Stephanie's Training - Week 5

Training Day #14: June 21, 2010

Today comes on the heels of a very nice, but physically active weekend. We spent Father’s Day weekend camping off the Meramac River near St. Louis to participate in a Katy Trail Father’s Day bike ride. Shawn enrolled the four of us in a 7 mile bike ride (one way) along the Katy Trail from Augusta, MO to Defiance, MO. The event helped support the Siteman Center for prostate cancer research; and, also celebrated the opening of the Katy Trail Loop in Defiance.

Now I haven’t been on my bike much, but wasn’t too awful concerned about the distance. It was more the sore butt thing that had me a little worried. Shawn, of course, being an avid mountain biker before his illness was totally stoked at the adventure. Charlee, also, was excited! She’s taken after her dad in the “biking” category……has the long legs and ‘drive’ for biking. Remi, on the otherhand, well……she’s a biking “newbie”. She just learned how to ride a single speed bike only about a month ago. To which her ‘bikin groovy’ dad quickly updated her to a multi-speed bike only days before our big Katy Trail ride. She was A LITTLE NERVOUS!! And, I, was concerned about her stamina.

Long story short, we….finally….made….it! Shawn and Charlee could have left us in the dust, but graciously waited on us. I could have kept a little faster pace at times, but had to make sure our youngest kept up. :) We rode 7 miles to Defiance, ate some lunch, filled our CamelBaks, and rode 7 miles back to Augusta. I honestly have to say, I couldn’t have done it, physically, if I had not been training for this 5K. I really felt good on the bike (except for a sore butt!) and didn’t feel too winded until the last few yards.

Remi was never happier to see (through dirt, sweat, and tears) the promising site of our minivan. We were on our last nerve with her, but in the end we were SO PROUD!

Now back to the subject at hand, I knew I’d be somewhat tired today to go run, but wasn’t expecting “illness”.

I awoke as usual with the girls to get them ready for summer school. I noticed, that, yes, I was REALLY tired! Everyone headed off and I started my morning routine. I quickly developed an upset stomach, took care of some business, and coaxed myself out the door. I felt kind of puny by the time I got to the gym and convinced myself that I needed to workout, it would just be lower impact today.

I took it easy on the weights and quickly informed Megan I’d be walking on the treadmill today. And, that’s what I did. It still pushed me a little, but I managed a slow 30 minute walk and was quickly on my way home to collapse on the couch.

I felt queasy the rest of the day and took a nice afternoon nap!

Training Day 15: June 23, 2010

Feeling back to myself today, thank goodness! Not a real action-packed workout today.
Weight training is starting to get a little mundane. Not a lot of options to “switch things up”.

Today, Megan mentioned that our treadmills have a program selection for “5K Loop”. She suggested we select that and see if the machine paces us or whether we have to pace the machine. 30 minutes later, we realized we need to pace the machines. They never increased in speed or changed up at all. So we enjoyed an intense “walking” speed for 30 minutes. (Secretly, I was glad:)….I wasn’t quite ready for the 3 minute run/90 second walk that Megan did on Monday).

Oh, well, it was still a good “workout”!

Training Day 16: June 25, 2010

“Stephanie Schultz, come on down! You’re the next contestant on the Price is Right!!!!!” Thank the heavens for “The Price is Right”. That’s what got me through running today (3 min run/2 min walk). It was good to focus on an awesome game show and not STARE at the minutes S..l…o…w….l….y counting down while I’m RUNNING.:)

Today was great! I was very proud of myself! I RAN 3 MINUTES AT A TIME (well, except for one interval), but still I RAN FOR 3 MINUTES……STRAIGHT! That means in a 30 minute time, I ran for a total of almost half that! Sweet!!!

At first my shins and ankles weren’t ready to go, but they quickly loosened up (Although, 8 hours later, they HURT!). My breathing, well, I still need to WORK ON THAT! But, all in all, I DID IT!!

Heather's Training - Week 5

So yeah, that cold? From last week? It stayed. For. Ever. This was a superbly craptastic week. Because of said cold, I decided to forego any training whatsoever. I pretty much did nothing but cough, wheeze and sleep all week. So, sorry, no blog. This does not bode well for next week when I start back up again. I have a feeling it will be brutal. Stay tuned.

Heather's Training - Week 4

Training Day #10 - June 14, 2010

2.46 miles tonight. An ugly 2.46 miles.

I really need to figure out what I’m doing on the days that I feel like a rockstar. Am I eating something specific? Am I getting more sleep the night before? Am I timing my run a certain amount of time after I eat? Am I tying my left shoe before my right? Do I blow my nose before a run?

Seriously, I don’t understand how I can run one day and not feel too bad until the end, and then another day I start out running by wheezing and feeling like I want to pass out. It makes no sense to me. Tonight was a day where it was a struggle to get through. The “new” treadmills were all taken, and I was kind of bummed, because I actually liked the one I had last time. So, I went back to the ones I’ve been using before. I wanted to change up the interval training, but I wasn’t liking any of the next level intervals. I decided to change it manually, which is something I wasn’t looking forward to.

Since I had salsa tonight, I did a quick 2 minute warm up walk instead of 5. I didn’t think to stop the treadmill and then start over to keep better track of my time. I can just run until the time hits 32 minutes, right? Nope. I completely fooled myself into thinking I had 18 minutes left, and then 14, then 10, etc. etc. when I actually had 20 minutes, and 16 minutes and 12 minutes. I was just looking at elapsed time, not remembering that 2 of those minutes were my warm up. Shit. Next time, I’ll need to start over, because my brain does not want to process much of anything while I’m running, least of all figuring out the actual time spent on a training session.

I switched up the interval training, so I walked two minutes, and then ran for 3. It wasn’t too horribly bad in the beginning, but by the end, I was heaving pretty badly. And I’m not going to lie, I was using the treadmill to prop myself up on more than one occasion. It made the running a bit easier, plus it took some of the stress off my shins.

So, yeah, it wasn’t a pretty run and definitely not the most graceful, but it has been the most prosperous. Go figure. I guess I need to be happy to finish, no matter how ugly the run itself is. Maybe one of these days I’ll run like Phoebe on Friends and see how that goes. :)

Unfortunately, the gym was void of anyone entertaining tonight. This disappoints me. While it gave me time to watch the Cardinals demolish the Mariners, it didn’t give me anything to write about. Sorry.

Side note: For the last 3 weeks I have been craving so much sugar, I'm sure to OD soon. I can’t get enough. Brownies, ice cream, cake, pie, cookies. You name it. It’s getting a bit ridiculous. I guess it’s good that I’m doing all this running or it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. But, that means that I’m only burning off the Twix bar I had at lunch rather than burning any extra calories. But, my pants are looser, so I guess I can afford to indulge a bit.

Training Day #11 - June 16, 2010

So, I’m thinking that if it wasn’t for my sister and her motivation, along with this blog, I’d probably have given up by now. Because, seriously. I’m running. Three days a week. For shits and giggles. Most days I don’t actually feel like running, but I don’t want to feel like a loser even more, so I run. I’m also finding that I’m kind of motivating myself. Each run, I want to run a teensy bit farther than the time before. I realize this is the goal, but probably this early in the process, it’d be okay to stay fairly constant, even slowing down a bit here and there. But, I always take the last 5 minutes of my session to try to eek out anything I possibly can. This resulted in me finishing 2.47 miles by the hair of my chinny chin chin tonight. Yep, that’s a whole .01 mile above Monday. Hot damn. But, hey, that’s only .03 mile from being 2.5 miles. And with having 13 weeks left to train, I’m feeling pretty darn good about it.

I continued my 2 minute walk/3 minute run tonight. It wasn’t too bad. I did fine until the last 5 minutes or so, when I was pushing myself the the breaking point. Well, except for the fact that I had to pee. Really bad. At about 10 minutes in, I realized I probably should have hit the little girl’s room after yoga. About 12 minutes in, I started thinking that I really should have gone to the bathroom. 17 minutes and I thought about hopping off to head to the bathroom, but this would have been a bad idea for two reasons: 1) gym-goers are like vultures. If you leave your treadmill for 2 seconds, you have 4 people fighting it out to take it. And 2) I didn’t want to mess up the groove I was in. 23 minutes in, and I wanted to stab myself. Finally I was done and I couldn’t clean the treadmill fast enough. I guess having a full bladder can also be a pretty big motivator to finish a run!

Tonight was a people watcher’s dream. There were so many people to gawk at, I don’t even know where to begin. First there was the husky middle-aged man in front of me in yoga who rocked the splits like a champ. I can’t even do the splits. Hell, I’ve NEVER been able to do the splits. Then there was the old guy behind me who clearly had beans for dinner, because he was lettin’ ‘em fly like there was no tomorrow. And I was none too happy when a few people were looking at me after class. It wasn’t me, fools! It was the old guy with the spastic colon! After yoga, there were the two Jersey Shore applicants lifting weights with enough product in their hair you’d think they were trying to single-handedly sop up the oil spill in the Gulf with their heads, along with wearing black wife beaters, jeans and flip flops. I know you’re just lifting weights guys, but come on....you don’t own a pair of shorts? Then, there was the girl next to me on the treadmill that kept clearing her throat like she was trying to hack up a hairball. This went on for a straight 10 minutes before she left. Come on, chica, get a lozenge or something! Go to the bathroom and hack one up if you need to! And last was the girl on the other side of me running who had on so much perfume, I think she must have made the rounds at the Macy’s perfume counter 35 times. I’ll blame her for the lung constrictions.

I think they’re all equally worthy of a moniker, but I’ll let you decide which one gets it. Any suggestions?

Training Day #12 - June 19, 2010

Ugh. Here’s some advice. Don’t try to run when you’re rockin’ the beginning of a chest cold. It sucks ass. This morning was a struggle for me. For the past 24 hours, I’ve felt a chest cold coming on, but I was still determined to run this morning. Bad idea. I struggled the entire way through it. I did mostly okay for the first 10 minutes or so, but the other 20 were brutal. I did still manage to walk 2 minutes/run for 3, but I was heaving pretty badly. I tried to push through the pain for the remaining 5 minutes, but I still only finished with 2.45 miles. Not horrible, but it wasn’t an improvement from Wednesday. And seriously, it’s the end of June, what is up with a chest cold now? Good grief.

Nothing too exciting happened at the gym today, other than the damn TV on my treadmill is somehow programmed on a timer. During my 40 or so minutes on it, the TV shut off 4 times. WTF? I couldn’t tell how to fix it, nor did I want to worry about it while working out. So, I just kept turning it back on each time. Fun stuff.

Off to pass out now.

Stephanie's Training - Week 4

Training Day #11, June 14, 2010

Shawn and I went on a scenic drive today to check out a used vehicle. (It was kind of a lemon, so the trip seemed somewhat of a waste.) We stopped by Sonic on our way to pick up the girls and enjoyed a “BOGO free” shake! Yummy. :) From there we headed to the rec center to meet with Megan to get our first run of the week in. (Time to burn off that shake!!)

We graduated to a new regiment this week. Yikes! I’m always nervous to start a new interval……means I have to run longer each time! Well, Megan’s IPod was dead, so we grabbed mine/Shawn’s and tried to follow “Week 3”. Not having listened to it before, we quickly got lost and gave up! We decided to make up our own intervals……..run 2 minutes/walk 90 seconds. Again, my legs wanted to run but my lungs DID NOT! I surprised myself and did better than I thought. I gave up early on one interval and finished with 234 calories burned and a distance of 2.34 miles. That’s. Weird.

Training Day #12, June 16, 2010

We were very chatty today! I enjoy visiting and we talked up a storm while doing weights today. But, as soon as we hit the treadmills, SILENCE……..concentrating on BREATHING. :)

Today I decided to try one of those Gatorade Prime drinks. It’s supposed to prime your body for exercise…….full of carbs and several B vitamins. (Hey, they were on sale at HyVee!)

I was proud of myself today. I really pushed and concentrated HARD on controlling my breathing. I made it to the last running interval and had to walk with 30 seconds left! Not so bad!

Today: 2.31 miles and 235 calories burned. You, mean I still have to squeeze another almost mile out! Oh, boy……

Training Day #13, June 18, 2010

Last night was pretty hectic and today even more to prepare for a camping trip. So needless to say I’m less than enthused to go run today. I’m running by myself since Megan and I had different schedules. I headed out shortly after Shawn and the girls left for school. As I was driving to the rec center, I decided after weights I’d run outside (I have GOT to get used to that!). I arrived at the rec center and quickly realized I forgot not only the IPod but also my MP3 player…….no DJ Beatsmith or any other modes of music. Rats! Oh, well, I can manage.

I did a quick weights workout, about 15 minutes, and then drove over to Shawn’s school building. A new sidewalk was installed almost a year ago, from the Elem/MS bldg. to the HS bldg. outside town. The approx. distance one way is 1 mile. I took my car keys in and dropped them off in his office and headed out.

It was a bit close/humid outside but the steady breeze made it bearable. Since I forgot the IPod I decided to have a leisurely run. I started out trying to run to certain landmarks or someone’s house. That quickly progressed to “…..can’t breathe….time to walk!” (I think I’m “allergic” to running outside! Man, its hard!!!) Now I was running north and had the steady southerly breeze to push me along. OK, not too bad. :)

As I’m running, I’m trying to concentrate on my breathing, which was harder with the “heavy” air. I soon realized that I don’t think the “heavy” air was all that was making it hard to breathe in through my nose, but the “aromas” IN the air. Can I just say, “Blllaaaa”! Stinkiness! Whew!

I made it out to the HS and now for the run BACK. Nice southerly breeze soon became my nemesis! Good grief, how do people RUN against the wind! Let’s just say, my running intervals soon got shorter and shorter. About half way through the rest of my run, I quickly realize I need to make a mental note for next time: DO NOT EAT A NEW HIGH FIBER CEREAL THE MORNING OF A RUN!!!!! Enough said! I quickened my pace (only walking the rest of the way) and finally made it to my destination! 30 minutes and not quite 2 miles………

So for next time, when running outside, I need nose plugs and a “John-on-the-Spot”! GOT IT!

Stephanie's Training - Week 3

Training Day #7—June 7, 2010

DEFEATED. That’s how I felt today. With the weather a wonderful 70’s, we decided to run outside today. Great! I wanted to get a feel for the streets. We completed our 30 minutes of weights and headed out the door to run around town. Megan mentioned that she found it easier to run outside and I thought to myself that there would be more to hold my attention OFF RUNNING. Well, let’s just say I was wrong. We took off from the rec center, each of us carrying our water bottles, keys, and Megan—her IPod. It didn’t take long to realize we couldn’t carry everything and since we were running right by Megan’s apartment, we decided to drop off our water bottles. That helped……or did it?! I quickly found that my running stride on a treadmill is VERY different from that of hitting the pavement. I struggled from the get-go! We made it half way through our training regiment (repeating last week’s run 90/walk 2 min---THANK GOD!), and I was huffing and puffing. I mean my lungs wanted to beat me up! We continued on through the streets of downtown to reach our 2nd to last running segment, when I just couldn’t run any more. I had to stop and walk. Thanks to Megan for being patient and looking back to make sure I hadn’t collapsed on the sidewalk. :) At the last leg, rec center in sight, I kicked it in and “baby jogged” my way to the “finish line”, tears starting to form in the corner’s of my eyes. DEFEATED. (Please, let me wallow in self pity for awhile)

Don’t worry there is a “funny” to the end of today’s training. Not only does Heather have a creepy guy at her gym, but so do we. He seems to almost always be at the rec center when we are. He’s a middle-aged man addicted to weight lifting, we believe. He likes to wear the way-too-short biker’s shorts and does a lot of standing and “pondering” between his weight lifting. He also likes to abuse the weight sets…..BANGING AND CLANGING THE WEIGHTS during reps; loud enough we can hear it outside! So our nickname for this gem: “Shorty Bangs A lot”

Training Day #8—June 8, 2010


Today was not my scheduled run with Megan. How I came about running today was to satisfy my husband. After I told him that Megan downloaded our “Couch to 5K” training on her IPod, he began his search to download it onto his IPod (He’s just a TAD BIT of a TECHNO GEEK!). He called me sometime mid-morning and said he found one by “DJ Beatsmith”. The name alone makes me chuckle! Anyways, he was really excited to share it with me and because of the weather, he needed to go to the rec center to ride the bike (He normally rides his bike back and forth from home to school each day—weather permitting.) He wanted me to come with him, so I agreed and off to the gym I went. We agreed I’d pick up the girls from summer school and I’d meet him over at the gym around 3:15. Well, I know my husband and he tends to get held up at school and doesn’t make most things on time. :) About 15 minutes of waiting went by when I finally gave up and started my running. I thought I’d listen to my MP3 player and get started. Well, my running shorts did not have a pocket so I ran my headphone cord up my arm sleeve up through the back of my shirt to keep the cord from getting in my way. Then I tucked that little MP3 player in the waistband of my shorts. They were snug enough, I thought, and should hold it. Once I began my run, and jamming to Cypress Hill, “Insane in the Membrane”, (Yes, old school rap!), I started to notice (as I was jogging) that my MP3 player was shifting! Right. Down. My. Leg. So I’m jogging and trying to pull the cord back up through my shorts to keep my music player from banging against my shin as I’m trying to focus on running! And let me just say, I’m not so graceful on the treadmill when I’m doing anything else but focusing on jogging. I’m lucky I didn’t have a skid mark on my face from falling!

Needless to say, Shawn showed up and joined me. He began and continued with his elliptical bike. I, on the other hand, was really wishing I hadn’t come to the gym. Not having a day of rest really kicked my butt and my “run” was more like a 20 minute walk.


Home to find the Icy Hot!


Training Day 9—June 9, 2010


Today’s training was pretty routine. No falling MP3 player’s, no code blue resuscitation needed, no overly achy joints and muscles. Just a routine day……..which means no big blog drama for today.

Training Day 10—June 11, 2010


Today’s “training day” was up in the air due to some commitments on my part in the AM and Megan’s commitments in the PM. So we didn’t train together today. Megan needed to rest a sore knee and participate in the Relay for Life and I had my aunt’s funeral. So, Shawn and I returned mid-afternoon, in time to pick up our girls from summer school. As we were driving towards the school the illustrious security company called to notify Shawn that the fire alarms were going off at his building (a short FYI: there is MAJOR construction going on over at that building and the fire alarms have been “misfiring” MANY times, so we weren’t surprised or alarmed at this call). Shawn dropped me off at the High School where summer school is being held so the girls and I could walk the mile or so to the Elem/MS building where he needed to go.

The girls and I headed that way, a great warm up walk for me, as we were all headed to the rec center for my run and Shawn’s “bike” ride. We all converged and when we arrived at the rec center, we found the facility rented and unable to work out. OK, well now what……on home we went. In the short drive home, Shawn mentioned it would be a great time for Remi (our youngest, and new to the bike riding world) to try out her hand at her new multi-speed bike (new as in hand-me-down). He suggested we load up the bikes and head back to the HS to the large concrete parking lot. And so, we did, minus my bike. I decided to use that time to run.


I finally got to listen to DJ Beatsmith, although, I should have listened to it before running/warming up to know the “tone” in which to notify me of the switch. But, I managed to figure it out quickly and round and round I went, where I landed nobody knows….Oh, sorry! Yes, it was round and round I ran/walked….ON CONCRETE. That sure does a number on the shins and joints! 30 minutes later and sucking wind, I was glad to be done.


Now I paid close attention to my strides and have to say, it’s going to take me at least an hour to run 3.1 miles! My strides at jogging, most likely are a child’s walking speed!

Heather's Training - Week 3

Training Day #7 - June 7, 2010

2.3 miles in 30 minutes. Booyah! I have absolutely no idea how I did it either. I have salsa class on Monday nights that are pretty intense. They are hour and a half classes that make me sweat in places I didn’t even know had sweat glands. Then, after my class, I practice for a half hour or so with a guy from my class, to go over the moves we learned and in grain them into our heads. So, let me say this again. I spent TWO HOURS dancing salsa tonight. And then I ran for 30 minutes. I have completely lost whatever sense I thought I had. Not to mention that I smell like an armpit. That’s not a metaphor for smelling bad either. I really do smell like arm pit. We learned a salsa move tonight that involves me rolling my head under a guy’s arm as I’m spinning. And apparently I didn’t duck low enough with one guy and my head collided with his smelly, sweaty, hairy armpit. So, yeah, that was a super fun smell the rest of the night.

But, for some wild and bat-shit crazy reason, I ran like I’ve never run before. Usually by about 6.5 minutes, I am huffing and puffing and about to blow the poor piggie’s house down. Not tonight. Tonight I was a rockstar. My walks were nearly runs and my runs were at a faster speed than normal. I’m still doing my 2-minute intervals, and I’ll probably move on next week to something more challenging. But, tonight, I felt great until I had 6.5 minutes LEFT in my run. This. Never. Happens. I do not know what kind of sugar-high/crack I was on, but I like it. I must have more of this.

My feet were starting to hurt near the end, as well as my shins, but for the most part, my body felt pretty good. Better than it has the previous six runs. I hope this is a breakthrough for me, and I will continue to grow from here, rather than this being some freak full moon or something. That would really blow the wind out of my sails.

Time for a shower with lots and lots of sweet-smelling soap.

Note to anyone who ever works out at the gym: Do not, I repeat do NOT take cell phone calls while you are at the gym, unless you are in a far corner away from everyone. I do not care to hear about your baby daddy, your kid who wet his pants in class, that stupid gurlll who stole your man or your boss who’s an a-hole. And I especially don’t want to hear these things OVER the top of the already loud, borderline ear-bleeding volume of my headphones. Nothing is that important that you need to have a conversation while running on the treadmill. If it’s that important, take it outside. Or I will break your face.

That is all.

Mental note: I am totally digging the calorie burn count after each of these runs. And I’m noticing clothes are a bit looser as well. This. I. Like.

Training Day #8 - June 11, 2010

So, yeah, I think Monday was a fluke. At least the mad energy skillz part. I had zero energy tonight. That was probably mostly attributed to the lack of sleep all week and the previous 24 hours of heading back home for the funeral. But, excuses aside, I was pooped. When I got home, I fell asleep upright on the couch while watching tv. I awoke twenty or so minutes later and realized that if I did not get my butt moving, I would never make it to the gym. And with it being Friday, and only running once this week, I wouldn’t get my 3 runs in. Crap.

I again made it to the gym on an off night. Gee, I wonder why 6pm on a Friday night isn’t a hot time for the gym... So, I was able to have my pick of the treadmills again. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m not hating them as much any more. Don’t get me wrong, I do not love the damn things, but they’re starting to grow on me a little bit.

Due the lack of energy, I was struggling, even at the beginning. I just didn’t feel like running. At all. I tried to distract myself by watching tv, but there’s apparently nothing on on Friday nights. I made the mistake of putting Food Network on again, but fortunately, there was nothing too enticing on tonight. This gave me a chance to people watch. I’ve decided that every time I’m at the gym, I’m going to try to pick out a unique individual and give them a name. Tonight it was Combover McStaresalot. He was maybe 5’3”, dressed in Hawaiian shorts and a red wife beater (classy) and balding with a ridiculous comb-over that started from the back and headed straight for the forehead. And I don’t think he was physically capable of blinking. So, he stared at everything. And everyone. He took “people watching” to a whole new level. I would have been creeped out if he just stared at me like that, but I think there was some lint on the floor that kept his attention for a good 7 minutes. Congrats Combover McStaresalot, you’re my first victim.

Even though I felt like those little cartoon mucus people were jabbing the insides of my lungs, and I didn’t think I’d finish my run, I miraculously ran 2.3 miles. I really didn’t think I’d make it. I have no idea how. I guess I have will power after all. Where was this will power this afternoon when I ate two desserts? (That is not entirely my fault. I had already picked up a brownie when my mom informed me they had coconut pie. I had to have a piece of coconut pie and I couldn’t put the brownie back. That would have been rude...right? Right?!!) Good thing I did run tonight. I had brownie calories to burn.

I’m definitely done for tonight. I hope I have more energy tomorrow to complete the week. Wish me luck.

Side note: Hottie McNavy came in runner-up for the naming ceremony tonight. Too bad I didn’t see him first (seriously, it’s too bad I didn’t see him first, because I probably wouldn’t have noticed Combover McStaresalot AT ALL). Must see Hottie McNavy again soon. (He was wearing a Navy t-shirt, in case you were wondering.)

Training Day #9 - June 12, 2010

I am once again a rockstar. Yesterday must have just been a bad day for me to run. I got up this morning and ate a hearty breakfast of eggs before I headed out the door. My gym is only about 4 blocks away, so I walk there as often as I can when it’s not dark or frigid outside.

The end of the treadmills that I usually use were all booked up, so I headed to the other end to one of the free ones. And this one is completely different than the ones I’ve been using for the last 3 weeks. Great, now I have to try to figure this one out. It doesn’t have the preset interval training for times, but it does have a speed interval setting. It took a few tries before I figured out that you put in your total running time, then your jog speed (i.e. walk speed) and then your run speed. You get the job of toggling between jogging and running. There’s no set time limit. I hated that. At first. I am coordinated enough to not fall off a treadmill, but I am not coordinated enough to run AND keep track of the time to switch it. Good grief. (I did manage to get better at this and actually liked the flexibility of it by the end.)

The first ten minutes weren’t too bad. I was able to keep my eye on the timing and switch between the fast walk and run every two minutes. And I was feeling great. No lung constrictions, no knee or shin pain, no jagged breaths. SCORE! However, I did think my treadmill was going to fall apart. As soon as I started running, the thing started shaking back and forth so bad you’d think I was a 400-lb lineman.

I seriously felt great the entire run. No joke. I think that maybe, perhaps, I’m kinda sorta turning into a runner. But, shhh, don’t say that out loud! Who knew it would only take 9 days for me to get this way? I sure as hell never thought it would happen. I feel great about the run in September. If I’m feeling this good now, I should be in tippy-top shape in 3 months....and now I’ve just jinxed myself.

I’m such a rockstar that I even ran for the entire final 5 minutes. Yep, you read that right, I ran 5 minutes straight. Boo. Yah. I never knew I had it in me. I increased my distance again today to 2.4 miles in 30 minutes and with my 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down I broke the 3 mile mark. So, if I can walk/run a 5K in 40 minutes, I sure as shit better be able to run it in 3 months.

My victim for today was Sweaty McGruntsalot. I’ve mentioned him before, but today I got to witness his Awesomeness. This guy is always at the gym. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is or what day of the week. I think he has a slight exercise addiction. But surprisingly he’s not as big as a house. He does however make noises that no human should ever make. He makes noises that you should shield your children from. I find it incredibly difficult to work out when he’s around because I can’t stop giggling. It’s kind of a cross between being kicked in the junk and having the best night of your life. Hence the R rating for your kids. Dude, seriously, stop making those noises. It’s creeping everyone in the gym out. I'm not the only one holding in laughter.

Heather's Training - Week 2

Week 2 - Training Day #4 - May 31, 2010

Ok, so the gym? On Memorial Day? At 8:30 pm? Is kinda creepy. Like stalker serial killer creepy. I wasn’t even sure the gym would be open, but I thought I would give it a shot after my salsa class. (Which totally kicked my ass tonight, so I wasn’t really in the best of moods to be running, but whatever.) The parking lot was nearly empty, so I knew I wouldn’t have any trouble getting a machine. However, I did not plan on the eight or so guys at the gym being the kind of guys you would not want to run into in a dark alley. I know I shouldn’t pass judgment on people based on the way they looked, but I tried not to make eye contact and be on my way.

Most of the dreadmills were available, so I grabbed one near the end and set all my stuff up. I then realized the TV didn’t work. This is a deal-breaker for me. I’ve used an elliptical with a non-functioning TV before and I came very close to stabbing my own eye out from boredom. Fortunately, the ellipticals are positioned behind the treadmills, so I just watched what everyone in front of me was watching. And you can tell a lot by a person by what they watch at the gym. I’m usually watching NCIS on USA, some show on HGTV or the Food Network or the Cards game if I can find it on the damn Charter cable channels (I hate not knowing what channels are what). I find it hilarious when a small petite mouse of a girl is watching Monday Night Raw, and the big tough guy is watching Real Housewives of New Jersey.

But, I digress. That treadmill’s TV wasn’t working, so I hopped onto another one and started up my mp3 player before I chose my interval training. I tend to crank my volume up pretty loud because a) it gets me pumped and b) I’m pretty much going deaf, so I might as well not fight it. My player was just finishing a song from my previous workout, so I was able to hear this horrible grinding and squealing sound before the next song started. I pressed pause and looked around in horror wondering where that sound was coming from. I quickly realized it was MY treadmill making this god-awful sound. No one around me seemed to notice, but it was grating on my nerves. So, I went the NEXT treadmill and started up again. And you know what, it made that same damn sound. WTF? I figured I had already played enough musical treadmills for one night, so I just cranked the volume and pretty much ignored it.

I didn’t do too bad tonight, I even progressed my distance a wee bit. 2.15 miles in 30 minutes, so I’m getting better. I’d feel even better if I was actually running that entire time, but baby steps. About half way through my session, I increased both my walk and run speeds just a skosh, so I could try to squeeze out a bit more mileage. I’m starting to notice that my body can handle the pressure, but my lungs can not. I was not in good shape at all growing up, so I was always winded. Hay fever did not help matters. Since college, I’ve become more physically fit, but still never quite built my lung stamina up. I’ve decided that this is going to be the kryptonite I must overcome.

Mental note: Stay away from the two treadmills on the end. Seriously, do not use them. Oh, and if I cool down and walk pretty slowly for 2-3 minutes after I’m done, I do not get the weird seasick feeling as bad when I get off the treadmill. This I like.

Training Day #5 - June 2, 2010

I was able to get a day of rest in between my two runs so far this week, so I was hoping for some more improvement. This, I didn’t really get. I didn’t get worse, but I ended at exactly 2.15 miles. Again. I even pushed myself the last 10 minutes or so making my walks at almost a run and running my fastest speeds yet. But apparently the last half of my workout didn’t make up for the first half. And this I blame on Adam Richman.

Adam Richman is the guy from Man Vs. Food on the Travel Channel. I was flipping through the channels on the TV when I saw that the episode playing was from when he came to St. Louis, which I hadn’t seen. (If you’re unfamiliar with the show, I suggest you check it out. He eats all kinds of crazy, hot, and enormous amounts of food. And he gets paid for it.) The reason I blame Adam for my lethargy is because I could not stop staring at the food the entire time. I hadn’t eaten dinner yet, as I hit yoga class right after work before my run. I was famished, and Adam was showing me some tender, fall off the bone pulled pork from Pappy’s. And I was literally salivating onto the treadmill. I’m surprised I didn’t start making “nom nom nom” noises. Also, the closed captioning was on, so I was trying to look at the food and read the subtitles at the same time. This is not a great combination while also trying to run. I’m talented, but not that much. I think that while TV is a great distraction for me while I run, any show involving delicious succulent food is a big no-no. I get in some kind of weird food trance and it’s hard to concentrate on what I’m doing.

The majority of my run was without incident. Which is nice, but at the same time it gives me nothing to write about. Nothing witty. Nothing sassy. Nothing entertaining. And no funny story about Sweaty McGruntsalot (who I actually haven’t seen in awhile...if he makes an appearance during one of my runs, you’ll be the first to know).

Oh, I do have a horrible pain in my shin though. I’m thinking it’s from the stress of those damn treadmills. Actually, it would probably still hurt if I was running outside. I think I need better running shoes, but I don’t really want to shell out the cash for it. I may have to if I’m already running into issues on Day 5. We’ll see what a few days of rest does for it.

Side note: I found out that my dear friend Audrey, who I've known since kindergarten, and her sister Kristen are running in the same race Steph and I are. Looks like we're all taking that sisterly bonding thing to whole new level!

Training Day #6 - June 5, 2010

My aunt lost her battle with cancer this morning. My heart goes out to my uncle, my cousins and the rest of my family.

I didn’t want to run today. Even before my mom called me with the news. I was tired and it was an overcast morning. I felt like staying in and watching an HGTV marathon until I started dreaming about back-buttering tile. But, the news spurred me forward. Cancer is an ugly disease and it claims too many lives. I can’t cure it, but I can do my small part to help fund research and treatment.

I took to the streets again. It was a cloudy day so the sun wasn’t baking my skin, but it was still humid. I feel like I need to intermingle outdoor running with my indoor training, so I can get used to terrain and other obstacles. Something has been bugging me this week about my first run last week. I just kept thinking that maybe I was wrong about how far I ran. So, yesterday I drove the route around the neighborhood and back to my house that I thought was a mile and realized that I am a retard. It’s actually 2 miles. So, day 1 of training, where I thought I barely broke a mile? Oh yeah, I broke over two miles. Score. I’m not really sure how I forgot that, but I’m glad I realized I was wrong. So, I took to the same route today.

Other than the humidity and looming storm, I really like running outside. There’s so much more to keep me out of my head. When I’m on a treadmill, I only have the TV and the other gym patrons to keep my mind occupied. If it’s a slow day at the gym, or there’s nothing on the TV (I’m not allowing myself to watch food shows anymore while I run), then I get bored quickly and constantly count down my times. That’s incredibly stressful. When I run outside, my mind is more focused on not being run over when I pass by the alley entrances or crossing intersections, not tripping over where tree roots have pushed the sidewalks out of whack and not smacking myself too hard when I swat at bugs. All of these things make my outdoor running more manageable.

I finished the two miles in just under 25 minutes. I was motivated to continue to run, so I stopped at my house to get a quick water break and mop up the 15 gallons of sweat running down my face. I quickly hopped back outside and continued my workout. I wasn’t concerned with time or distance, I just wanted to make the effort. I kept thinking about my Aunt Gloria and that motivated me to push through the searing pain in my lungs. I thought about my Aunt Dorothy who won her battle with cancer years ago. I thought about my mom who had cancerous skin removed last year. And I thought about the millions of other people in the world who have been affected by this devastating disease. And I thought about the thousands of people who are standing up and doing their part to help out. It wasn’t about how much I ran today, it was about running for those people who couldn’t.

God Bless You Aunt Gloria and Rest in Peace.

Stephanie's Training - Week 2

Training Day #4:

I really didn’t want to get up this morning. I really don’t want to go run. But I also want to get out of outside work for a little while, so darn it, I need to go run! Well, I guess I wasn’t the only one, Megan didn’t want to run either, but like she said, “We’re only hurting ourselves”……(darned track coach of hers!)

So we worked on our muscles again, and then to the treadmill we went. It’s a new week, which means a new walking/running regiment. WHAT! I just got used to the 60/90. So this week, we walk for 2 min. and run for 90 sec. OK, not too bad at first…. The time seemed to go by a little faster….. Wait, I’m sweating. BUCKETS….. I don’t sweat! I have goose bumps when it’s 85 outside…… I’m dripping sweat…. It’s running places I don’t want it to! My lungs are SCREAMING at me….. WHAT! I’ve only run 15 minutes! AAAGGGHHHH!

I have to admit, again, what a mind game running is. Every time I’ve run so far, the last “leg” of the run is the hardest. I have to focus on an HVAC vent across the gym and repeatedly tell myself, “Don’t look down. Don’t look at how much time is left. You can do this! Keep going!” Well, I was screaming at myself by the end of today, “DON”T STOP! KEEP GOING!” Whew……finally……done………when……did…….I …….get……so…..sweaty?..................

Training Day #5:

HIP REPLACEMENT!!!! At my age, well, it was a strong possibility today! Same routine again today. We started with weights for the first half hour and then began our running/walking. I started out OK, but quickly realized I had a catch in my right hip. I thought it would quickly go away during our 5 minute warm-up. Oh, no……it just got worse. I struggled through the discomfort and did a little bit of limping while running. Don’t know exactly how that works. :) I struggled with the discomfort for the majority of our run. I finally got it worked out about the last 8 minutes. Gee let’s not make this a rough day or anything!

Training Day #6:

I actually felt pretty good today! I may be making some headway…… My legs wanted to run today, but the only downside was my lungs weren’t ready to catch up! This is the end of another week. Six days of training down. The training regiment we are using is “The Couch to 5K”. It is set up as a 9 week training process. Well, we are looking at about 15 weeks before our run in September, so perhaps I can convince Megan to repeat this week’s training….NEXT WEEK! We’ll see if I can sway her………

Stephanie's Training - Week 1

Stephanie's 5K Journey:

My first thought on the way out the door to my first training was “What. Am. I. thinking? My body doesn’t run…..never has….doesn’t like it! I’m 35 for Pete’s sake…..it’s going to HURT!” Five seconds later, I’m thinking, “Suck it up! Let’s do this!” Yes, running is a mind game…..for me anyways.

This all began for me a year ago this summer. I was working as a personal aide for a student in 3rd grade. During my time there I really got to know the teacher, Megan Witte. To make a long story short, she set forth a goal to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in St. Louis in honor of her mother. Well, the incentive and push to reach that goal for Megan was set by my daughters fundraising for Megan’s cause. So June of ’09, my husband, my two daughters, myself and my sister, Heather, headed out to cheer Megan on and support, not only her, but the thousands of others there in support of breast cancer awareness. I have to say, it was one of the most inspiring, heartfelt, impacting times of my life.

So here we are a year later, and Megan approaches me that, “…hey, there is another 5K run this summer for Susan G. Komen…….it’s the first Mid-Missouri race held in Columbia………I think I’m going to do it, want to run it with me?” What!? Did I hear her right!? I joked around about it for a couple of weeks, but after talking to her some more, I knew! This was a way for me to make a difference…..to be there for her….to set an example for my girls…..to honor my aunt (a survivor!)…..to set (and accomplish!) a goal……to “step out of my boat”! So, I said, “Yes!” In the meantime I mentioned it to my sister, who accompanied us last year, and she said, “Yes!” Now after a week of training, I think we’re both questioning if we will survive the next few monthsJ

Training Day #1:

I have the incentive and luxury of training with Megan. If she were not running/walking beside me……well, my butt would be doing a whole lot of walking and laughing at the idea of running. It also makes it hard not having my sister to train with also; but, we’re hoping this blog will help keep us both motivated!!

We begin our training with weights. Since Megan has trained for a 5K before, I’m leaving it up to her to tell me what to do. We spend a half hour bouncing back and forth between weight machines, mostly focusing on our legs. I never keep track of reps……I’m too busy talking…….helps the time go by faster. With this being the first day, I had the worst built up in my head. “I’m going to collapse on the treadmill, I just know it!”

After our half hour of weights, it’s off to the treadmill. (Now, I don’t have such a dislike for these machines as my sister does.) Megan advises a ‘warm up walk’ for 5 minutes and then we’re off to walking for 90 seconds then running for 60 for a total time of 30 minutes. “I can handle that!”

At the end of the 30 minutes, almost 200 calories burned, and just a little over 2 miles walked/ran, I was breathing pretty hard, but, to my surprise, I didn’t fall off and collapse!! Woo Hoo! Yes, I know, it’s the first day! I have to say, I feel really good and thought, “This isn’t that bad.”

Training Day #2:

YES, IT IS THAT BAD! That freakin’ treadmill KICKED MY BUTT! I think it had it in for me………really!

My muscles decided to retaliate against me for being so lazy the past few months. I really thought “knee-replacement” was in my future. I struggled through Day 2, but in the end……..well, I was done. Now home to sit and sit some more. Sitting. That’s right: on my butt, sitting.

Training Day #3:

Off to the gym again. Not so motivated today. Still REALLY sore from two days of this. (Looking forward to ice cream later. At least I’m eating it LATER. Wink! Wink! To Heather and Megan……Butterfinger…)

I really didn’t like running today. I had some allergies going on today and my left ear seemed “full”. Well, let’s just say that totally jacked up my breathing. I really felt like I couldn’t breathe deeply, so I kept breathing quickly in and out of my mouth. That was bad. I focused more on that stupid ear, which made me focus on how I needed an inhaler to survive the next 30 minutes………