Worcester Fire Dept. 5k

Since this summer's theme is to reduce, I decided to join Rudi and some other friends at the Worcester Fire Department's 11th annual 5k.

Trying to "reduce" makes me do things that cause me to end up looking like this:

It's not an entirely pleasant picture, but I matched my current mile PR (12:19) even though I was going downhill. I started off innocently enough thinking, "Well, this isn't too bad!" I looked down at my Garmin and it was giving me a pace that started with an 8. "Oh crap, better slow down or I will die," was my next thought.

The scenery through Heebner Park was awesome though. I had never been through the park since they created it when I was off at college. There are ball fields, soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts! I wish they had that there when I was a kid. Aren't we the up and coming township. The course started off nice and flat and I thought perhaps they were kidding when they announced that it was all uphill on the way back.

We jogged through Heebner Park and then down Heebner Road (for those of you not familiar with Worcester Twp, are you catching a theme?). We turned right at Hollow Rd, which has a surprising number of houses on it. When I graduated from high school it was an old gravel road. There was a large ladder truck stationed at the intersection of Hollow and Fawn Rd where we cruised around an orange road cone whose top looked like it caught the business end of a fire at once point. Then it was back uphill. I was pretty much jogging (and I use this term loosely) until the halfway point. My shins were hurting and my lungs were burning, which all means it's time to walk. I walked alllll the way back up Heebner Rd. and then jogged at spurts through the park. With just a few minutes until the finish end, the album I was listening to (The Donnas - Spend the Night) stopped. I didn't want to waste time finding a new one to listen to bc I was already at 40 min.

I crossed the chalk finish line at about 41:44 but couldn't get my watch to stop until 41:49. The "official" time was 41:50, but I wasn't at the head of the pack at the starting line. My Garmin said the course was 2.99 but I'm not sure how accurate that was. I bet if I had stuck to the right side of Heebner and Hollow I would have made it a little closer to 3.1. Everyone did a nice job though and they were surprised by their times so it was probably a short course. My goal was to get under 43 minutes, which is what I ran/walked it at the beginning of the week in St. Paul. Goal achieved!

Ru and I went home to a spectacular breakfast prepared by Master Chef Byron. I almost had two scones, but resisted. They were totally nom-worthy though.

I'm proud of the time that I ran because I really haven't had really any practice or exercise since I completely messed up my back in March. I really enjoyed this race because it was just me and Worcester (and the gnats, which were pretty bad, but worse if you had a visor on). There were only 99 people running, which made it pretty much a solitary event. There were no dogs' leashes to get tangled up in and no crazy women pushing strollers who just decide to stop in the middle of the course and walk. I very much prefer this type of race to the type of races that I've been participating in in Minnesota. Towards the end there were two gals in yellowy-green shirts that had been around me the whole time. And that was all. The gal in yellow totally took off for the last leg. I believe I beat the gal in yellowy-green since I started jogging the last little bit.

Now I'm looking forward to dinner with the fam to celebrate Mom's retirement. I forget what the restaurant is called, but there was a crab mac and cheese on the menu, which I will totally be ordering.

2011 Summer Theme: REDUCE

I've chosen the theme of reducing for this summer. I need to reduce not only the things that I own, but also my body. Thanks to my back injury, laziness, and a touch of depression over not being able to play tennis while injured, I am now back at a weight/feeling that I am definitely not comfortable with.

My plan (stuff):
- Go through one room in my house at a time and pare things down to the minimum. The first room that I want to tackle is the dining room. This is where all of the scrapbook stuff lives. I know I have a lot of stamp pads that have dried out. I have stamps that I've never used. I have a scrapbook bag (okay, two) that hasn't seen the inside of an Archiver's in well over six years.
- Donate shoes, purses, and clothes that I haven't worn in the past year (or two). I know I have some ridiculous PE track suits that I will never wear again. Man, was I dorky. Ru mentioned sweaters. Even though I live in MN, I rarely wear sweaters. I have my stand-by LL Bean button down sweater that I wear with EVERYTHING. I would gladly give away all of my sweaters and just get another LL Bean sweater in another color.
- Sheets. Do I really need five sets of sheets??
- I will also be taking all of my CDs to Cheapo. Even if I only get $0.15 for each CD, that's better than hauling them to a new apartment.
- Le sigh. Memory boxes. I think these will finally find a home at a storage place. I can't bare to part with them just yet, but I also don't want to keep moving them all over St. Paul.
- Dishes. Man alive do I have a lot of dishes/glasses. I even have a box of dishes, unopened, from the wedding registry (you know, just in case we broke some). I've stolen more beer glasses than any one person should ever own as well.
- Ru also made a good argument for throwing out all thongs from college. Old sports bras, bras, and undies should get tossed as well as old socks that only see the light of day when I'm desperate and haven't done laundry.

My plan (weight):
- Elliptical during Kathie Lee & Hoda (10-11 am). I need to elliptical during a show and this gives me an exact time in which to do it.
- Run/walk a 5K distance at least once a week.
- Play tennis at least once a week.
- Drink at least two Nalgenes per day. I even bought a separate Nalgene for water with lemons.
- Add more fiber into my diet. I used to be super good about this, but have let bad sugars and starches creep into my diet.
- No Punch Pizza. No Noodles. No Grand Ole Creamery (except at -10 lbs - then I get a Monkey Sundae!!).
- Limit alcohol to one day a week. When I lost 30 lbs in 2006, I was very good all week and then celebrated the end of the work week with loaded potato skins and a few beers on Friday. Saturday and Sunday I played tennis and then it was back to the elliptical on Monday.
- Starting My Food Diary fresh today. I had logged for the past two years, on and off. I deleted all of the entries and am starting new on June 14.

And with all of that blogged, I'm off to Lifetime with Kathie Lee & Hoda.

Three Things Thursday

1. If you don't count my professional life, I am ridiculously happy and content at the moment. Yay! Professionally, well, I just don't know what's going to happen. But being so happy with the other aspects of my life, that's okay for right now. Just because it's always worked out in the past doesn't mean it's going to work out this year, but I have my fingers crossed and none of the pideys in the house are on the chopping block.

2. I have two interviews next Wednesday - 8:45 and 11 am. I really don't care about the 8:45, but would definitely take the 11 if it were offered to me, even this early in the job hunt season. And then I'm going to get a cheesesteak (great place by school #2) and a massage.

3. Today is Dining Out For Life. Restaurants donate part of their sales for the day to an organization that helps fight AIDS. I ate at Wilde Roast Cafe for lunch and I'm hoping Mike is up for Pizza Luce for dinner. I'm already hungry!

Wordless Wednesday

Sight not often seen at 449 Morton Street...

Friday Fun Facts

1. I still haven't played tennis yet, but my chiropractor keeps telling me that I need to stay active. I'm just a little scared that I will re-injure myself.

2. You all know that I've been dealing with losing my job once again. I'm really torn with what I should do - stay or try to find work elsewhere. It's really been weighing on my mind and I still don't know what will happen or what I'll do. I feel like this is a sign to try something new and I'm so glad that I have people who support me, whatever I decide.

3. With that being said, today I got a call to interview for a job that I never even applied for. I had applied to White Bear Lake in the past so my application was on file, but I never applied for the specific job - .95 health for the '11-'12 school year. I talked to the principal today and he said that the gal who has the job is taking a year off to be with her family. She could come back or she could stay home. But it's a job with benefits that pays what I'm currently getting paid.

4. On the other side of things, my personal life is making me really happy at the moment. (Hopefully that didn't just jinx it...) I'm interested in making cards and making plans again and I'm content, happy, excited, and nervous.

5. I'm also looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. Stink-o-phonic is coming and will be able to meet all of my crazy friends on our crazy camping weekend. SO EXCITED!!

6. My house, on the other hand, is a mess. I simply do not have the energy or chutzpah to even tidy up. I'm nearly out of socks and underwear too. Things are approaching apocalyptic.

7. I suck at coaching softball. I suck so bad that I feel bad that I'm even getting paid.

8. Last weekend was beautiful and in the 70s. This weekend is another story. It's supposed to snow 1-2" tonight with lows near 30. Seriously, Minnesota. Pull it together. But I should know better. I've been here when it's snowed at the END of April. This is why I still have my electric blanket on my bed.

9. I went to the Ale Jail today after softball and picked out 6 of my favorites. Unfortunately, they were all warm so I'm stuck drinking Mich Golden Light until they cold up.

10. But, alas, it IS the weekend. I don't have to deal with kids throwing chairs into the diving well or cheating on my test for a whole TWO DAYS! And next week is a 4-day week filled with tai chi and karate and an AIDS video. And to top it all off, a Saturday night on the town with my beau.

I see a light at the end of the tunnel...

Yeah Parking Lot!

So today I jogged/trotted from the overflow REI parking lot, across the street, and into the regular REI parking lot. This was after I worked at Lifetime, standing for 6 hours. "Why is this important?" you might ask. Well, no back pain. NO BACK PAIN! There was a little stiffness in my lower back on the left side, but that's kind of normal. This afternoon I *almost* signed up for a tennis drill on Thursday night at Lifetime. I think I'll even try working out a little tomorrow before softball. This is so exciting!!! After three weeks of hobbling around like an aged old lady, I'm back to walking quickly, with a spring in my step. Those three weeks were horrible and I contemplated never playing tennis or walking completely upright again and that made me very sad and scared. But now I see a light at the end of the tunnel. I guess injuring myself in my 30s is just going to take longer to heal. This getting older stuff sucks.

And with that, I am going to have a Yuengling and watch How I Met Your Mother and toast to a very good weekend: my back is feeling better, I had a delightful Friday at the Lexington drinking strong girly drinks (I finally had a Cosmo, Carrie Bradshaw!) and then watching Hot Tub Time Machine, slept in on Saturday, and had a wonderful 3 hours on Sunday with a certain someone before dragging myself back to go crazy on the REI website. April 8-10, you done good.

Spring Break and Pain

Today is the official last day of Spring Break '11. I truly enjoyed my week, but it went all too quickly. A recap of my frivolity:

Monday
I broke into spring break with a BANG! I guarded at the JCC in the morning, hit up the chiropractor in the afternoon, and got shellacked with Mike at night. (Thank you, lemony vodka concoction!) I was in a lot of pain, but said lemony vodka concoction took away the pain. We shared iPod playlists, talked, and ended up at Billy's. It was a fabulous night.

Tuesday
I slept in and guarded at the JCC at 3. My back was killing me, but the guard chair and then the hot tub helped. I still think that I should purchase a guard chair for my living room...

Wednesday
This was a fantastic day! I started it off by getting my butters whipped - I cut off 6" of my hair and took away those pesky grays. Then I met up with Jen L. at Wilde Roast Cafe. Heavens to Betsy, what a great place! I got a delicious mac and cheese with a side salad and then we split the sumptuous carrot cake. In the parking lot Jen gave me this:

I then went to Kohl's to pick out a dress for Saturday night's trip to Ruth's Chris before heading to the chiropractor. Dinner was at the Cheesecake Factory with Chuck, some of her work friends, and new baby Evelyn. Total calorie count for the day: approximately 500,000.

Thursday
This was kind of a slow day. I slept in until 11, which was bliss, and then went to complete my Lifetime tennis desk training. I celebrated spring with a new pedicure, which I LOVED! They also matched my dress for Saturday night. I iced my back for the remainder of the night while sipping on some Yuenglings and a delicious Odell Myrcenary.

Friday
Oh boy was I crabby on Friday. I guarded at the Depot from 11:45-5 after yet another trip to the chiropractor. My back was not any better and I had cried myself to sleep the night before. I wasn't looking forward to being social that night, but I'm glad I was able to. I went to Carly's and hung out with Chuck and her sisters and Matt. We had dinner and played Battle of the Sexes. It was so much fun and it was great to be around people who know me, accept me, and can make me laugh so hard that I snort. The girls won with a classic question - What was Rambo's first name? Of course, John. When I got back home I took my 4th muscle relaxer of the week and was still in enormous pain. Finally, I got an ice pack, took a lot of deep breaths, and fell asleep.

Saturday
I awoke on Saturday to an almost pain-free back. I was shocked and couldn't believe my luck. The shooting pains up my back weren't there. I don't know what did it - maybe it was the constant icing at Carly's, maybe it was the muscle relaxers - but I finally felt a glimmer of hope that I might actually be able to play tennis again. I guarded at the Depot from 8:45-3:15 and it was glorious! While standing I made sure that I kept my hips moving in a figure 8. That seemed to keep my back from freezing up. We even got 40-minute breaks and it was sunny outside! I sat outside during my breaks and read Jane Eyre, which I am enjoying immensely. After work I came home to get ready for my big night out on the town with Mike. I had a $50 gift card to Ruth's Chris courtesy of my credit card points and we had a reservation for 7 pm. I got all gussied up and totally wow'd Mike. We had a great night out - steak, mashed potatoes, au gratin brocolli, and then stops at the W and Nye's. I had the most delicious cocktail at Ruth's Chris - citrus mojito. I had two! We had a terrific waiter named Bjorn, who was obviously gay, and kept calling Mike "Mr. Byron." He recommended the specialty mojito. At the W I had the pomegranate martini, which was also very yummy. We took it down a notch at Nye's and had Mich Golden Lites. It was such a fun night out on the town and it made it very hard to wake up on Sunday morning.

Sunday
This morning came way too early. I had to be at Lifetime by 8 to work my shift. It was still fun, but not as fun as sleeping in. My drawer balanced and I didn't have any problems. An afternoon nap with a cute Polack and a Punch pizza later, I decided to ice my back yet again while catching up on TiVo.

My back is better and I no longer have pain shooting down my legs and wrapping around my pelvis. I'm not sure why this episode was so much worse than it has previously been, but it sure makes me appreciate my health. I've been so jealous watching everyone play tennis, pain-free, while I am gritting my teeth and wincing at every step. I have another appointment at the chiropractor tomorrow afternoon and I'm looking forward to recovery. I've been pretty down in the dumps this week about this whole situation. I've cried myself to sleep twice and have been in a bad mood. I think I've explained the whole extra vertebrae thing to about 20 new people. I've considered back surgery and the thought that I might never play tennis again. Just thinking about that makes me tear up. The thought of taking something out of my life that is such a big part of it scares the crap out of me. I will do everything in my power to get my back back on track. I will do my exercises religiously. I will ice every night. I will not sit on comfy chairs (aside from at Ruth's Chris and the W...darn those comfy chairs!). I will sit on the floor in my living room for the rest of my life. I just want to be able to play tennis without pain. My friends have been good sports - Jodi has been cool with me missing softball practice to go to the chiropractor. Mike has given me stiff drinks and has helped me tie my shoes. I'm supposed to partake in a 5k on Saturday morning. I will be going, even if I have to walk the whole thing. I hope I can jog a bit though. We'll see.

Tomorrow I go back to school. I'm not looking forward to it, but I have to go. Bridget Jones says that when one thing starts going right in your life, something else tends to fall apart. That's how I feel right now. So I will go upstairs, take my muscle relaxer, snuggle up with my blankies and an ice pack, and get ready to face tomorrow. One quarter left until summer...