Math Challenged

Ok....was just pointed out to me that August 30 - September 13 is NOT one week.... DUH!

So....TWO....TWO weeks until our first offiical training run for the half marathon...

IDIOT!

One Week to Go!!

One week from today will be our first "official" training run for the half-marathon.  Ok...so our first "official" run is only 5k... which is no different than any other weekday run at this point.... but still....it is the first day we'll be doing it as part of our "Advanced Beginner Half-Marathon Training".  Yikes.  Let the torture begin...

Getting Closer....But Not There Yet

Well, my quest to complete a 10k in under an hour has gone another month without being achieved....and I thought I was going to throw up today I was running so hard at the end...ugghh...

Getting ever closer, though:

Goal is still make it in under an hour at the Blue Heron 10k....if not before...  Damn you, 10k...I WILL win this one!!  ONE DAY!!!!

Sooo...out for a walk after work today with Lana and Colleen....following the usual route along Rotary Trail...heading through Kinsman Park....when something caught my eye and struck me as funny. You may recognize the sign in the picture below from an earlier post...with a few minor changes... I mean, usually I am not a supporter of defacing property...in all honesty I've kind of turned into one of 'those' people who gripe about kids these days and their lack of respect... (gahd I'm old!)... But seriously...how do you NOT get a chuckle out of THIS:

So, I guess the moral of the story is...if you're a defacer of property with a sense of humour and decent spelling capabilities....I'm kinda ok with that! 

You MIGHT be obsessed if....

Ok yah....so the mould thing continues... The more that gets ripped out, the more there is to rip out.  Should have a totally new house by the time its done....Won't be able to afford to live in it...but new all the same...

The huge issue is the sore throat, headache and stuffy nose I've been experiencing the past few days.  All mould related I'm sure.  As I told a friend of mine today - "I start official half marathon training in 3 weeks...if it gets into my respiratory system and interferes with that I am going to be PISSED"!  "Oh", she said "So, who cares about your health in general - it's whether it interferes with running or not?". 

Huh...when did I become THAT person?...  Oh well...I'll still be pissed if it messes with my half!

No, No...I Said a FUN GUY....

So, been a bit of a slacker exercise-wise this week.  I still went to the gym every day at lunch and ran Wednesday morning and this morning (5k) but only made one walk.  Being back at work put a big crimp in my exercise dedication....

Another thing that has thrown a bit of a wrench in things is coming home to see how my bathroom fixes were going only to find that the bathroom is FULL of mould.  Lovely black, disgusting mould.

Yup....that happened... So, instead of a walk tonight, I donned a smelly protective mask which made my hair stick out like Bozo the clown and pulled staples out of the studs so we can hang new drywall.... The mould on the remaining wall board has been sprayed with a mould killer...we'll see in the morning whether it has worked or if we're replacing that wall as well....

Leave it to me to ask for a fun guy.....and get fungi instead :(

Busted by the Plank Police

So...I believe I have mentioned the #PlankADay twitter thing that I thought would be a good idea to try.  You simply aim to do one plank a day - holding it for as long as possible - EVERY day.  Then you send out a tweet letting other #PlankADay -ers know that you've completed yours.  Seemed harmless...  Then one day I received a notice that I was being followed (on Twitter...not for real) by @PlankPolice.  Seriously?  The Plank Police?  There's some pressure...

So, cut to Monday.  First day back to work.  A little disorienting...I was a little tired...  I still completed my planks....but I forgot to send out a tweet...  Tuesday at work it dawns on me so I send a delayed tweet:

 Whew!  Safe!  No worries that the Plank PoPo are going to be after me, right?  WRONG!  I received a tweet back:

SERIOUSLY!  A penalty plank!  Sheesh!

But, yup....I did it... And dutifully reported in....I'm such a sucker...

Cute? NOT!

So, I'm back to work after 3 weeks holidays.  Work has been..ummm....well lets just say there has been stuff that's happened that doesn't make it my favourite place to be right now.  Nothing major...just have my nose out of joint a little...  So, being back at work doesn't thrill me... I decided I needed a pick-me-up.

On our trip to Wallace, Idaho - we shopped at Kohl's in Hayden....I found a dress I absolutely loved and had to buy...  So, I thought I'd wear it today...If I look cute - it will make me feel better, right?

So, I arrived at work....super cute dress...strappy high heel sandals, feeling pretty darn good about myself.  Sit down at my desk for a bit...then got up to do something and noticed something on my chair.  What was that!?  Suddenly I remember....the backs of my thighs are peeling...because I am too much of an idiot after almost 40 years to have actually learned how to prevent that!  Uggh...   Whatever...I'll just sit a lot of the day...which means, really, no one will see me in my cute dress...but that's ok...I know I look cute.

Toward the end of the day I take a run to the washroom...as I am washing my hands I glance in the mirror and notice my left arm has a series of little bruises all over it...It looks like I have freaking track marks!

So, note to self... When dressing to try to look cute - do so in a way that does NOT show off your leper thighs and junkie arms!  Sigh...

One Twenty Three....Almost Killed Me!

So, I was doing a fair amount of walking leading up into and at the start of my last week of vacation.  Whenever I go for a lengthy walk, a run or a bike ride, I always strap on my Garmin watch to track what I'm doing.  I then go to the dailymile.com website afterward to log what I've done and post it to Facebook (cuz I'm braggy like that)... The dailymile website keeps a running tab on the top of the # of km you've logged for the week so far...Sooo...being the dumbass I am, I thought "I wonder if I can do 100km this week?".  Once the idea has been planted...

So, the week looked like this - Monday 8k walk, Tuesday 5k run/8k walk, Wednesday 8k walk, Thursday 5k run, 8k walk...hmmm...my lower back is beginning to bother me a little...feels a bit tight... Friday 10k bike, 9k walk (yup, lower back not really very happy).  Saturday 10k run (owww...THAT hurt!)...and then it was Sunday...and I had 29km more to go!  Yikes...So, Sunday I decided to bike to Kimberley and back... STUPID...Not only is it more km than I needed...but I had that nagging back thing going on...  But I'm nothing if not stubborn...  Hopped on my bike and away I went.  Got as far as Marysville and was thinking this isn't too bad...not much farther to Kimberley.  Unfortunately, Marysville to Kimberley is ALL up hill...(which my back does NOT like).  Somehow I made it...painfully... Turned around, stopped at a picnic table for a snack and some water and coasted back down to Marysville...ahh...my back didn't mind that so much.  Then I remembered....the 3.5km hill I had to climb to get back to Cranbrook...and then the KILLER hill back up to my house...uggghh....but I did it...  Could barely walk by the time I got back...had to skip running on Monday because of my back....but I did it.  Worth it???  You betcha!  I beat my goal...123km in one week!  Woot Woot!

The picture below was taken at the official 100km mark!

One Month Until The Torture Begins....

One month from today we officially start our training program for the half marathon.  When I think ahead to a 19k training run it kind of scares the crap out of me....yet, in some ways - I can't believe we still have to wait another month.  It seems like we'll never get around to training.  Running has been going well for me lately and I just want to take advantage of that and train while the training is good.  Fingers crossed that it lasts!

I Weigh WHAT???

So, just back from my big vacation for the year.  A three-day trip with Heather and Nicole to Wallace Idaho.  Was to be two days of biking - so some good exercise.  Ended up being one afternoon of mostly coasting downhill - lol!  Beautiful coasting - amazing sights along the Route of the Hiawatha.  Went through some very cool (and one FREEZING COLD) tunnels - including the almost 2-miler that was a bit creepy. 

Got home late last night and got on the scale this morning.  Three days of bad eating, beer drinking, and almost no exercise sure catches up with you quickly!  Holy crumb!  Wish I could LOSE that much weight that quickly...

So, fun-time is over.  Work-time is back.  Ran this morning - 5k and 10 sprints.  Leg workout at the gym and then a nice long walk planned with Colleen for tonight.  Gym (and a walk?) tomorrow and then Loop the Lake on Saturday...  Time to getter done!