Tag: running

Body

Still not feeling great tonight. I slept around eight and a half hours last night, before the squirrels woke me*. I awoke feeling much improved, but it still wasn’t enough. I had soup today, and other healthy food, with only a few bites of not-super-healthy stuff. I exercised at midday, then attempted my 1.5-mile run for the karate test this Saturday, which I failed. It had to be under 13 minutes, and I did it in 13:15, and felt like I might actually throw up the cheese stick I’d just eaten. It was so cold when I started, I felt I’d get such without and outer layer of good warmth. That flannel shirt and scarf and gloves proved to be my downfall (on top of the cheese, that is), making me too hot with it on normally, and then being heavy and still-hot when I’d taken them off and just tied them around my waist. I was also still tired as a whole, but extra worn down from the workout at midday (which, by the way, was practically the Murph workout, with a mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and another mile run. We only did 800m runs, instead of the mile on each end, but we added a 400m in the middle, and split the three movements in half on either side of it, doing 50 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, and 150 air squats twice, once on either side of the 400m run. Not an easy workout, even with modifications.). So, it makes sense. I’ll just do it again tomorrow, but normally and much better than today’s run. I don’t typically feel like vomiting when I run, yet I felt that way most of the run this afternoon, and I just felt heavy.

And, tonight, I still feel a bit sick. I was coughing up the occasional bits of icky bogey-like saliva earlier, which supports the ill feelings. So, at that, I go to sleep now. Thank you, and goodnight.

* You see, we have this wooden picnic table squirrel feeder that my man keeps moving around. The past couple days, it has happened to be atop this metal shelf thing outside. So, of course, as the squirrels climb the thing, the bars all jiggle against one another, making the sound of metal pipes bumping each other. Then, once the guys are on top, they then messily spill corn etc. all onto the metal shelf thing, and the lands not just the once on top, but regularly tumbles down to the bottom level or the ground, tinkling all the way on the metal… over and over and over again. Not the greatest to have next to one’s window at six in the morning, I tell you.

10k

Do our run, get an event shirt that’s retail value is only one dollar less than your entry fee. Eat some bananas and RX Bars and churros after the finish line. Do our free yoga class afterward to stretch yourself out, and take the $88 mat you used home for free.

Not bad, lululemon. Not bad at all for your first effort at a run in Houston. We accept ad we thank you for the event.

P.S. My man got himself the fastest time he’s ever gotten on a 10k today, and he didn’t even prep. He signed up late, did a two-mile run earlier this week, and hoped for the best in his shorts, tank top, light sweater thing, and gloves in the sudden near-freezing temperatures. And he did his best, quite literally. Super proud of him, and grateful to have him be with me in this beautiful, wonderful, awe-inspiring life.

Post-a-day 2022

We work out

Today, I pushed myself at the gym, and it worked out well. I wanted to stop during the run, and felt a need to do so, and so I did. I got a sip of water and let my stomach rest, and then went for my final 400 of the mile. It didn’t feel great.

You see, I went at noon with my friend today. But I don’t know how to go at noon. Not anymore, anyway. I just end up messing up my food, and regularly start feeling sick during the workout. Today’s workout involved a mile run, twice. Naturally, I felt like I might puke after only ten seconds or so of running… and do recall that I typically very much like running.

Initially, my left knee and right ankle were feeling a bit rough during the warm-up stuff. So, I used a pvc pipe to roll/rub out the surrounding relevant muscles on my left leg, and a bit on my lower right leg, too. When went to start the first run of the workout, while I was already nervous about the absurd cold outdoors, I was also nervous that I’d have to give up after the first 400m lap, or even soon… as my knee began to hurt, I intentionally engaged certain muscles more in my left leg, hoping that things might warm up and start feeling okay.

And they did!

And the wind was intense, pushing me out of step more than once.

And it started to rain on the second mile run of the workout! Only two of us stayed out for the whole run on the second mile – everyone else went inside to switch to the bikes after the first lap (of four or three).

And the second run actually felt decent. It didn’t feel good, exactly. Not at all. But, on the section in between the runs, I kept having to pause on the Russian twists to burp… a lot. So, I thought running might be easier on my belly after all that burping. And it truly was.

It was a bit of a crazy workout today, what with my body going nuts in a few different ways and the weather going nuts in its ways, but I really enjoyed it as a whole. Thank you, God, for this crazy and wonderful workout and day. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

Embracing the unexpected

Today was the Houston Marathon. Chevron sponsors it now, so, really, it is titled the Chevron Houston Marathon. But I digress. I knew various people doing the half marathon, but I cared most about one family friend who was doing the marathon. This would be his 137th marathon. Last time, I had surprised him near the finish line, cheered him on, and then had lunch with him at one of his favorite restaurants. I aimed to do the same today.

However, I kept checking the tracking system, and he never showed up. Everyone I had been tracking for the half marathon had already finished, and he had yet to begin the race, so far as his tracker chip was concerned. At first, I had expected he might have started late, just because he felt like it, and maybe wanted it a bit warmer. He isn’t going for time, after all; just completion. But, when they were all done and he was nowhere to be found, I had kind of given up on going to see him finish. It didn’t seem he was doing the race after all.

Around noon, I checked my phone one more time, mostly out of habit, but also just in case. To my great surprise – and yet not – he was on there! And not only as having just begun, but at the 18.7 mile marker! I didn’t know what had happened for all the previous checkpoints – perhaps he somehow skipped the mats each time -, but he was certainly on there now. When he hit the next marker, I gauged his timing and got my things cleaned up from cooking, so I could head downtown. I wasn’t sure how traffic or road closures would be, but I had a rough plan that would get me there just in time. Dreadful traffic on the 45S exit changed everything, of course, and I had to change to the backup plan. Turns out, the backup plan should have been the original plan. But, nonetheless, I got to my goal, parked the car, and sprinted to the course.

Long story short, though the tracker estimated that he was not yet to where I was standing, he was just passing out of the intersection as I had arrived to it, ironic as that is. I had a feeling he might have been one of two guys I’d seen over there, but I gave the tracker some faith and waited a couple minutes. However, after two minutes, I was sure that he had to be past me already. Even the tracker said so.

So, I then ran toward the finish line, spirits still high, hopes still up. Alas, I never caught him as I ran alongside the course.

So, I sent him a text. Modern technology is helpful at times, after all.

He called me back, wondering what I was up to, and he was blown away to find out that I was there. We met at an easy point, and I was congratulating him when, suddenly, he tells me that he isn’t finished. ‘What do you mean?’ I ask. Turns out, he is doing the virtual race. He didn’t want to be in massive crowds, so he opted for virtual, started from home when he felt like it, and just joined the course for the last part of the course. However, he ‘finished’ the race at only about 11 miles. He had merely hit pause at the finish line, walked through the convention center, and was wondering what to do with the glass finisher’s mug that had been given to him.

Well, he gave it to me as a present. And he gave me his extra shirt, so he wouldn’t have to carry it for a while. Then he said he’d meet me for lunch in about half an hour.

But, the way he was going and the direction I had parked aligned for a while. So, I ran with him… carrying the glass stein and his extra shirt, of course. Since he was doing the virtual race, and he had turned it back on, we realized that, silly as it may sound, I was running in the virtual marathon with him. Because I was!

And I have the commemorative mug to prove it. ;P

We eventually parted ways, and then met back up for a quick lunch (a quick body charge and phone charge for him!), and he continued on his way home and finishing his marathon.

How silly, right? I knew a good little run would be helpful for me today, what with all the intense muscle soreness that was showing up last night – I seriously had some trouble sleeping, because I was so sore. I hardly expected to end up running a couple miles in the actual marathon. 😛 What a lovely surprise. And I still got to cheer him on while he ran, and multiple times. So, that was really cool. He had always wanted me to run a marathon with him. Now, I kind of have! Haha

Thank you, God and Universe, for the surprising love and joy of today. Thank you. Amen.

Post-a-day 2022

(Yep, still got it wrong…)

“Fit”ting it all in

I had wanted, at the start of this week, tog et in three more workouts before the end of the year. You see, I keep track of when I do them and how many total I have done throughout the year. I started that two and a half years ago when I started at the gym, because I felt it was important data. Sure, you’ve been going to the gym for four years…, but how many times did you actually go to the gym? I wanted to help keep myself accountable as well as see how results lined up with my class attendance.

I keep both count of how many workouts I’ve done per calendar year and per year of gym membership (I started the second week of April in 2019). My first year, I managed 190 workouts, I believe. (It’s all listed on my computer.) Of course, that ‘year’ ended with the gym closing and whatnot with the COVID shut-downs. Then I had major struggles for a while with no gym to attend, and the workouts died away. But, last December, I got myself back at it, after the gym had closed permanently and then re-opened (with higher prices :/…). So, this calendar year, as of Monday of this week, I had done 55 from 1 January to 7 April, and I had done 132 after that. So, I was at 187 for the calendar year so far. I figured, It would be nice to reach a round 90, meaning 190. Still not 200, but I can still make that 200 happen for the gym membership year, which is what matters most to me. For the calendar year, I wasn’t going to be able to make it happen, what with being out of town for moving my grandma last week, and then suddenly having to move myself this week. But I could challenge myself and get that 190 with the remaining days, especially since I intended to be done moving by Wednesday at the latest. (I was clear that I needed all my sleep and energy for moving on Monday and Tuesday, and so was clear that I was not going to the gym early on in the week this week.

But, today, Thursday, I got up (later than usual) just after six and did a running and core workout in the crazy fog and dark that was my mom’s neighborhood this morning. Then, I met my brother on a walk to see his dog again before he left town – yes, all I wanted was to be able to play with and hang out with the dog, but all I was allowed was walking with him twice… so it goes – and walked roughly two miles with them. Then, as a means of heading home after the walk that ended at his dad’s house, elsewhere in the neighborhood, I did the same running and core workout again. Nuts, I know. So, I racked up roughly 9-10 miles today from running and walking. And I could barely hold myself up for the second round of the core work. And I’ve got a blister between two of my middle toes on my left foot, which is annoying but healing somewhat quickly. (Of course, I poked it with my knife, because it was too much with all the fluid in it earlier… Anyway…)

But I’m glad and relieved I managed the two workouts today. And my other brother, who has been very not-active in life lately but who has just moved back from Japan, has agreed to go to the gym with me tomorrow morning. It’s a good 35+-minute drive into town for that, but it is worth it for my brother to go do it with me. I think he could really use the physical workout and the mental and emotional release it has to offer with it. If he ends up liking it, and he finds a place close to the gym, I likely will get him a punch card for him to be able to go several times without the high price tag.

Anyway, I’m excited for him to go with me in the morning. And I’m excited to round out the goal of 190 for the year and 135 for this leg of year gym year. And I’m nervous but glad to be going at all. The past two weeks have been bizarre for me, and I miss my gym and its people and energy and release and health. I don’t know how the next six weeks of my life will look, but I am glad to have tomorrow morning sorted somewhat, and positively so.

Thank you, God and Universe, for the help and support and courage for all of this lately. Please, help me to be Your love in all that I do and in all that I am, as Your creative expression in this world. In your name I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2021

Turkey Day, run away

Today, we ran the Turkey Trot, my mom, folks from my gym, and I. A handful of them ran the 10k, and another handful and my mom and I ran the 5k. I surprised myself.

Of course, it was pouring rain off and on for the start of both runs, but cleared up fully just as the 5k started (at least, until an hour and a half later, when it wasn’t too relevant anymore). I had my running rain jacket on until the start of our run, at which point, as the skies looked clear and the rain had stopped, I tied it around my waist. An annoying appendage for a whole 5k, but it was worth it for keeping my body and hair and clothes mostly dry before the run.

My shoes ended up soaked, but not until about a third of the way into the run.

I pushed myself, and very much so. I have not trained with running, of course, so I had no idea how fast I could go. My ankle bone was out of place only five weeks ago, and has felt still a bit wonky this past month, so I haven’t really been running even in the workouts at the gym lately, and those are just 200-800m runs. And yet, here I was, prepared to walk, if at any point my foot/ankle needed it, running a 5k and giving it my best.

At just about halfway, one of the girls from my gym popped up next to me, calling me a smokes something or other. I, too, had expected her to be far ahead of me, and I had been keeping an eye out ahead for her, just in case I might be able to catch up to her. But she had been behind me for the first mile and a half. From then onward, though, we ran together. Apparently, my presence alone pushed her. Her pace thereby challenged me. And I, even aloud, gave a, “F***ing S—-,” in regards to our gym owner and programmer. He makes some amazing get amazingly challenging programming, and he is always challenging us to push ourselves. Always safely, but truly. And this morning, he was stuck in my head. I felt like a little kid who wanted to make his teacher proud, planning to tell him just how much I had stayed on top of myself to keep it up, lift up my legs more, take longer strides, breathe deeply, and crush it.

And, in multiple ways, I did. He always says that, it we’re throwing up, we’re doing it wrong. So, I limited myself there this morning – I was getting very close to my body’s demanding a vomit, and so shared that with the girl, just to let her know that I might not be able to stay with her. I only got a few meters behind her on the final quarter-mile stretch, finishing only a couple seconds after she finished (which, oddly, was finishing my race a few seconds faster than she had hers, as I began behind her at the start). Regarding results, I looked it up. Had I done the timed race, I would have been ninth in my gender-age category. And that is really cool. What’s most important to me about it all is that, by pushing myself and keeping on top of it and letting go over and over and over again if my mental strains, I ended up getting, without any running practice in the recent past, my fastest 5k time ever. And my EVEN 8:20 splits (8:21, 8:29, and 8:23 to be exact) we’re not only the fastest I’ve gone on a 5k, but the second fastest mile time I’ve had period.

Basically, it was really cool.

After the run, I grabbed some cookies and bananas, and rushed to the kids’ 1k run to see my nephew and nieces finish their run (if they were even there, which they turned out to be, since the rain had cleared up). I didn’t see them run, but I did see them all just after they crossed the finish line, and the point was for them to feel supported, which they did. So, when, upon surprising them with my presence, I congratulated them and offered them cookies and then a banana, too, I think their days were made.

Anyway, the whole affair certainly made my day. And running into two of my old students made it extra-special. My legs are sore, especially my lower thighs. They can really feel my lack of running, I suppose, though they were clearly able to take it, thanks to all the programming at our gym. Hopefully, they’ll feel okay tomorrow!

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving, folks. I grateful for all, and I send out my love to you, whoever you are, whenever and wherever you are. May God continue to bless us all. Amen.

P.S. On the dating app, sometimes guys say that their personal hell is families who do 5ks on holidays. I suppose one for me would be families who don’t. I am grateful for my blood family and my gym family. We were a dream team this morning, k-ing on a holiday, even in the pouring rain. Thank you, God, for these families of mine.

Post-a-day 2021

Volun-cheering

Today was awesome, yet stressful, but both in very good ways.

First, I had an awesome time volunteering with my gym at sunrise for the Bayou City Tri Series 2021 Sylvan Beach Paralympic Triathlon. We had the honor of physically and verbally assisting paratriathletes in their transitions, as they worked toward earning points to be part of Team USA. I think we all look forward to the next such opportunity – it was a blessing and a blast for us all. ❤🤗🙏 💪👊🏻

And it brought me to tears multiple times, it was such an honor to be a part of it all.

It also brought back memories of my many sports volunteering days, and had me wondering yet again if I don’t want to find actual work in that world, somehow… There was a lot that, unfortunately, had not been sorted out properly for the event as a whole – there were other races happening this morning, too. Our little crew took it upon ourselves just to go ahead and handle many of those things, making a tremendous difference for all athletes that were out there racing today. And I enjoyed doing even that stuff.

From there, after the sun was well over the horizon but not all that far up, I headed to a karate tournament that was nearby. It was my first one in roughly 18 years, and my first one ever in the adult division. I was absolutely nervous, but I had all day to get even more so, since my division wasn’t until mid-afternoon. But I had volunteered to take photos, and so I got to enjoy working with that throughout all the kids’ sparring all morning and midday.

I did take a good couple minutes at one point in a private room with myself to talk and make noise and jump and move, fully on my own. And I did give myself close to a minute to go ahead and experience all the pent-up emotion that had been building all day, just a short while before my category was going to be up. (Aka I cried brief tears of stress and anxiety, and let a lot go with them as they lightly tripped out of my eyes.)

I had someone record my match for me, and he did so well enough. It turns out that I actually did better than I had thought I’d done at the actual time of the match. After watching the matches of the adults at the end, the highest ranked individuals, I have been able to see styles of everyone, and how much comfort makes a difference in a match. When someone is comfortable, he or she almost always does very well. When someone is uncomfortable, he or she usually does not very well. That isn’t to say win versus lose – I mean doing well, sparring well, technique-ing well (both attack and defense). Yes, that usually also results in winning, if those are all done well. But it isn’t about winning to me these days, so much as it is about doing well. Winning when doing well, however, just adds to the fun and joy of it all.

I have some specifics on which I want to work – reacting with a point-earning move to being blocked, practicing different point-earning trio combinations, and backward spinning kicks (one would have created a beautiful point today, but I had neither confidence nor comfort in it, so didn’t even consider it – only the video afterward showed me the opportunity [I’d spun and everything, but didn’t even try to hit her with the foot]). Now, just to find the partner to work with me, and the place to do it.

Oh, and this was one of the very few times that I 1)didn’t lose a match at a tournament, and 2)didn’t cry after the match. Good start in my eyes, even just for those two facts! ;P

So, yeah… today was a really great-for-me day, all of its stresses included.

Post-a-day 2021

Baseline

I did the baseline for my fitness test today. And I was rather at my worst. It hadn’t been long enough since I had eaten, so the running portions had me wondering all throughout them if I weren’t going to hurl on the street. I started menstruating right in the middle of it all, and had to use the bathroom quickly during one of the rest times – talk about being exhausted on the first place, with all the menstruation prep that’s been going on in my body. It was mid-afternoon in Houston, Tx, right near the start of summer – temperature was 86°F with a feels like of 93°F. Plus, the entire running section had almost no coverage at all from the sun, so I was running on bright concrete in full, blazing, direct sunlight. Talk about hot. And then, I had some measuring difficulties with both runs, thinking I had reached the end of the run, then suddenly realizing I hadn’t, and having to jump back into the run to finish it. That added annoying time to both runs, which are judged by their times, by the way.

So, I was miserably tired, undigested, out in the stupid afternoon humid heat of Houston, and I messed up my measurements twice, adding time to my runs. Plus, I had an improved setup for the sit-ups, but I only have 15lb dumbbells, and, though they helped significantly in helping hold my feet in place, they moved around a whole lot more than a human’s knees and hands pinning down my feet would have done.

And yet… I still only had the push-ups as my one area that didn’t pass the test. And that already was 100% expected to be an area that didn’t pass. But all the other areas, despite my being at my worst, still passed! And, if I had gotten the bare minimum requirement for the push-ups, my scores were high enough that I would have passed the entire test.

And so, my training began this evening for my push-up preparations. I obtained coaching from the gym owner on Saturday, as to how to proceed regarding my terrible push-ups abilities. And I put those plans into action today. I need to be able to do 20 push-ups comfortably for me to be satisfied for this test, but I technically only need to move up from ten to 14 as my baseline. Nonetheless, that’s a 40% increase. And my goal is actually a 100% increase… but I know I can make it happen. The only question is a matter of how long it will take.

Also, separately, now that I have these specific fitness goals towards which to work now…, what are my financial gain goals towards which to work right now? Because those have an absolute max of three more weeks to get sorted for, at least, the next four months.

Post-a-day 2021

Training

Just because I’m reading David Goggins’s stories of doing intense physical training, I have found myself feeling like I were doing intense physical training.

But I’m totally not.

Right?

Sure, I’m doing the workouts at the gym 4-5 days a week, weekdays at 5:15am, Saturdays at the 10:00 class (because there isn’t one like it earlier). But that’s it, right? I guess I am training for Murph for Memorial Day. That’s usually once or twice a week. It is actually a rather intense run with a weighted vest, where I do between two and four and a half miles. I end up sore for days afterward, every time I run, and almost all over my body. I’m at the ten pounds now, and am considering finding a way to get it to 16.4 before the end of the month, even though the weights don’t come in increments to allow that very easily.

But that might just need to wait for next year. I am into this Goggins approach, but only to a degree. I want to take care of my body more than I want to push it at far as it can go. The 40% Rule is great, and I’d love to increase myself to 50 or 60% more often, but, more than that, I want to increase significantly what my 40% is in the first place. I want my 40% to be what my 100% would have been in the past. I like to be strategically smart and safe. I will get things done, but I always will be strategic and safe about doing so.

On that note, I must sleep, as the gym awaits me early in the morning.

May the fourth be with you all. 😉

Post-a-day 2021