Category: pre-triplets

September 24, 2001

Kristina and I went running on Friday afternoon, since Kettie wasn’t supposed to come in until 7:30. We did the usual neighborhood route, but we walked a lot of it. At least we did it, though. But then Kettie came in, and we all went to dinner, including Ren. It was a fun night – Kristina and I ended up at the Mayfair, but unfortunately, that ruined any plans of running on Saturday I may have harbored. But it was a fun weekend – we went to a shrimp festival in a town near Chalmette (we had a hard time finding it and drove through many bad neighborhoods on the way) which was at least different.

Best news of all – a cold front’s coming through tonight! Supposed to last for the rest of the week. Yay!

September 21, 2001

Didn’t go running on Wednesday as planned above, as I didn’t get off work until 6, and I was still sore from Tuesday. But we went yesterday, around the neighborhood since Kristina had a meeting at school at 6, and Friends was at 7. We went for the half hour between 6:30 and 7. Ran most of the way, certainly further than we ever have on this route. Kristina was feeling nauseous about 2/3 of the way through, so we walked the rest of the way home. We were out for just about half an hour. Not bad, but I’m feeling the need to go more than 30 minutes. Hopefully this weekend. It’s doubtful that I’ll be able to go today, as Kettie’s coming in too early to go. We’re going to Semolina’s for dinner. They’re donating their tips and salaries and part of the sales tonight to the Red Cross, I think, so that’ll be good. If I don’t run today, I’m definitely going tomorrow. And Sunday.

September 19, 2001

We did it again! We ran around the park without stopping. Woo! 1.77 miles this time, since we didn’t run up the parking lot to the car. Not bad at all, but my right hip was hurting a little bit for a lot of the time. Hmm. My knees are a little sore too. My muscles are definitely sore. Today we’re planning on going around twice, but walking one of those. Don’t want to overdo it!

September 18, 2001

What a two weeks it’s been. Yesterday was the first time I’ve run since Chris and I ran our virtual 5Ks, but surprisingly, I did better than ever. First though, a recap:

– Thursday, 6 Sept: Arrived in California that evening.

– Friday, 7 Sept: After I woke up and puttered around Evan and Jennifer’s apartment for a while, I walked to Old Town Pasadena. Just a street with lots of shops, some that we don’t have here, but nothing terribly exciting. I spent the morning looking for a particular bookstore, but didn’t find it, and then Evan and I had lunch (fish tacos – not nearly as bad as it sounds!) and then, after lunch, he dropped me back at his place so I could rest (I didn’t sleep well the night before). Later that afternoon, I walked to his office (and noticed for the first time that there are mountains very close to Pasadena!) and then we picked Jennifer up from work and headed to Los Angeles to the studios for Whose Line Is It Anyway? We thought we wouldn’t make it it, there’s only room for about 300 people, and our numbers were 302, 303, and 304. But we made it in and despite it lasting almost five hours, our hands being blistered from clapping, and our throats sore from laughing, it was fun. Just very tiring. After the show was completed (Halloween show! We’re in the front row!) we went to some diner that’s supposedly famous.

– Saturday, 8 Sept: Drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, where we ate at a biker bar/seafood restaurant. I’m sure the bikers are more like rich actors than Hells Angel’s, but whatever. We didn’t see anyone famous there. Then we walked on the beach a little, then drove to Santa Monica. We had planned on going to the Getty that night, but we decided not to, and walked on the pier and ate at some Japanese soul food restaurant instead. We also drove around Hollywood, and I saw some of the “sights.” Finally, we drove around looking for some old ice cream shop that was on the radio that morning. We finally found it and got some ice cream.

– Sunday, 9 Sept: Jennifer had to work, so Evan and I went to Chinatown for dim sum (my first time – interesting to have barbecue for breakfast…hmmm) and then to the Getty. Nice museum, we didn’t have much time for it. My favorite part was definitely the garden. Beautiful. When we got back to Pasadena, Jennifer and I went and had tea at the Rose Tree Cottage. It was nice (if overpriced) but the best part was not the cucumber sandwiches, but the earthquake I felt! It wasn’t bad, it only lasted a few seconds, but it was a real jolt! Cool! Later we grilled steaks and mashed the organic potatoes we had purchased at an organic farm the day before.

– Monday, 10 Sept: Not much went on today, I made it to the bookshop I had been looking for on Friday and went to Target as well. We cooked again that night and I prepared to go home the next morning.

– Tuesday, 11 Sept through Friday, 14 Sept: Well, obviously I didn’t make it home on Tuesday. I finally made it home on Saturday afternoon after a long and wearying trip. But that’s ok. Spent most of my “vacation extension” watching tv, emailing friends, reading the news. What else could I do, really? Watched some movies. Walked for 2.5 hours one day around Pasadena, then later that evening went walking around the Rose Bowl with Jennifer.

Now, about last night….Kristina and I only had a limited amount of time before the Weakest Link came on, so we just started running as soon as we got onto the pathway at the park….and didn’t stop running until we went all the way around, and got back to the car! 1.8 miles! A new record! Afterwards, I felt fine, though my knees felt a bit wobbly and my hip got sore while I was running. I think that’s just because my back was sore from the trashcan game on Sunday (don’t ask.)

Race for the Angels 5K – Race Report

Run for the Angels 5K
7:00 p.m.

My first 5K! On Sunday, Kristina and I went to a movie, then when we got home, I ate a bagel with peanut butter. Chris and Rebecca came over at about 5:45, then Kristina and I got ready and we left at 6:00 to get to Live Bait. I was really nervous (just because I didn’t know what to expect) and Kristina and I had been snapping at each other all day, so not only was I nervous, but Kristina wasn’t talking to me. Which was okay, really, because I knew if either of us spoke, we’d just get in more trouble. Gary and Ren showed up at around 6:20 or so, and were mad at me because I had (apparently) said that we were going to ride with them. So at this point, not only am I nervous, but I felt like everyone was mad at me (except for Chris and Rebecca, thank goodness.)

So, at about 6:45, everyone was calmer, and we stretched some and drank a little more water. Then everyone lined up and from then on, everything seemed to go quickly. They played the Star Spangled Banner, and everyone was quiet. It was a nice night, not too hot, not too humid, and the sun was going down. Suddenly, the horn went off, and the race began! Ack!

There were a lot of people there, and we started running slowly. As I thought we would, we got caught up in all of the other runners, got carried along, and we ran for the first 7 minutes or so of it, which we haven’t done in our afternoon runs for a while. I suspect that may have sapped us a bit, but we crossed the one mile marker at 11:45, which is our usual 1 mile pace, so considering we walked about 3-4 minutes of that, we must have been running faster than that. By the time we got to the turn around, I was really thirsty and pretty hot. I had had a side stitch for most of the way, and I was feeling slightly nauseous. I grabbed some water and drank it, and we jogged a bit up the levee. After we stopped running, I felt bad. Lightheaded, nauseous, faint, chilled, the whole bit. I seriously thought I was going to faint for a while, but I didn’t.

We ran intermittently, and after each time, I felt the same way. We hit the 2 mile mark at 24:40. With about 1/3 mile to go, Kristina went ahead and ran the rest of the way. I walked and jogged the rest of the way, and ran the last tenth of a mile. Kristina finished in 38:25, I finished in 39:05, which was much faster than we had thought we’d do! We had predicted a 45 minute finish, so we were very excited that we did better.

After I finished (I was the last to finish of my friends – Chris finished in 22:xx!) we went back down to Live Bait, and had popsicles and Chee Wees and jambalaya and beer. It was fun!

August 9, 2001

Kristina was really tired when she got home (and her feet hurt) so I went running alone. Not for very long, we were both hungry and wanted to go to Louisiana Pizza Kitchen for dinner. I went around the neighborhood again, just zig-zagging along the streets. I only went for about 20 minutes, but it was pretty nice because the weather wasn’t bad at all – it was relatively cool (probably high 80s) and not very humid. I was still having a bit of trouble with endurance, though. I hope that it doesn’t mean that I won’t get better when it gets cooler. Hmmm.

Ren had the idea that we should get someone (not Gary, he’s a masochist) to drop us off somewhere sort of far away (5 miles or so) and then we have no choice but to get home. I think that’s a good idea. When Kristina and I were going to LPK, we discovered that Carrollton is only 3 miles from Louisiana. It seems so much further! I can’t believe it. That means if I ran from Milan to Carrollton and back, it’d only be about 5 miles! Sheesh. When I have to do the 18-20 mile training runs, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I guess the levee. I just hope I don’t have to run all the way to Kenner to get the miles in. Ugh.

I’m thinking of going to the kickoff meeting for the Team in Training next week. I don’t think I’d use them for this marathon, but I just want to find out what it’s all about – maybe do it in the future. Maybe the Dublin Marathon next year. Nice!

Wednesday, August 8, 2001

Went to the park after work yesterday. The sky was black so I thought I should go right after I got home instead of waiting until 6:30 or so, like I usually do. Leaving the apartment, it was misting, just a bit of a drizzle, but as I got halfway there, the sky (pardon the cliche) opened up. Poured. It was bad. But then, closer to the park, it wasn’t raining so bad, so I got out of the car, and started to walk. I was going to walk to the St. Charles side of the park, then run back down, but I only got to the first bend, probably only a quarter of a mile, if that, and it started to pour. I would have kept going (it felt great – cool rain! and a bit of wind – nice!) but my glasses were completely soaked. I could see better with them off, which is to say not at all, so I ended up turning around and going home. I was completely drenched. And I was out for a grand total of 5 minutes. Sigh.

But it was nice to go home and put on a flannel nightshirt. Cozy. I watched TV for a while and then went out with Anne and Jason. Looks like it’s going to rain like that again today. Hope not. Although I was contacted by a woman at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on Monday about the card Kristina and I sent in for information and they’re having a kick-off meeting tonight. I don’t know if it’s worth going, though, since I don’t want to use them to train for London, but I think I’ll do it for a future marathon. Maybe Dublin? That’d be cool.

BTW – I sent in my deposit for the marathon today! Now I’m committed! (Or should be) And Chris and Rebecca are going! Yay!

August 7, 2001

Well, it’s been a slow couple of days, running-wise. I ended up going to Baton Rouge on Saturday. I did manage to fix Dee’s treadmill, and went 1.5 miles on it. It’s so wobbly though on the thick carpet that I didn’t run much of it. The upside is, I did walk some “hills” which is a novelty for me.

Sunday was a non-running day – Kristina and I went to the Weakest Link auditions. We didn’t make it to the second round. It was more nerve-wracking than I thought it was going to be – we had to stand in front of 120 people and say our names, ages, occupation, and an interesting thing about ourselves. I couldn’t think of anything so I said “I read the encyclopedia when I was little” which got a tiny reaction, but obviously not enough for them. They did say that they’d be back in 6 months, so maybe we’ll have better luck then. At least we can practice next time.

Kristina went up to New York yesterday for an interview with a big fancy law firm, so I went running by myself. Not very far or for very long, but at least I got outside. I went for about 25 minutes, just around the neighborhood. I couldn’t get into it enough to run much, so I mostly walked. Better than nothing, I’m sure. There were some moving guys working in a van near my apartment. They said hello to me, and I said hello back, but then they started laughing at me. Not sure why, but it didn’t help my mood any. Hrmmph.

Chris isn’t sure now if he’ll be able to go to London with me. I hope he can. I really don’t want to be running for 5 hours or whatever by myself. I will go alone if I have to, though.

If it isn’t raining when I get home, I’m going to go to the park. Half of it’s closed right now, but Sarah said I should be able to run up and down the open half. That’ll be good. I miss the park.

August 3, 2001

Yesterday was just a short run. We had to fit it in between the Fresh Prince and Friends. So only half an hour. Since the park is still presumably closed (will have to check that out for sure later) we went a bit around the neighborhood. In all, we were only gone about 25 minutes (if that) and ran about 6 of it. I feel like I’m slipping out of the habit. Must get back into it.

It’s too bad we didn’t go further yesterday, the weather was nice. At one point, we felt a cool (!!) breeze! Well, not chilly or anything, but definitely not hot! Very exciting. But we didn’t have time, and my left shin has started to hurt again. By the time we got back to the apt, the pain was almost as bad as it was in the beginning! Perhaps I took too much time off. But I stretched for a long time and then iced it for a while, so it doesn’t feel so bad today.

I think what I really need to figure out now is how to lose weight. A lot of it. I’d like to go to a nutritionist, but I know I can’t afford that. I’d like to join a gym so I can get lots of cross-training in, but I definitely can’t afford that, either. What do I do? Do I just continue as I am and hope I lose 50 pounds in the next 6 months? Not likely. Even with the cooler weather, I’m just going to get injured if I run enough to lose that kind of weight. It’s a tough call…

BTW, Sportbrain is now officially out of business. Hrmmph.

Off to Baton Rouge this afternoon. Might see if I can fix Dee’s treadmill and run on that. Could be interesting.

July 31, 2001

We didn’t go running yesterday after all. I was in such a horrible mood, I just wanted to lay on the couch. So I did. Then I felt better (until I checked my bank balance online and discovered it was negative. But at least then I had a reason for feeling crappy.)

We decided to go running this morning, so we got up at 6:20 or so and were out the door by 6:35. It was warm, and humid, but not as bad as it has been in the evenings. Or not worse, at least. We walked the first few blocks (still waking up) and then ran, from about 3 blocks from Camp, and then up Camp past Louisiana a few blocks. It was awesome! I feel like I finally got a glimpse of the “runners high” that I’ve been waiting for. For about 5 or 6 blocks, my legs were moving, my arms were moving, I was breathing rhythmically and easily – it was great! I could have gone further, I think. I felt like I could have run miles like that (although, let’s be honest, I probably couldn’t have). But then I made the fatal mistake of telling Kristina how great I felt, which messed up my breathing enough to bring me down to Earth a little. And it sounded like she was struggling a little, or at least not breathing as easily as I was, so I suggested we stop, and we did.

We didn’t run too much more, maybe 5 or 6 more blocks after that, but overall it was a really good run. The last two times I ran in the morning, I got really tired near the middle of the day, and had to take a nap. Unfortunately, that won’t be possible today. But I should get used to this morning running, since that’s when I’ll have to do it in the fall and winter. (Not that I’m complaining – I can’t wait for that!)

July 30, 2001

Today I am very tired. Kristina and I didn’t get back from Texas until after 1 a.m., so I didn’t get enough sleep last night. It was a nice weekend, though, and I got to run in The Woodlands.

Saturday, I took Christian (Mike and Debbie’s 4 year old) to Target (woo! Target) and I got a singlet and running shorts of some sort of synthetic wicking material. Nice! Although when I got dressed to go running I felt sort of fraudulent, like I was wearing a uniform I shouldn’t be.

So Mike gave me the directions to go around a 3.4 mile loop, which I set off on. It was on concrete, though, which kind of worried me, but my leg doesn’t hurt today so I guess it was okay after all. I didn’t get lost, though for a while I thought I was. It was a nice trail, but I don’t think I was hydrated well enough (it was pretty hot and humid, not too terrible though) because I didn’t get very far before I was really thirsty. I didn’t even end up running much of it, but I kept going. When I started, I felt really good, and when I had been running for what felt like 10 minutes, I (foolishly) looked at my watch and noticed I had only been running for 4:30. Ugh. I kept running for 8 minutes, though. After that, I could only really run in about 1 minute increments. I think I definitely went out too fast. Too much. Near the end, I thought I was lost, I may have hallucinated, and I’m glad I got back to their house when I did. Plus, the sun was going down and I had told Mike if I wasn’t back in an hour to come looking for me. As it turns out, it took me about 45-50 minutes, which is pretty slow. Hmm.

Then, when I got inside, I jumped in the shower (after drinking some water, of course) and when I got out, I felt very dizzy and nauseous. Mike got me some Dr Pepper before I passed out (I really felt like I was going to!) but then I was okay after that. Debbie and I had eaten a late lunch at 3:30 or so, so I’m not sure why I felt like that (dehydrated, most likely). Scary. Must remember to hydrate better in the future!

All in all, it made me even more eager for the fall to get here. I’m hoping I will do much better once it gets cooler.

July 27, 2001

Too bad we didn’t go running last night. It really was nice weather, only a teeny bit humid, and according to my (no doubt incorrect) car thermometer, it was 78 degrees! But, I wanted to make sure I didn’t get sick (and I feel much better today) so we didn’t go. Hopefully I’ll get to Houston early enough to go for a run. Just a few times around their circle. We’ll see. (Do I always end my entries like that? I wonder what that says about me…hmmm…don’t want to know)