New PR in the 5K!!

On Sunday, David and I ran the Calgary Marathon's 5K race. David kept me running the entire time and we finished in just over 33 mins - about 40 secs faster than my last 5K race. Considering I've been sidelined with my back injury since April, I'm pretty impressed with myself! heheh

Candice qualified for Boston and improved her marathon time by 18mins! I'm in awe. She killed the qualifying time of 3:45 by coming in at 3:27! WHAT? that's incredible.

Next up is the "Betty's Run for ALS". It's an 8k race. I'm a little worried, but figure that if I don't think about it too much I could probably be okay.

I've decided that I will attempt the Calgary Marathon next year after the Bermuda race - why lose momentum, huh?

Hope you're all good and we'll be posting more soon! xo, h. and yes, Nat, I'll come back to yoga this week :)

Finally feeling better...

So the dress fit for Lise's wedding! whew. I did those Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout dvds, plus my running. Not only did I win our work's biggest loser competition (won about $120), but I fit into the dress. Now, back into the running business.

Next Sunday I do another 5K run - Candice rejigged my race plan to adjust for April & most of May's "relax the back" effort resulting from the car crash. I am very excited to get back into the routine of it all. Get this - I'm even considering signing up for a full marathon a year from now in May of next year!

Bernie is great and says hi to everyone. He has not yet eaten anything of importance (knock on wood). We had professional pictures taken of the little monster so I'll post those on FB shortly.

love to all!!!
h.

Cranky, cranky...

In an effort to fit into my bridesmaid's dress, I've decided to take a drastic, albeit ridiculous and unhealthy approach to losing weight: basically starving myself. I've never done this before and believe me, it sucks. I've only been doing this since Tuesday and it's not too bad - I am eating some stuff, a lot of celery, some oatmeal in the morning, soup for lunch and more flavored tea than I care to ever drink again. I fell off the wagon a bit last night - we went to a housewarming where I indulged in some appetizers and white bread and a glass of wine: the most food I've eaten in four days in one sitting. I cannot believe I'm doing this.

I've lost 6 pounds in a week and a half and at least two of them are from this crazy eating idea. don't fret, dear friends, this will be OVER next saturday. I only have an inch left to do up on zipper.

I am one cranky lady today.

This sucks!!!

Month 4
Mood: irritated/semi-defeated/cranky

Apparently the accident happened at the right time - any sooner, and I would have likely given up on the whole Bermuda Triangle dream. And later, and I wouldn't be able to finish the long-distance training. I am still very upset about not being able to run - I've been losing weight and feeling so much better and then BAM! sidelined. Plus I really wanted to win the Biggest Loser contest at work, but that doesn't look like it will happen either.

The drugs that my doctor gave me have little affect - naproxin is supposed to be a really good anti-inflammatory and Flexoral as a muscle relaxer. I took four of the later at one time on Sunday and it hardly made a difference... but I did sleep Sunday night ;)  The need to self-medicate has never been higher. I think all the pills are giving me a sinus infection or something because I can't hear out of my left ear. I'm a mess.

Went for accupuncture this morning. It always messes me up - afterward I feel drunk, or out of sorts. Maybe I"m just really relaxed. Working from home today because I can't really sit, and my work tends to be all over the place and moving about is just too much right now. I can't even lift the puppy (Bernie) over the baby gate without screaming. I do find that if I hold my breath when exerting myself the screaming goes away... hehehe.

Still limping about...

So training has taken a back seat - since the accident I've been having serious lower back pain. I've run twice in two weeks and I'm feeling the effects. I ran some intervals yesterday - today I can hardly move. The Dr gave me some anti-inflammatories and some muscle relaxers (which are lovely ;)) but I'm still having some serious twinging when I move.

so stupid. I don't think i'm going to run the 10k on Mother's Day and Candice mentioned that we could find another 10k later. I may just run one more 5k before then just to see if I could run the whole thing.

I have to start a weight program soon. ugh.

more later in the week - I'll let you know how I'm doing... xo, h.

And the car went CRASH!!!

Was heading to a funeral to support a friend when I got distracted by my phone and printed directions and slammed my car into the back of a dodge pick up. Crumpled the hood and exploded the windscreen washer fluid thingy. AWESOME. First accident in 21 years of driving - thank god for accident forgiveness!! Okay, one note to save myself a little: my car has Microsoft Sync and Bluetooth, so i wasn't on the phone, so much as I was just talking to Charity using the super hero powers of my now smashed Knight Rider car. I'm really lucky no one was hurt and have learned a huge lesson this week... PAY ATTENTION.

This happened on Monday night. It's now Wednesday and can't turn my head to the left, and hardly to the right. I went to pick up a rental car, but my Visa got declined (because Visa thought I wasn't me - apparently they thought I'd NEVER need to rent a car) and I got frustrated and left. ugh. I'm feeling okay, minus the head turning bit, and my pride is as bruised as my chest from the airbag. Yep, hit so damn hard, the airbag went off. Funny thing - I didn't even notice until later.

The cops felt bad for me and were very helpful. I think because I didn't try to blame anyone else other than my own stupid self, they let me off with a $100 fine and 1 demerit point. Usually, I would have gotten a $500 - $1000 dangerous driving fine, and 3-5 demerit points. so it could have been worse. The lady that I hit didn't have her shit together either - no insurance, expired license, etc, etc. I think the cops were just grateful that I wasn't being an idiot.

Oh the other funny thing is this: My driver's license says "Heather Donnelly", my insurance says "Heather Donnelly Karp" and my registration says "Heather Karp". The police didn't care. I was freaking out thinking they were going to arrest me for being lazy. hehehe - silly me, you can't get arrested for being lazy.

Oh one more funny thing: you know how I mentioned that I was talking to Charity when this happened? She was on her way but stuck in traffic kilometers behind me. She was calling to find out what to to - turn around or just show up late to the funeral. My accident made her even more late ... the gods were against us. One day, we will all get together and laugh about this - how stupid I am for doing four things while driving.

I haven't run since Sunday when I ran 25 mins straight and it was easy. EASY people. I'm going to run tonight if my neck improves. I've signed up for a 10 Km on mother's day - and Lise's wedding is the following weekend. The 10k is sorta freaking me out - I'm not sure how I'm going to finish that one, other than to walk a lot. Candice is going to try to run with me which would help, but I don't want to count on that. I have to get my head to just align with my body and run the stupid thing. then I'm half way there - the half Marathon is 21kms. Can't believe i'm at this point already - convincing myself to run a 10Km would have seemed ridiculous two months ago.

I'm starting to get compliments on the weight loss, although I don't notice it much. I like that my face seems thinner, but when does my ass get skinny? huh? when? that's when I'll be happier ;)

chat soon!! xoxo, AND PLEASE drive safely, sans phone, sans paper directions, sans distraction.
h.

Second Race Complete! and a new PR!!

Ran the CBI Hustle for Hunger 5k yesterday with my friend/coworker, Jessica, and we did amazing!! well, I did amazing... she slowed down for me and actually kept me running - it was awesome.

the deal with Candice was this: I had to run at LEAST 20 mins straight and for every minute after the first 20, I could have a treat of my choice (I chose Easter Cream Eggs, of course). the day of the race, I got up early and had breakfast with Don and then headed to the race venue (downtown along the river). When I got there, Jessica found me and we paced the inner sanctum of Eau Claire Market. Lise and Dan even showed up pre-race to wish us well! how awesome is that???

We ran the 20 minutes, no problem. then we ran another 3 mins (Jess has this belief that you can do anything for 2 minutes. My watch doesn't do 2 mins, so we did our thing for 3 minutes). At 3 mins, i had to walk because I needed to blow my nose. gross. and no, i didn't pull a farmer blow - i brought my kleenex this time. Let's all give a whoot-whoot to the race kit.

After that minute, we ran the rest of the way ... I think. I'm pretty sure we did, but I'm second guessing - Jess, did we walk another minute somewhere in there? whatevs. it was awesome. We sprined the last 40meters or so and finished up at 33:54 (jess) and 33:56ish for me (my time wasn't on the official list). it felt great. So mileage is going up hard starting this week - I have a 10k scheduled for the second week of May. yikes.
So thanks to Jess for coming out and making me book it. Happy Easter to everyone. I gotta go feed the puppy. he's a biter! xox from Bernie.
h.

And progress continues...

Hello again, This has been a pretty good week. I lost another 2 lbs and am feeling so much better. I run my second race this Sunday - another 5km. The deal is that I have to run for at least 20 mins without walking. For every minute I run after that, I get a Cadbury Easter Cream egg. I figure I could rock out  26 mins. ;)

We're getting a dog this weekend too - a yellow lab who we may MAY name Bernie. We'll have to see though. I'm starting to feel a little bad for Rossy & Stuart who are going to be devastated by this new little monster.

Have a great Easter weekend! Enjoy your chocolate and pray for my EasterCreamEggs :)

xoxox, h.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I worked out twice today. Once this morning at 5am on my regular schedule - 3.3 miles, doing 6 mins of running, one/two mins of walking. THEN... THEN... this afternoon Candice kicked my butt on our monthly fitness test. She wants to see my progress so we meet monthly and go for a run/torture session.

We did the stairs at crescent heights. There are 200 steps. they go straight up. They are miserable. I did this twice, not allowed to hold onto the railing and not allowed to stop. i stopped once. and held onto the railing once.

And i blew my nose like the 'farmers'. it was horrible. Candice said I could snot like that anytime as long as it wasn't toward her.. hehehe

so I'm exhausted. and yes, this is two posts this week.

Feelin' good...

I lost 3 lbs this week. This biggest loser competition is actually working - i'm starting to feel guilty whenever i'm about to eat something bad for me ... and 60% of the time, the guilt works! who knew?  I'm running 4 x a week and need to figure out a new strength training program since I havent' done much since before the Olympics (sorry Candice, but you knew that i suppose).

Candice and I have our first "fitness test" tomorrow afternoon. should be interesting considering it's snowing right now and we're expecting 17 degrees tomorrow (welcome to Calgary weather). how screwed up is that?

I have to run tomorrow morning too since I didn't finish today's workout. Headache, combined with uneasy stomach and laziness made for a crappy 5am experience. I ran a set and a half and decided to stop. and it's my easy day. I should have sucked it up and finished.

Ok, off to finish dinner! hope all is well with you guys!!!
h.






 

It's time to say thanks!

Weight: probably the same
Mood: super woman

I just ran outside for 10 mins straight without stopping and at the end of the run, I thought I could have gone faster! last week during the race, I would freak out when ever I ran 5 mins straight without walking. Today I just passed a huge hurdle/milestone. so thanks!

Thanks to Candice for telling me to stop freaking out and just do it. I can't believe I'm at this point. It's been almost three months and I haven't given up. i think the support my friends are giving me is actually making me successful. Plus Candice's crazy training plans - don't even get me started about yesterday's run. It was miserable, but I did it, and that's the point. Oh and speaking of hurdles, on my treadmill yesterday I forgot to bring a towel downstair and had to blow my nose into my hand and wipe it on my pants. Lululemons. Will never wear them again. They lived a good life. how disgustng, and yet, how Ironman of me!!! hehehehe oh. gross...

I need new gear - suggestions would be lovely. I'm also thinking of moving my blog onto Wordpress.com so that you don't need a specific email addy to leave messages. I love your messages, by the way, either on the blog or in emails - I like that you're paying attention and really wanting me to be successful!!!

As Hannah would say, Loves ya!!! xoxox, h.

First Race Down.

Weight: about 6 lbs lighter
Mood: "I raced yesterday (Yawn), what did you do?" smugness.

Yippee. Ran my first 5k yesterday - the St. Patrick's Day race - and finished it. I think I walked too much and finished in just under 37 mins, which is slow, but again, finished it. David and Chad were there to run along with me, as was Daran and his son - and all of his smack talk. Made me giggle when he asked me to pee in a cup to check for performance enhancement drugs. The only performance enhancers that are in my system would be a Tim's Double-Double and maye some banana bread. Hardly controversial.That said, the race was full of very serious runners and tri-clubs. They haven't eaten carbs or coffee cream in a long time. I'm sure they'd throw me out if they knew...

They all had matching jackets/shirts. Candice and I think we should get some of our own (not the Bermuda Triangle Challenge shirts - those are for me, Lily and Charity and maybe Lothar). I thought it'd be funny if our logo was "<> Racing Team - Almost as fast as our internet". tee hee. We'll see if we can do it.

I'm sore today, but not without a certain sense of accomplishment. Met Aman for a movie this afternoon and she commented that I'm looking thinner. gotta love her. I made her say it four times. :)

My bronchial cold from last week reared it's ugly head during the race which made me reconsider my pre-race ritual. I will be packing kleenex, my own damn water, bobby pins and hair bands for the next one. I wanted to barf about 3.5 kms into the race - I was coughing up stuff no one ever needs to see - hence the kleenex. My iTouch was a little helpful - but I need better earphones - suggestions, please. I'd like to thank Lady Gaga and Ke$ha for getting me through the trauma of being passed by a 10k racer at the 4km-ish point. I'm not kidding. those suckers are fast. Going back to the water comment above... I need to practice running and drinking from those little cups. ended up spilling most of it all over myself. HOTNESS. or HOTNE$$ :)

The winner of the 5k won in 16:37 mins. that's about 20mins faster than me. It still makes me giggle quite a bit. I just want to make it under 30 mins - and I think I can. so there.

Next up: running 4x/week. And the CBI Hustle for Hunger on April 4th - another 5km race. Jessica is running with me and I'm pretty sure I can get Chad & David to come along too with the promise of another race shirt. Race Shirt Sluts :)

Adios for another weekish. h.

First Run is this Saturday

A bit freaked out that I'm running my first race this coming weekend - it's only a 5k,  but I'm still nervous. I think the pants are getting looser - I did officially lose close to 5 lbs over vacation. A bit of bronchitis is always a good thing to kill your appetite!

The running hasn't been so good - given the sickly grossness of phlegm, but i'm still committed to doing this crazy race year thing. I am looking forward to fitting into my true religion jeans again. have I mentioned that before? I also bought the biggest loser last chance workout which I'm going to try tomorrow morning - I'll let you know if it's good or crap.

The olympics were incredible! Vancouver was so much fun. We may follow the Olympics every four years now - Don was hilarious - like a kid, really. (I know, you're thinking, heather, he's always like that, but this was heightened, if you can imagine!!!).

Revelstoke is not a ski hill for the faint of heart. I was not really happy with the the pitch of that mountain - and it's not marked very well either. After one day of what I was told were blue runs (they seemed more black to me), I decided to sit my coughing self in the day lodge and read. Could you imagine if I fell and broke my leg or arm and I'm three months into this running business? I am pretty sure a lot of people would not be impressed.

k, off to get ready for work. Miss hearing from you all - will post a funnier blog soon!!! xoxox, h.

Week Six: Why aren't my pants any looser? huh? why?

So reality check at the Dr's this week (went to inform her of the Pars Defect, to which she rolled her eyes and told me to go back to my regular chiro, the (and I quote) non-voodoo chiro, hehe). It made me chuckle. She observed that I seemed thinner. So I asked to be weighed. I jumped up, pumped, no.... PUMPED to brag that I've lost 10 pounds. Once again, reality bitch-slaps me: I have gained 7, SEVEN pounds since July. Seriously. My doc immediately went into the 'walk-her-off-the-ledge' speech. And this happened on my 37th birthday, of all days. feelin' like a big failure, but you know what? screw it - I'll lose the weight once I get to the bottom of my caramel filled hersey kisses (CM is eating most of them anyway and she could use a carb or two...)

Let me make one thing clear: the goal is to run the three races, redefine my life, and be a size 8 again. Emphasis on the size 8. Maybe even a size 6. I have a small fortune in designer jeans and Nanette Lapore suits that are craving attention in my closet. I will fit into them once again, and once I do, I'll probably donate them, cuz ya know they ain't stylin' no mo'... I'm so ghetto fabulous.

I'm running my intervals at 4mins running/2 min walking, about five times now. I will do 40-60 mins of cardio three days a week, plus a little strength training (which I really don't enjoy, CM). I prefer cardio over weights and rolling around on the floor doing abs any day.

Okay, ladies, i'm in week 6. CE is still planning on coming with us, Mz LA. She will not beat me. DO YOU HEAR: I will not be the last of the three of us bitches. :) loves ya!

Dinner's ready - timer just went off on my "I'm such a runner" watch that CM gave me for my bday (so loving it!!!). I take my pulse randomly during the day - especially during meetings that may be about stuff that is not so enticing (you know, the ones discussing the issues that you know the answer, but you can't just come out with it, because people won't learn how to think for themselves so you just lead them and hope the epiphany comes before your death? So how do you handle these meetings? Freak people out by taking your pulse, noting it in your notebook and telling people you have to for your training plan or CM will kill you. breaks the monotony of one hell of a dry meeting about Enterprise Analysis. that, and carry a potato. we'll try that one in March.
xo, hld

What the H is a Pars Defect?

So I went to a new chiro yesterday. I had some xrays done on my back and I have a 'Pars Defect'. it's a small fracture on my L5 vertabrae that causes my pelivic bone to slip forward and give me some serious pain. WTF.
Awesome. She told me to keep running for now in intervals so that she can see if it will help or exacerbate the issue. Mildly freaked out, but I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear her and everything's okay. After all, denial makes the world go 'round, yes?

On a similar note, this week really sucked. i haven't been feeling well, have been wickedly tired and just crabby. I cannot wait for our vacation in two weeks - off to the Olympics we go! I found a gym nearby our place in Vancouver and we'll be doing lots of skiing & lots of not thinking about work or real life. should be fantastic!!

xo, h.

Week Three: Still working...

Weight: my pants aren't as tight
Blisters: Gone (thank god, they were gross!)
Public Farting Instances: 1, maybe 3
Mood: Committed, bitches

So I haven't missed a workout yet and thank god, since CM said she'd drop me like last year's ruffle skirts if I gave up. What a hard ass. (Where ruffle skirts in last year?).

This morning, I was up at 4:45, running then strength training, then shower, then off to work. By the time I got to my desk, I was already awake for three hours. that's gross, but I hardly noticed it. Maybe it's because I get to watch Much MegaHits and random TLC as I run - which reminds me that I must get another PVR! The random videos give me some street cred with the bball team as I can sing along with them while they're on their ipods. I really must say that the 'headphone' generation is irritating at times. Sometime, I will yank the headphone cord out of their ears just to see if they'd deflate like a rubber dingy. that would be funny. :)

So this week was the first time I felt like I'm making progress - my legs don't hurt as much, nor do they feel like 500 lb buoys hanging from my hips. the stretching must be helping. The other funny thing is how my cats love to watch me. It's as if they're thinking "What the hell is she doing? Doesn't she know that she could be in bed right now?" Rossy, the orange one, tried to hop on the second day and went shooting off the back of the treadmill. I think he liked it which makes me nervous. Oh he's so cute and so stupid.

I signed up for my first race in March - the St. Paddy's Day Race. I'll be running the 5km. CE has signed up to run too - not sure if DC will join me (he's not a fan of cold weather running). My ignorance is helping as I doubt I'm much of a cold weather runner either. But who really knows??? Ignorance is bliss - please start praying for a Chinook. If it's raining and snowing or minus 50-stupid I'm going to be severely bitchy. Bright side: It is a St. Patrick's day race, and I bet there will be beer.

A good day at work was followed by a bad one today and I ended this crappy 8 hour block with a session of yoga, led by my good friend, Nat. She's incredible, and incredibly bendy. I'm not. But I'm funny. and I farted. it was embarrassing and then the lady beside me fell out of her pose, giggling. I apologized and she said that she had just farted too. Welcome back to yoga, Gassy. I'm going to yoga hopefully once a week if I can swing it. It's a mysore practice - not instructor-led, but led at your own pace. I think I could stand to be a little more bendy. And I'll get to hang (& fart) with Nat.

I've heard that perhaps the Bermuda contingent is betting on whether or not I'll stay committed to this thing. I find this very amusing and encourage the betting process to continue because it's unlikely i'll win any race money, and making some cash back is an enticing idea. I wonder if I should go offline around, say August, and not say anything. just show up the week before the race and collect the cash.... ??? hehehe I think that's awesome. I sent a calendar of my training for the year to LA via a mutual friend (she'll get it soon). LA, if you're reading, put that calendar on your fridge, and remember that I am not giving up so easily this time. I really can't believe I'm three weeks in already.

Apparently CM thinks I should update the blog more often. So I'll commit to once a week going forward, k? Odd random moment: both my cats are on the window sill staring at me. I'll put money that they are thinking "Does she know she could be in bed? What a moron!" And with that, it's off to bed .... nitey nite...

The First "Really" Week of Training

As CM said, do exactly the opposite of what you did before. This morning, I got up at 4:50, ate a banana, went to my basement and worked out. I did my running per CM's training plan and attempted to get through the strength program twice. I was almost successful. I got super nauseous and weak half way through my second interval of strength training. So I went upstairs, ate some dry cereal and drank some apple juice and waited. Then the chills started.

The husband's been fighting strep throat since NYE. We canceled our party and stayed in bed. Perhaps I should have stayed in a different bed. I'm really hoping this doesn't become strep in my first week. That said, he felt way worse than I do today, plus I've been popping a load of Cold FX - let's see if it worked.

My sister and her brood were here over the weekend - B, the five year old, played this 'game' where she would stand in front of us and declare a winner. Actually, she'd just nominate one the "the winner" and then pull the winner up 'on stage' to congratulate him/her. We didn't win anything, except the jeers of the 'audience', namely, K & S. B would then state, "And now it's time for me to announce the Really Winner", and she'd pick one of my cats (who were not impressed - just sayin').

B's story has nothing to do with running or the Bermuda Triangle, but it did give me a funny title for the post. So there.