Posts Tagged ‘pictures’

This’ll be a short one because I’ve gotta rush off to a narration job which, ironically enough if you read the last post, is about rhinoplasty.  I now know way more about that procedure than I ever wanted.

Speaking of  “if you read the last post”, I was impressed by how many actually did.  Around 700 unique readers, which is a lot for a post where I don’t go to the hospital or have some other kooky crappy escapade.  I got so many cool comments, both on here and on Facebook that I wanted to thank you folks for taking the time to read the thing and also, that I love how alike so many of our experiences are.  Makes the world a smaller place, for sure.

Training
I thought it’d be a good time to compare my original training plan with what I’ve done so far.  Because the weather has been an unyielding bitch since June, some of the workouts were adjusted, made shorter or slower, or run on different days to chase a cooler temp.  I also had the hamstring incident that added an extra rest day and forfeited some hard running.

Today’s workout was changed, btw, twice.  Adam noted that 6×1000@5k was going to be too tough, so make it 5×1000, but then when I cried Help! because the heat index at 6am was going to be low 80s, he took pity on me and made it 12×400 with generously long recoveries (2min).  I loved it!

Click on it for full-size.  The original plan is on the left, starting with July 12th and goes through this week.  I know it’s a bit confusing, just note that the workouts are written above the days and each week’s total mileage is to the right, outside of the calendar days.

For Ilana
Sweet Ilana lives in the cool recesses of Colorado and enjoys gloating over her 50 degree weather on Facebook.  She contemplates wearing a jacket and will be in snowshoes the next time she checks in.  So today, when I returned from my 8.5 miles, I wrung out my sports bra and shorts just for her – a nice, thick, white sweat so she could share some summer love with the rest of us whiners.  Goes great in coffee, too.

A little over an hour's running and this is what my clothes had to show for it.

And that’s it for now.  Gotta dash off and talk about Alsarraf septorhinoplasty and mucoperichondrium now, because I’m cool like that.  Have a nice Wednesday, all.

Formative Years Of Body Crap
I was raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a college town with an excess of gorgeous Sorority girls and All-American cheerleading types.  I didn’t exactly fit that mold.

8years old, fattest one in the class

I received a lot of name-calling in my youth, “Fatso” for my body, “Anteater” and assorted other bon mots for my nose.  Many tears were shed from grade school through Jr. High over my looks.  I finally got it together around 9th grade when I realized my passcard through life would be Brains.  While certainly not as satisfying as I imagined 5’8″, blonde and perky to be, it would do.

Reality Bites
It’s funny when I think that one of my most shattering discoveries about my body was after I’d left for greener pastures and returned home to Fayetteville for a visit.  I was crossing the UofA campus plaza to enter the Student Union.  The entrance was not notable in any way, just a couple glass doors with glass panels on either side, but as I approached it, I saw for the first time that I had cellulite on the front of my thighs.  I knew I had it on the back and sides, but this was a terrible revelation.  Every step I took towards these doors filled me with one more moment of unexpected horror as my dimples reflected back at me.

That stuck with me for, oh…the next two and a half decades.  From that moment on, whenever I looked into a full-length mirror, my front-thigh cellulite was the first thing I’d focus on (before shifting to the myriad of other body disappointments, of which there were many).  Happily and shockingly, running eventually got rid of it, which I never thought possible.  It was a miracle and why Running is indeed my religion.

The Schizo Body Owner
As I mentioned in the last post, I’d gone back and forth with my weight for many, many years – my high was about 145 and my low was 106.

I think this is age 17 before moving to NYC. I lost weight for the big move.

Must have been 20 years old here.

While I truly hated being heavy, I still managed to find positive things to focus on.  Pear-shaped, I hated my big hips but was grateful for an always discernible waistline.  I hated my arms, but my calves and ankles were pretty good.  I even found the grace of a clavicle or delicate wrists a semi-worthy consolation prize.  When the rest depresses you, you hold onto those bits and pieces like a life-preserver.

That said, while I hated a lot of it, I also accepted myself, I wasn’t afraid of showing my body.  Not one of those people to cover themselves up at a swimming pool or dress in shapeless clothing, I always had a strong sense of self.  For this, I’m entirely thankful and have nothing but empathy and heartache for women who are painfully ashamed of their bodies.  How I wish they could know what it’s like not to be so self-conscious and afraid.

What Running Did
Running changed my body completely.  In a very short time, I became an alien creature to myself.  I’m still not used to it entirely, especially because it was so unexpected and unplanned.  It’s one thing to lose weight and be smaller, but to have the whole package come out different is weird.  Fabulously cool, but genuinely weird.  It’s like I got an acting role as “The athlete” for a while.

Body Irony
After all those years of fighting fat and fearing getting bigger, I’ve now done a 180° – dealing with trepidation about getting smaller.

Because of my age, I have anxiety that I’ll look older and uglier, that my skin will hang and not snap back, that I’ll look too manly (funny how I despised my big hips my whole life but now that I don’t have them, I sometimes miss those female curves).  Anyway, the ridiculousness of it is that I can always gain the weight back if those things happen, but it goes a bit deeper.

I still hear my Ex asking “You’re not going to lose any more weight, are you?” and my friend asking “You’re not going to turn into one of those super scary runner chicks, are you?”  Well-meaning questions, but completely external and nothing to do with me, really.  My Ex was understandably sad at seeing the boobs and butt go but he also had major issues about my running (also understandable) which came out in assorted passive-aggressive ways and is a big part of why I left – yet here I am almost a year later, still holding on to those admonishments.  And I know my friend is well aware of how pragmatic I am that I’d never do anything irresponsible, so it’s time to let that go too.

Which brings me to…

My Revised Weight Goal
While running yesterday, I was passed by a woman in her 40s, about my height with a similar petite frame, who had the body I envision for myself: lean, muscles showing with every step, lithe and strong, looked like she could Kick. Ass.  If she’d have stopped at a fountain, I’d have boldly asked her how much she weighed – it sure as shit wasn’t 115.

I’d been thinking about revising the goal anyway, so here’s the dealio: 110ish…as long as it feels right and is easy to manage. Before anyone goes all Intervention on me and thinks I’m an anorexic in the making (no fucking way), here’s me at 115.  Excuse the ugly eel face, that’s me completing a damn good kick to the finish.

Because when you think about it, there’s not a whole lot that separates me from my competition (aside from those with more natural talent): I’ve got the body type, I’ve got the training know-how, I’m respectful of keeping muscle and running a clean engine, why not take it to the next level?  Why care as much as I do but stop short of real commitment?  Because that’s the only difference as far as I can see.

In a month, I’ll be 49.  I’ve been through a ton of incarnations in that time and I’m sure as hell not done yet.  So let’s just see how close to Athlete I can actually get.

So those hip exercises I linked to in the last post are da Bomb! I honestly didn’t think they’d do much for me, they seemed too easy and I’ve never lacked in the hip-action department (let’s just say I’m a really good dancer ).

I did a sampling of them on Tuesday along with a few of these cool dynamic stretches, then I did the hip exercises before my interval session on Wednesday and by that evening, I was aching in places I didn’t know I had.  I actually woke up in the middle of the night with my hips screaming at me. This a wonderful sign! It means I really do need them. The more I think about how it all connects to the core and posture and lengthening of the stride, the more excited I am to work on it.

Revealing my Ugly
Consider this a public service announcement.  In some weird, twisted, masochistic way.

I got my copy of Racing Weight yesterday and am pleasantly surprised to like it as much as I do.   One thing that struck me (and confirmed my numbers from last year when I lost weight) was a study that found a body-weight increase of 5% reduced performance by 5% – which  coincidentally, is the amount I need to lose.  That’s major and does indeed confirm why I’ve been stagnating all this time.  Consider this: a 21 minute 5K – 5% = 19:57.

Also, this had my name all over it, “Excess body fat is also known to increase thermoregulatory strain during exercise, so by shedding fat, athletes can go faster without overheating.”  Boy, would I love a little help in that department.

Another great weight-related motivation was a post I read yesterday at Lauren Fleshman’s blog.  Btw, thanks Julie for turning me on to it, her blog is a truly fantastic read.  Lauren’s an elite runner with an engaging writing style who gives great advice, too.  Check out this entry, which is an excellent piece for anyone wanting to lose weight for running.

This really struck me, “…especially once I got to college and tended to carry an extra 5-8 pounds in the fall and winter.  Every year I would get beat by flash in the pan athletes, and it absolutely killed me.”  Now this gal is 5’8″ and 122!  So if 5-8 lbs got her beat by “flash in the pans”, then that’s just more confirmation of how that same amount of extra weight might affect a shorty such as myself.

Just remember folks, with all my blathering on the subject, it’s not just weight we’re talking about, but excess body fat, so if any of you apply this stuff to yourselves, please be healthy about this, don’t eat too little and do some supplementary exercises to keep your muscles strong.  They’ll only thank you for the trouble.

It’s In The Hips, Baby
Adam often supplies me with links to great articles on running mechanics.  This latest has to do with a conversation we had after I posted that gait video a few weeks back.  He suggested I “engage the hips more” and while I was all, “Oh yeah, ok, sounds great” I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant.  Then he sent me this article yesterday which made me a believer in the power of the hips.

The article has a link to RW for some hip exercises that are not only wonderful for getting your hips into the act, but are excellent for strengthening the lower back (bridges) and even address that hamstring injury I got last week, in particular, the last drill mimics the feeling I was going for in my LT workout before it tweaked – the lengthening that accompanies a stronger push-off.  I’m sold!  Did them today before my run and will keep on with them, too.

My Fancy New Air Popcorn Popper
I have to share this, because it’s too cool.  I hate microwave popcorn packets, they stink up the place and the taste is always a bit weird to me.  I used to have a special air popper bowl for the microwave but hadn’t gotten around to buying another.  Then I read that you can make air-popped popcorn in your microwave with a regular paper bag!

The bag has grease on it because for my first batch, I used a little oil, but then realized you don't need any.

All you do is throw in 1/4 – 1/3 cup of popcorn, fold over the top of the bag a couple times and stick it in the micro, you’ll have to experiment with time (mine takes 3:10).  No oil needed, it comes out perfectly!  Afterwards, I squirt some “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” spray on it with salt and yum.  A 1/3 cup makes a huge bowl, only 204 calories, 50 grams of carbs and 10 grams of fiber.  Yeah, baby!

Oh, and if you don’t have a bag, apparently you can use a bowl with a plate on top, though I haven’t tried it.  Just be careful when you take it out, it’ll be hot!

Life continues, the hamstring is getting better daily.  This week has been 7, 8 and a 9-miler today, each one picking up speed (I’m pacing to the injury, not going above whisper status).  Today I hit normal paces, so that was nice.   As for the Friday’s speedwork,  I think I’ll be pushing it to Saturday or even Sunday.  I need at least one day (better yet, two) where I feel perfect before challenging it.

On to the video…

For all you water-carrying individuals who find your bottles get harder and harder to open, this little tip from the kitchen will save your teeth and keep your bottles in tip-top shape.  Extra bonus features: a zit on my left cheek and a variety of unattractive grimaces…all yours for free!  Enjoy.

The Frugal Runner is back again, this time with a tip borne out of this morning’s hamstring injury.

I got home, made my blog post and immediately set about following good ole RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.  I managed R, I and E with no problem, but what to do about C?  The only compression things I have are for the ankle, so I looked around the apartment for a McGuyvery-type alternative (because after limping home 4.25 miles, the last thing you want to do is hobble over to the drugstore).

I tried wrapping a towel: too bulky.  My homemade neck gaiter: too big.  Then it hit me…the lingerie drawer!  Aha!!  I have a bunch of old tights and pantyhose that I wasn’t going to be wearing in the foreseeable future, if ever, so I started pulling out stuff, ending up with a pair of thick black tights and an old pair of Leggs Sheer Energy Pantyhose, especially perfect because they’re support hose, so they’re thicker and tighter – in fact, I think they’re from when I started running (which I feel the need to mention because I’m not a supp-hose type of gal).  Anyway…

You’ll want 2 pairs.  Take the hose/tights and cut the panty part off and the toes, so you’re left with 4 tubes.

These are it!  Depending on how tight they are and what area you need to support (I’m mostly hamming it up here, though I wanted the top of my calf, too), the toe end is usually smaller so if you want to favor the thigh, pull the toe end up first.  Also, put the looser tubes on first, which in my case are the black tights.  Lastly, ask your wife’s permission before you go cutting up her stuff.  Et voila!

Not the prettiest thing but dang if it doesn’t work well – I’m a sausage!  So there you go.  R-I-C-E.  Done.