first marathon, as well, was selected. We had both decided on the same back-up marathon, so it really hurt my feelings knowing I would have to run our back-up marathon all by myself. To be honest, it caused me great distress.
I tried to flip it for the positive. The Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras gave me two more weeks to prepare and one more hour to run it. This wasn't enough to lift me up knowing that the likelihood of having friends and family present to support me as I set forth to do the most physically and mentally challenging event of my life is slim to none. Well, Laura, a college friend, Facebooked me several times about not giving up and writing the Chevron Marathon with my story asking for them to consider an exception (this got me thinking). Then, Allie, one of my Blogger buddies emailed me telling me not to give up and to consider the "Heroes" option for guaranteed registration (this had me taking action). I went onto the Chevron Marathon website to the Run for a Reason page and found out that for a $350 donation to a charity of my choice (of many listed on the site) plus the registration fee, I could get a guaranteed slot into the marathon. I went to talk to my dad and he asked me if it would mean more to me to know that I could definitely finish in the allotted time frame (RnR Mardi Gras) or to have the family and friend support (Houston). I told him I sincerely felt that the family and friend support could see me through the 6 hour time limit. My dad then said that he and my mom would donate $350 to NAM (Northwest Assistance Ministries - this is the charity that the running group I'm training with supports) for me as long as I promise him I will raise some funds on my own to also donate to NAM. Deal! I went on-line and I am now officially a "Hero" registrant for the Houston Chevron Marathon.
Initially I wondered if I went against "what was meant to be" by bypassing the system, but then I figured the people who encouraged me to find a way were placed in my life for a reason and the "Hero" option was also employed for a reason. I think a person can drive themselves nuts thinking/rethinking every action/reaction. Bottom line is that I am bound and determined to run my first marathon in the early part of 2011 and it needs to be with the physical presence of my family and friends. I know what it felt like for me to round a corner and see my aunt and cousins while I was in Chicago running my half - it was so encouraging - enough to bring a smile to my face and tears in my eyes because I felt loved. I'm gonna need that - especially for 26.2 miles (eeek)! Besides...who would be there to give me my Powerade Zero in New Orleans???
It was confirmed later that evening when I noticed my status was "not selected" on the website and then I tweeted the Houston Chevron Marathon to find out if that was their final answer and it was, in deed. Consequently, I got the official email Monday morning.
The funny thing is that I had picked my back-up marathon (Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras) not really thinking I would need to actually use it. The thought never really occured to me that I wouldn't get picked. I just picked the back-up because it seemed like the thing to do and researching races is...well...kinda fun (yes, I'm a dork).
I felt defeated, at first. It would have been amazing to do my first marathon with home court advantage which meant automatic family and friend support and the ability to crawl into my own bed and die afterwards. These were not the cards I was dealt, however, and so it was not meant to be...OR WAS IT?
I am sure you notice I blog a lot about one of my best friends, Melissa (sometimes I call her Meliska). She is the main reason I decided to start my so called running adventure. She is also the one who strongly encouraged me to blog. Through blogging, I have made some friends - wonderful ladies who though I've never met face-to-face, I feel like I've known them for years. They inspire me and I admire them. That was also one of the things that made not being selected for Houston so difficult - two of my blogger friends (Allie and That Pink Girl) were selected. Another thing that made not getting selected so difficult for me was that another friend of mine, a different Melissa who will be embarking on her first marathon, as well, was selected. We had both decided on the same back-up marathon, so it really hurt my feelings knowing I would have to run our back-up marathon all by myself. To be honest, it caused me great distress.
Initially I wondered if I went against "what was meant to be" by bypassing the system, but then I figured the people who encouraged me to find a way were placed in my life for a reason and the "Hero" option was also employed for a reason. I think a person can drive themselves nuts thinking/rethinking every action/reaction. Bottom line is that I am bound and determined to run my first marathon in the early part of 2011 and it needs to be with the physical presence of my family and friends. I know what it felt like for me to round a corner and see my aunt and cousins while I was in Chicago running my half - it was so encouraging - enough to bring a smile to my face and tears in my eyes because I felt loved. I'm gonna need that - especially for 26.2 miles (eeek)! Besides...who would be there to give me my Powerade Zero in New Orleans???
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Most Humid Day EVER!
Oh how I long for the fall which is more like normal people summer. Then how I will long for the winter which is more like normal people fall. Relief, I cry! Relief! Why oh why did I decide to take up an outdoor activity? Oh I know what you are thinking...I could run on the treadmill...NO, I really can't. I mean not for any great distance. It's okay for up to 3 miles and then after that it truly is dreadful and it's also misleading to my body because pounding pavement is a harder workout and I'd rather do the harder workout since there will be no rubbery moving belt on the marathon course.
In Chicago, my aunt, uncle, and cousins belong to a gym with an indoor track. I understand that the winters ARE brutal and that is why indoor tracks are necessary. Houston gym's should take note that the summers ARE brutal and that indoor tracks would be much appreciated. What a huge selling point!
Okay, so onto my first marathon training session...I loved it! Well not all of it. It was THE MOST HUMID DAY EVER! I'm not kidding. I've run in humidity - many, many a humid mornings and this was definitely THE MOST HUMID DAY EVER! It was hard to breathe out there, y'all! Yeah, yeah...enough of my whining. We met at the park bench at 6:30am. I was proud of me because I got there early - purposely so that I could visit with peeps. Everyone is so nice - I love that! Apparently, they are changing things up this year which really doesn't mean much to me since this is my first year training with them. We are going to run our mileage, then our last mile is timed - I don't think it will be timed every week, but rather intermittently so that we can get an idea of improvement. Every week, however, we will be logging our weekly mileage onto a clipboard - we are being tracked. This is cool, though, cuz it's another factor of accountability.
Today we were scheduled for 3 miles, so we did 1 full lap at the park - 1.25 miles and then 3/5 of a second lap - 0.75 miles for a total of 2 before we did our timed final mile. I clocked my last mile at 12:50. Not bad for me...keep in mind, I'm slow. My mentor is our main coach and he jogged with us the first lap and provided those of us who need his coaching/mentoring with tips. He told me to ease up (I was going too fast initially and my Garmin agreed) and to concentrate on a shorter stride and to use my arms more. During the last mile, I specifically paid attention to the arm part and I really did notice a difference.
My goal is to run 9 miles throughout the week before next Saturday's 4 miler. I would also like to do some elliptical and bike work at the gym 3 mornings. What exercise goals do you have for the week?
Friday, August 6, 2010
might Kim return to Klein?
Yes, she just might (well more like she will)...BUT more on that in just a sec...
So I cut up tons o' veggies to bring to work with me for the week when I get the munchies. I tried to commission my mom to cut up veggies for me (I'm convinced veggies taste best when she cuts them up) and then I tried to commission my dad to be a pack mule if my commissioning of my mom worked, but somehow apparently I'm not a good commissioner (which really sucks, by the way). Oh well... =P
Oh and just cuz I think it's hilarious, I have to share this with you. I'm really thinking the coaching team for my marathon training is a bit over ambitious. I got an email the other day that was a "heads up" of sorts regarding a 5K they are strongly encouraging us all to sign up for which just so happens to be sponsored by my high school alma mater, Klein High. This irony, is not lost on me, by the way...I mean I HATED running the mile in P.E. class - it was like the worst kind of punishment EVER and here I am going to pay money to run 3 miles. My oh my how life has changed. Anyway, so the cRaZy part is that the race is on Saturday, September 11th beginning at 7:30am, but my running group is scheduled to run 7 miles that day. So....the email actually stated that it would be interesting to see how we handle racing a 5K after having run 7 miles earlier. Dudes....how much earlier? I mean I am SLOW, so 7 miles is gonna take me over an hour and a half and we have to make it over to the high school in enough time for the race, so what time do we have to start running the 7 and what kind of shape am I going to be in to run the 5K? I can guarantee there will be no PR for this race!!! BUT alas....I'm always up for a challenge and I've already started commissioning (oh wait....there is that word again...maybe I'm not so horrible at it after all) some friends to join me, so BRING IT Klein High!
If anyone else is interested in partaking in this 5K, here is the website: http://bearkatbash.com/. It's $25 and is a timed event with a t-shirt and after-party to boot. Who knew Klein put on such an event?! I surely did not.
I hope I have time to change from my 7-miler stinky running attire to fresh running attire for the 5K. I'm just sayin'...the crowds will thank me.
So I cut up tons o' veggies to bring to work with me for the week when I get the munchies. I tried to commission my mom to cut up veggies for me (I'm convinced veggies taste best when she cuts them up) and then I tried to commission my dad to be a pack mule if my commissioning of my mom worked, but somehow apparently I'm not a good commissioner (which really sucks, by the way). Oh well... =P
If anyone else is interested in partaking in this 5K, here is the website: http://bearkatbash.com/. It's $25 and is a timed event with a t-shirt and after-party to boot. Who knew Klein put on such an event?! I surely did not.
I hope I have time to change from my 7-miler stinky running attire to fresh running attire for the 5K. I'm just sayin'...the crowds will thank me.
Monday, July 26, 2010
And it's official...
I signed up for marathon training!
On Sunday, I went to a Weenie Roast for Team Nam - this is the running group I have decided to train with for the Chevron Houston Marathon. I met a lot of my fellow run-mates and ate a hot dog, some fruit, and cheese (no bun for me because whole wheat buns weren't offered and I didn't bring my own). I'm one of the younger ones on the team, but everyone was so friendly and encouraging that I'm really excited to be a part of this team!
I'm sad that I will miss my first group run - this coming Saturday, but it's for a good cause since I will be in Chicago preparing to do my first half marathon.
Beginning the following Saturday, I will meet up with them at the crack of dawn every Saturday to run, run, run! I asked one of the guys how many miles the full marathoners will train up to and he said in the years past, it's 22, but that my mentor (one of the trainers) was commissioning for the group to push it to 30. I am so not an over-achiever - the 22 will be just fine for me and then the 26.2 come marathon day. There will be no need for 30, thank you very much. I'm starting to get the idea that my mentor is a bit hard core!
Speaking of the Chevron Houston Marathon...registration is tomorrow! Of course, as I have previously mentioned the powers that be decided to make it a lottery system this year, so I won't find out if I actually "won the lottery" so to speak until August 17th. Yes, that's 3 whole weeks of waiting! I will continue with the marathon training regardless of whether I make it into the Houston Marathon or not because my goal is to run a marathon (Houston would just have been ideal). If I don't make Houston, I will seek out another one to run in the early part of next year.
***Don't forget to enter my Bobo's Oat bar giveaway that ends tomorrow at 9pm CST!
On Sunday, I went to a Weenie Roast for Team Nam - this is the running group I have decided to train with for the Chevron Houston Marathon. I met a lot of my fellow run-mates and ate a hot dog, some fruit, and cheese (no bun for me because whole wheat buns weren't offered and I didn't bring my own). I'm one of the younger ones on the team, but everyone was so friendly and encouraging that I'm really excited to be a part of this team!
I'm sad that I will miss my first group run - this coming Saturday, but it's for a good cause since I will be in Chicago preparing to do my first half marathon.
Beginning the following Saturday, I will meet up with them at the crack of dawn every Saturday to run, run, run! I asked one of the guys how many miles the full marathoners will train up to and he said in the years past, it's 22, but that my mentor (one of the trainers) was commissioning for the group to push it to 30. I am so not an over-achiever - the 22 will be just fine for me and then the 26.2 come marathon day. There will be no need for 30, thank you very much. I'm starting to get the idea that my mentor is a bit hard core!
Speaking of the Chevron Houston Marathon...registration is tomorrow! Of course, as I have previously mentioned the powers that be decided to make it a lottery system this year, so I won't find out if I actually "won the lottery" so to speak until August 17th. Yes, that's 3 whole weeks of waiting! I will continue with the marathon training regardless of whether I make it into the Houston Marathon or not because my goal is to run a marathon (Houston would just have been ideal). If I don't make Houston, I will seek out another one to run in the early part of next year.
***Don't forget to enter my Bobo's Oat bar giveaway that ends tomorrow at 9pm CST!
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