Just as I plot out a 1 mile outside run, the weather decides to take a turn for the worse. The low on Sunday is predicted to be -8. Yes, there is a little negative sign behind that 8. Apparently, the average high for today is 28. I think we hit a balmy 18. Tomorrow's supposed to hit 30 to bring us some snow and then drop dramatically. In case you forgot you were living in Minnesota, this weather quickly reminds you. Needless to say, I won't be trying out my new mile course anytime soon.
So I decided to try a mile on the treadmill before I hit the elliptical. I hate the treadmill. I'm always afraid I'm going to trip and fall off, left in a heap behind the whirring machine. It also makes me feel kind of funny once I dismount. But I thought I'd give it a try. I started off at 5.5 mph and once I was up to speed and had my iPod tuned to Green Day's 1039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, I had walked .04 miles. I then started my HRM to time my actual mile. I stayed at 5.5 mph for about 5 minutes and then had to start decreasing it by .1 mph every few minutes after that. I stayed at 5.2 and then increased it as I neared the end so I ended at 5.5 mph and ran my mile in an "unofficial" PR of 11:12 min. My last mile was at the Edina track at 11:19, which is why I'm figuring this as an unofficial PR.
But yay - day 10 and I'm halfway there! To be honest, I'm making an exception for Friday because it's neighbor Jody's annual holiday party. So instead of 21 days, it will be another 20-day challenge.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Day 8
Today was a typical Monday - aggravating. My 8th graders were just nuts and I had them sit down and do nothing for the last 12 minutes. That never puts me in a good mood. I'm hoping the next four days will be better. I have two people coming in to do karate and yoga with them. Look for pictures soon!
My friend Kelly recruited me to run some lawyer papers over to Minneapolis to the tune of $20 - sweet! She was running a little late so I stopped off at REI to return the turtle fleece neck wrap that I had bought a few weeks ago. I then picked up a Buff. Jen had worn a Buff to the race and I had been looking into this "essential piece of equipment" (as one reviewer wrote on the REI website) for a few weeks. They come in a variety of prints and colors and are made out of a breathable microfiber. They also have wool ones, which I will definitely be going back for! I wore it on my walk today like a headband, but quickly noticed that I'll need a wool one for weather this cold (17 degrees with an 11 mph wind = 4 degrees = BRRR!). I loved how it looked though. It's always been hard for me to find a headband that fits my tiny head and doesn't make me look like a cancer patient. I think I'm in love...
You can check out the website and the many ways to wear the Buff here: The Original Buff
Look familiar? You may have seen the Buff on Survivor.
My friend Kelly recruited me to run some lawyer papers over to Minneapolis to the tune of $20 - sweet! She was running a little late so I stopped off at REI to return the turtle fleece neck wrap that I had bought a few weeks ago. I then picked up a Buff. Jen had worn a Buff to the race and I had been looking into this "essential piece of equipment" (as one reviewer wrote on the REI website) for a few weeks. They come in a variety of prints and colors and are made out of a breathable microfiber. They also have wool ones, which I will definitely be going back for! I wore it on my walk today like a headband, but quickly noticed that I'll need a wool one for weather this cold (17 degrees with an 11 mph wind = 4 degrees = BRRR!). I loved how it looked though. It's always been hard for me to find a headband that fits my tiny head and doesn't make me look like a cancer patient. I think I'm in love...
You can check out the website and the many ways to wear the Buff here: The Original Buff
Look familiar? You may have seen the Buff on Survivor.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Day 7
Day 7 will be a day of rest. There's a lot of snow outside and it's cold. The couch is much warmer and cozier.
Today the Comast guy was scheduled to come and install a CableCard in my new TiVo between 8-10 am. I thought he'd be in and out and I'd be off to the gym to watch the football pre-show by 10 am. I woke up around 9:30 and noticed that I hadn't had a call from Comcast yet. Just then I heard someone parking out front. No one is parking on my road at the moment because of the snow emergency. So I got dressed and popped my head out of the door to tell him that he had to move to Cherokee Ave. It was then that I noticed that he was CUTE! Darn it! I had just woken up and I looked horrible. The only thing I could do was brush my teeth. So he parked and he was very nice and funny and installed my CableCard and even helped me conform my TiVo remote.
After he left I set up my season passes on TiVo and got the Netflix program to work. It's all very exciting! Now I only have one remote. And it makes the "boop boop" sound - my favorite!
My hips, legs, and knees are a little creaky today but I'm looking forward to my next 5K. I looked up 5Ks in the area and it looks like there's one on 1/29, which I think is tied to the St. Paul Winter Carnival, which starts on 1/27. There's also one on 4/16 in Duluth that I want to try and get some people together to do.
But back to my day of rest. I've ordered Dominos and consumed a piece of pumpkin pie. I plan on laying on the couch watching football for the rest of the day. :)
Today the Comast guy was scheduled to come and install a CableCard in my new TiVo between 8-10 am. I thought he'd be in and out and I'd be off to the gym to watch the football pre-show by 10 am. I woke up around 9:30 and noticed that I hadn't had a call from Comcast yet. Just then I heard someone parking out front. No one is parking on my road at the moment because of the snow emergency. So I got dressed and popped my head out of the door to tell him that he had to move to Cherokee Ave. It was then that I noticed that he was CUTE! Darn it! I had just woken up and I looked horrible. The only thing I could do was brush my teeth. So he parked and he was very nice and funny and installed my CableCard and even helped me conform my TiVo remote.
After he left I set up my season passes on TiVo and got the Netflix program to work. It's all very exciting! Now I only have one remote. And it makes the "boop boop" sound - my favorite!
My hips, legs, and knees are a little creaky today but I'm looking forward to my next 5K. I looked up 5Ks in the area and it looks like there's one on 1/29, which I think is tied to the St. Paul Winter Carnival, which starts on 1/27. There's also one on 4/16 in Duluth that I want to try and get some people together to do.
But back to my day of rest. I've ordered Dominos and consumed a piece of pumpkin pie. I plan on laying on the couch watching football for the rest of the day. :)
Day 6
Day 6, Saturday, December 4th, was the day of the "you're going to run in HOW MANY inches of snow??" 5K. Jen and I had signed up for the Lifetime Fitness Reindeer Run. Jen's been trying to jump start an Esther-loosing campaign and this was her beginning point. I've been working on my mile and 5K times and have been elipticalling like crazy. Jen was still a better runner than me. Suffice it to say that I will never be a "runner." It's a means to an end.
I got out of bed at 7:15, grumbling because I had to shovel the walk and uncover my car before I had to meet Jen in Minneapolis in 8:45 to catch our bus to Lake Harriet. Race time was 9:30. There was about 5-7" outside my front door.
At around 8 am I was ready to make my way to Minneapolis. I got as far as Morton St. and Smith Ave. and got stuck. Luckily, a car came up behind me and a nice gentleman got out of his car and gave me a push into the intersection. Now I was on my way. The plows were out on the major highways so they weren't too bad.
The race was held at Lake Harriet, which is by the Uptown area of Minneapolis. Jen and I parked at the meters by the Uptown Theater and then walked to the bus shelter and waited for the 6D.
After a quick bus ride through Uptown, we arrived at the Lake Harriet bandshell, where the race both began and ended. It was breath-taking, and not only because it was 20 degrees out!
You can see what this trail looks like and that's pretty much what the race route looked like for the 3.1 miles around the lake. It was very hard to run on and we definitely got a core workout as well as we kept our balance.
There were a lot of people! I'm always amazed at how many people will show up for a race in 8" of snow. This was another fun run like the Blubber Run - people brought their kids, pets, and they dressed up. I was tempted to take pics of all the fun outfits, but as I mentioned before, it was 20 degrees out and my fingers got very cold every time I took off my mittens to take a pic. There were a bunch of Santas, elves, candy canes, presents, and even a guy in metallic gold tights.
In this picture you can see the tower of balloons on the left side. This was the start of the race. What we didn't know is that the balloons marked the front of the line and the end of the line was back by the trees. We had to trudge through the snow to the back of the line and then we were ready to run! From our spot at the end of the line we had a good view of the bandshell and the lake behind it (looking into the sun).
Notice that Jen and I are sporting our blaze orange Fox40 whistles! We were dressed up as out of shape PE teachers. We had a system set up as well: 2 whistle blows for "I lost you!" (which we only did once, and why we had to create a call for that) and 3 for an emergency, such as falling into a snow bank or having a heart attack. Luckily, we didn't have to use our whistles, although Jen tooted hers in celebration as we were closing in on the finish line.
We started the race, but it was very frustrating. People with dogs and strollers were supposed to start behind all of the runners, but were mixed in with us. People would walk all over the route instead of staying to one side or another. One annoying girl kept jogging past us and then she would stop and walk right in front of us. Actually, quite a few groups would be walking and we'd jog past them only to have them run past us to start walking in front of us again. This is my main criticism of 5K runs. You're in such a clump at the start that it's impossible to jog your pace and therefore your time is always slower than it should be. We crossed the finish line at 46:16 (by my watch, the race was not chipped), but we guess that we could have been anywhere from 2-4 minutes faster had we not been all clumped together.
During the race my hips were the only things that were yelling at me. Jen's Achilles' tendon was bothering her. I wasn't cold until I stopped at the finish line and the sweat started to chill me. My glasses didn't fog up too badly until a bunch of snow fell off of a tree and hit me square in the right eye. But that's all par for the course of a snowy run. We finished and stocked up on water, bananas, chips, and protein bars. The Luna white chocolate macadamia nut ones were my favorite and I wished I had grabbed more than two. Now I know for next time.
We only had to wait for about five minutes until the bus came and took us back to Uptown. We got off the bus and paid it forward to a woman whose Scion was stuck in the snow. We both got behind her and pushed. That's what I love about Minnesota in the winter - we all stick together and help each other out! And then we got back to our cars only to find parking tickets to the tune of $42...so all in all the Reindeer Run cost us $65, but we did get free protein bars!
To celebrate our calorie burn we decided to have brunch at the Uptown Diner. We both got the #2, which includes two eggs, French toast, and bacon. And we split a side of cheesy hashbrowns, just in case we didn't eat back the calories burned with the first three things.
It was a fun race with a great friend and we're looking forward to our next 5K.
I got out of bed at 7:15, grumbling because I had to shovel the walk and uncover my car before I had to meet Jen in Minneapolis in 8:45 to catch our bus to Lake Harriet. Race time was 9:30. There was about 5-7" outside my front door.
At around 8 am I was ready to make my way to Minneapolis. I got as far as Morton St. and Smith Ave. and got stuck. Luckily, a car came up behind me and a nice gentleman got out of his car and gave me a push into the intersection. Now I was on my way. The plows were out on the major highways so they weren't too bad.
The race was held at Lake Harriet, which is by the Uptown area of Minneapolis. Jen and I parked at the meters by the Uptown Theater and then walked to the bus shelter and waited for the 6D.
After a quick bus ride through Uptown, we arrived at the Lake Harriet bandshell, where the race both began and ended. It was breath-taking, and not only because it was 20 degrees out!
You can see what this trail looks like and that's pretty much what the race route looked like for the 3.1 miles around the lake. It was very hard to run on and we definitely got a core workout as well as we kept our balance.
There were a lot of people! I'm always amazed at how many people will show up for a race in 8" of snow. This was another fun run like the Blubber Run - people brought their kids, pets, and they dressed up. I was tempted to take pics of all the fun outfits, but as I mentioned before, it was 20 degrees out and my fingers got very cold every time I took off my mittens to take a pic. There were a bunch of Santas, elves, candy canes, presents, and even a guy in metallic gold tights.
In this picture you can see the tower of balloons on the left side. This was the start of the race. What we didn't know is that the balloons marked the front of the line and the end of the line was back by the trees. We had to trudge through the snow to the back of the line and then we were ready to run! From our spot at the end of the line we had a good view of the bandshell and the lake behind it (looking into the sun).
Notice that Jen and I are sporting our blaze orange Fox40 whistles! We were dressed up as out of shape PE teachers. We had a system set up as well: 2 whistle blows for "I lost you!" (which we only did once, and why we had to create a call for that) and 3 for an emergency, such as falling into a snow bank or having a heart attack. Luckily, we didn't have to use our whistles, although Jen tooted hers in celebration as we were closing in on the finish line.
We started the race, but it was very frustrating. People with dogs and strollers were supposed to start behind all of the runners, but were mixed in with us. People would walk all over the route instead of staying to one side or another. One annoying girl kept jogging past us and then she would stop and walk right in front of us. Actually, quite a few groups would be walking and we'd jog past them only to have them run past us to start walking in front of us again. This is my main criticism of 5K runs. You're in such a clump at the start that it's impossible to jog your pace and therefore your time is always slower than it should be. We crossed the finish line at 46:16 (by my watch, the race was not chipped), but we guess that we could have been anywhere from 2-4 minutes faster had we not been all clumped together.
During the race my hips were the only things that were yelling at me. Jen's Achilles' tendon was bothering her. I wasn't cold until I stopped at the finish line and the sweat started to chill me. My glasses didn't fog up too badly until a bunch of snow fell off of a tree and hit me square in the right eye. But that's all par for the course of a snowy run. We finished and stocked up on water, bananas, chips, and protein bars. The Luna white chocolate macadamia nut ones were my favorite and I wished I had grabbed more than two. Now I know for next time.
We only had to wait for about five minutes until the bus came and took us back to Uptown. We got off the bus and paid it forward to a woman whose Scion was stuck in the snow. We both got behind her and pushed. That's what I love about Minnesota in the winter - we all stick together and help each other out! And then we got back to our cars only to find parking tickets to the tune of $42...so all in all the Reindeer Run cost us $65, but we did get free protein bars!
To celebrate our calorie burn we decided to have brunch at the Uptown Diner. We both got the #2, which includes two eggs, French toast, and bacon. And we split a side of cheesy hashbrowns, just in case we didn't eat back the calories burned with the first three things.
It was a fun race with a great friend and we're looking forward to our next 5K.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Day 5
I kicked Day 5's tukus! I had a slight recovery from the puffy start to the week and dropped 1.2 lbs.
When I play late tennis matches, I like to take a half day off the next day. I teach block 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 and a morning half day would be the first and second blocks. Gets me in to school around 10:45 in order to relieve the sub at 11 am, just before hour 4 is dismissed. I love half days because, duh, I get to sleep in, but also because I eat breakfast later. I can have a granola bar or some trail mix, which will tide me over until I can hit the gym and after the gym I usually have an early dinner.
Today I decided to hit the elliptical a little harder - 46 min instead of 30 min. - and I still have over 500 calories that I could consume. I had my protein smoothie after the gym and then noshed on a Lean Cuisine pizza.
It started snowing today around 1 pm or so and it hasn't stopped yet. Some cities in southwest Minnesota already have over 5" of snow! I think we're supposed to get between 2 and 4 inches by tomorrow morning. Which brings me to my next bit of fitness business...
Tomorrow my friend Jen and I will be participating in the Reindeer Run - a Lifetime Fitness-sponsored holiday 5K. I bailed on the Turkey Day 5K due to cold weather, but I refuse to bail on this run! It will be my very first very cold run. My first "cold run" was at around 40 degrees and I ended up PRing it at 39:39 min. There is no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that I am going to try and PR tomorrow. There will be at least 2" of snow on the ground and Jen hasn't been working out as much as I have. I'm planning on having fun on a freezing day in the snow and then going out to brunch with a great girl friend! People dress up in costumes for this race and Jen and I have decided to wear our whistles around our necks, dressed up as out of shape PE teachers. :)
Meanwhile, the snow is falling and I'm happy to be curled up on the couch for the night. I've turned up the heat and am looking forward to watching Netflix tonight...perhaps with a slice of pumpkin pie to take care of those extra 500 calories...
When I play late tennis matches, I like to take a half day off the next day. I teach block 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 and a morning half day would be the first and second blocks. Gets me in to school around 10:45 in order to relieve the sub at 11 am, just before hour 4 is dismissed. I love half days because, duh, I get to sleep in, but also because I eat breakfast later. I can have a granola bar or some trail mix, which will tide me over until I can hit the gym and after the gym I usually have an early dinner.
Today I decided to hit the elliptical a little harder - 46 min instead of 30 min. - and I still have over 500 calories that I could consume. I had my protein smoothie after the gym and then noshed on a Lean Cuisine pizza.
It started snowing today around 1 pm or so and it hasn't stopped yet. Some cities in southwest Minnesota already have over 5" of snow! I think we're supposed to get between 2 and 4 inches by tomorrow morning. Which brings me to my next bit of fitness business...
Tomorrow my friend Jen and I will be participating in the Reindeer Run - a Lifetime Fitness-sponsored holiday 5K. I bailed on the Turkey Day 5K due to cold weather, but I refuse to bail on this run! It will be my very first very cold run. My first "cold run" was at around 40 degrees and I ended up PRing it at 39:39 min. There is no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that I am going to try and PR tomorrow. There will be at least 2" of snow on the ground and Jen hasn't been working out as much as I have. I'm planning on having fun on a freezing day in the snow and then going out to brunch with a great girl friend! People dress up in costumes for this race and Jen and I have decided to wear our whistles around our necks, dressed up as out of shape PE teachers. :)
Meanwhile, the snow is falling and I'm happy to be curled up on the couch for the night. I've turned up the heat and am looking forward to watching Netflix tonight...perhaps with a slice of pumpkin pie to take care of those extra 500 calories...
Day 4
Day 4 went relatively well, but only because I had decided to hit the elliptical for 30 min. I had a tennis match at 8:30 pm and had put 600 calories burned into my food diary ahead of time. I thought I was being conservative and that I'd have no problem hitting 700...until Amy and I stepped on the court.
One of our opponents was overweight, in her mid-40s, had bad roots, and was sporting pigtails. I kid you not. Amy had played her before and really wanted to beat her again.
Suffice it to say, we did not win. We lost 2-6, 2-6 mostly due to unforced errors. Amy was so pissed off after the match that she went for a run. I was going to have a smoothie, but decided against it because I didn't feel like I had earned a treat. It was just horrible.
But on the diet and exercise front, I was able to burn almost 600 calories in our 66-minute match and I ended up under my allotted calories for the day.
Mark one in the "win" category for Day 4.
One of our opponents was overweight, in her mid-40s, had bad roots, and was sporting pigtails. I kid you not. Amy had played her before and really wanted to beat her again.
Suffice it to say, we did not win. We lost 2-6, 2-6 mostly due to unforced errors. Amy was so pissed off after the match that she went for a run. I was going to have a smoothie, but decided against it because I didn't feel like I had earned a treat. It was just horrible.
But on the diet and exercise front, I was able to burn almost 600 calories in our 66-minute match and I ended up under my allotted calories for the day.
Mark one in the "win" category for Day 4.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Day 3
Today was day 3 of my "Back to the 150s by NYE Challenge." It went really well, even though I had to pick up a snack wrap at Wendy's after going to the chiropractor. I simply was not going to make it through the gym without something to eat. Yesterday was not as good...
Day 2 started off with a chocolate glazed donut and ended with a hot chocolate from Caribou. Needless to say, day 2 was a wash. I taught until 12:40 and then had my post-observation meeting until 2 or so. I had lunch/dinner at Noodles and then went to lifeguard from 3-5:30. From 6:20-8:30 I earned $55 guarding the dance competition judges at Edina High School. There were five high school dance teams (varsity and JV) from Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Wayzata. Three of my 9th grade health students were on the dance teams from Edina so it was fun to see them doing something they enjoy outside of the classroom.
When I received the email informing me that I was going to be guarding the judges' table I thought, "What in the world?? Are they just making up a position for me? This is craziness!" But then I showed up and people were quite serious about it. A section of the bleachers was roped off by yellow crepe paper and there were signs up stating that this was the judges' area and they could not enter.
My job was to guard the hallway behind the bleachers where the judges were sitting so that no one was looking over them while they were scoring and making notes. Also, when the teams were performing, I had to make sure that no one walked behind the judges and distracted the teams that were on the floor. For the most part people knew to stay out of the judges' section. I had to tell other people that they couldn't stand there or that they had to wait until the performance was done.
The biggest bummer of the night (which was probably good considering all I'd already eaten that day) was that the concessions stand was not serving hot dogs, even though they were listed on the price sheet.
I took some pictures with my phone:
Day 2 started off with a chocolate glazed donut and ended with a hot chocolate from Caribou. Needless to say, day 2 was a wash. I taught until 12:40 and then had my post-observation meeting until 2 or so. I had lunch/dinner at Noodles and then went to lifeguard from 3-5:30. From 6:20-8:30 I earned $55 guarding the dance competition judges at Edina High School. There were five high school dance teams (varsity and JV) from Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Wayzata. Three of my 9th grade health students were on the dance teams from Edina so it was fun to see them doing something they enjoy outside of the classroom.
When I received the email informing me that I was going to be guarding the judges' table I thought, "What in the world?? Are they just making up a position for me? This is craziness!" But then I showed up and people were quite serious about it. A section of the bleachers was roped off by yellow crepe paper and there were signs up stating that this was the judges' area and they could not enter.
My job was to guard the hallway behind the bleachers where the judges were sitting so that no one was looking over them while they were scoring and making notes. Also, when the teams were performing, I had to make sure that no one walked behind the judges and distracted the teams that were on the floor. For the most part people knew to stay out of the judges' section. I had to tell other people that they couldn't stand there or that they had to wait until the performance was done.
The biggest bummer of the night (which was probably good considering all I'd already eaten that day) was that the concessions stand was not serving hot dogs, even though they were listed on the price sheet.
I took some pictures with my phone:
The hallway that I was guarding. The judges are sitting on the other side of the green railing.
The judges behind the yellow crepe paper. This was my view of the performance floor.
Edina's JV Dance Team
Edina's Varsity Dance Team
I talked to one of the varsity girls today in class and she said that Wayzata won the competition and that Edina tied for 4th. Yeah...Edina didn't look too hot and Wayzata was absolutely awesome! They danced to a Michael Jackson number and they had super jazzy outfits. I was really impressed and they stood out, even to my untrained eye. I just checked their website and they won states last year. Yeah, they're good.
I had to stay 20 minutes later and was compensated $10 more than the people who sold tickets! 2 hours, $55. Sounds good to me!
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