Sunday, September 28, 2008

Saturday's Walk - Antsy Legs

I walked for an hour with the Buckeye Striders Saturday morning. We started out pretty easy, and picked up our pace naturally as we walked. It felt great! I probably could have walked farther, but because of time constraints I decided an hour and 4+ miles would be fine.

The rest of the day I felt fine -- how I usually feel after a typical Saturday morning walk. (Energized, healthy, enthusiastic...) That is, until my husband and I went to a movie last night. After about an hour of sitting there my legs got really antsy. I got all squirmy and could barely sit in my seat. It wasn't just an antsy feeling, my legs ached. I cannot remember ever feeling that uncomfortable. I kept crossing and uncrossing my legs, pulling to stretch them and just squirming. I was ready to get up and walk to the back of the theatre when I realized there were only about 5 min left in the movie. I could sit there for 5 min, couldn't I? It was agony! The moment the credits started I leaped from my seat and walked up the aisle. The good news is, as soon as I got up, I was OK. Whew!

I ocassionally get antsy legs from walking. Usually simply standing up and walking around for a minute makes it go away. (Sometimes I have to walk for a while, others I just can't sit down.) This is the first time it has ever happened in a situation like a movie! Not sure I can handle that again. I also have a much better understanding of how people with relestless leg syndrome must suffer.

Resuming Training
I'll resume my Detroit Half Marathon training this week. I'm not quite sure what we will do on our distance days. I don't think we need to go up to 12 miles again after finishing a half when the next half is only three weeks away. I'd like to be faster than we were at New Albany, but I don't want to overdo it either.

I guess we'll just have to play it by ear.

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Omnivore's Hundred

This is kind of fun. I found this on a blog today. It's funny how many of these items I've eaten just because of friends I've made in the last few year. It's nice that many of my friends have broadened my horizons.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (Since I cannot cross it out, I'll just leave a note to the side.)
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (If it is what I think it is, no.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (I might have, not sure.)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari

12. Pho (Don’t know what this is.)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (Don’t know what this is.)
15. Hot dog from a street cart (I live dangerously!)
16. Epoisses (Don’t know what this is.)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns (Don’t know what this is.)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (Uh, no!)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda (Don’t know what this is.)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi (Don’t know what this is.)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float

36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Not the cigar.)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
(Does it count in soup?)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (I probably have accidentally.)
43. Phaal (Don’t know what this is.)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (Don’t know what this is.)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel (I guess I’d try it, depending on how it is fixed.)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (Don’t know what this is.)
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (Don’t know what this is.)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads (No way!)
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

68. Haggis (Definitely no!)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe (Don’t know.)
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (NO!)
76. Baijiu (Don’t know.)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (Now THIS is risky!)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
(I hope these are a Thai treat.)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (We called it rabbit.)
87. Goulash (properly spelled gulyas)
88. Flowers
89. Horse (Not sure.)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish (Caught it myself.)
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Since Sunday's Race

Monday I walked for about 20 min. The first 10 min were great, but coming home my legs felt SO heavy!

Last night I had a massage. I thought about walking, but decided a massage would be more beneficial. I wish he had dug a little harder at the knots in my shoulders and at my IT band, but otherwise it felt great!

Today, my walking buddy Deb and I met at Antrim Park. I love the small lake and the ducks. Very relaxing!

Our plan was to just walk easy - no racewalking allowed. We did three laps at 1.2 miles per lap in about an hour. (Stop watches were not allowed either.) My legs were feeling very heavy and antsy earlier today, so I knew I needed to get out. The easy walk was exactly what I needed.

Right now I plan to do 4 miles with our walking club Saturday morning. It will be at our regular pace, but I think I'll be ready. I'm hoping to pick up our Detroit training next week.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

New Albany Half Marathon Report

It was quite a bit hotter than I had expected today. Let me rephrase that -- I was more affected by the temperatures than I expected today. The temps were in the 80s, but I think because it is so late in the year it bothered me more. We never walked as fast as I had planned -- 14:30 per mile. Anyway, my finish time was 3:22 (by my watch), but I'm glad we listened to our bodies and slowed down.

The one problem with this event is, there are elite walkers who are way out front and fast, and there are casual "once a year" walkers who do not understand the "rules" of being in a race. Those of us whose walking speed is in between were stuck.

Here are some things that happened:
First off, there were pace markers for participants to line up at their pace. Great idea! Unfortunately, many walkers thought they did not apply to them. I was passing 6-year-old children! One woman had a toddler in a backpack. I could not even count the number of people carrying cups of Starbucks' coffee. These people were walking at about an 18-min mile pace and lined up in the 12-min mile section. Our first mile was horrible trying to get around everyone.

Second, when we got to the first water stop, everyone in front of us stopped! Not just a couple of people -- EVERYONE! I think most of those walkers went to the first guy who had a cup in his hand and waited in line. Then they stood there to drink it. We were yelling "Keep moving, keep moving," but it didn't do any good. Luckily, they either learned, or we passed all of the "stoppers" at that water stop. It was the only water stop where it happened.

The other problem is that there was no food at the end of the race. I was able to get plenty of bottled water, which was good, but all that was left food-wise was bags of pretzels and bagel chips. The bagels were gone and I don't know if there was ever anything other than bagels. The sad part is, there were plenty of people who finished after I did!

So, overall the race was disappointing. I didn't do as well as I had wanted, I got stuck behind inexperienced walkers, and there was no food. Luckily I had plenty of money with me and the entry fee was only $30.

If I do this event again next year I will definitely carry my own hydration (I hate Heed, which was on the course), and I will have some fruit and bagels in the car.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

New Albany Walking Classic Last Minute Information


EXPO:
I just got back from the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts to drop off magazines and stuff for the race Expo tomorrow. Here are the directions to get there.
http://www.mccoycenterforthearts.com/directions-parking

The McCoy building is near the corner of Dublin Granville and W. Main St./Johnstown Rd. The address is 100 West Granville Street, which isn't much help since you can't see building numbers.

I drove up and down Dublin Granville and could not find it. The building is difficult to locate because there isn't a sign for it on Dublin Granville. Here is a hint, turn in at the driveway for the elementary school near that intersection, and the McCoy building is in the same parking lot.

Packet Pick-up Information: Packet pick up will be available only at the race Expo at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts. Dates and times are as follows:
-Friday, September 19 from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM
-Saturday, September 20 from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM

BTW: We will need to pick up our race chips RACE morning between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
Both races start at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

I don't see driving instructions and parking instructions for race day on the web site. Maybe they will give some info to us at the Expo.

Race Day:
OK, according to the race map, it looks like the starting line is right in front of the Starbucks on Market Street.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Walking with Weight


I needed to fit in just 30 min of walking yesterday, so decided to walk to the post office. There's a grocery store right next to the PO so I decided to pick up a small bag of dog food while out.

Once I got to the pet aisle I realized I made a mistake. This store has a limited selection of everything, and specializes in closeouts and discontinued items. The smallest bag of dog food was 20 lbs! Geez! My dogs were hungry and I was not going to walk home, get my car and drive back. I decided to carry that huge bag home.

Those of you who follow my blog know that I sometimes make not-so-intelligent decisions when it comes to walking. (Remember the several feet tall snow drift I sank into?) This was one of those decisions.

As I held the dog food while in line to buy it, a little voice said, "This is a bad idea." But I did not listen.

As I crossed the parking lot to get to the major intersection where I cross, I KNEW it was a bad idea. What was I thinking? That bag was heavy!

I started out with the bag on my left shoulder. Then I switched to the right shoulder. Left was better, so I switched back. Luckily I didn't have to stop for the light to change. I kept moving the bag and scrunching the dog food so the weight would fit around my shoulder better.

Well, I made it home and I didn't feel too bad afterward. It took about 5 minutes longer to walk home than ususal. But I'm pretty confident I won't be doing that again!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Taper Means Taper

The week before a race, we are feeling pretty good. We're excited because we have more free time, our legs are feeling fantastic, we are energetic!

Despite all of this happy attitude and feeling fantastic, do NOT train harder than our training schedule tells us to. (Yes, that was inspired by the person who asked me to do speed workouts this week.)

Rest is important. That is why we walk no more than 30 min at a time this week. That is why most of our days are "easy" walking

So, if you are doing either of the New Albany Walking Classic events, taper!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

What a strange morning it was! By the time Deb pulled into my driveway about 6:30 to give me a ride to our group walk, it was pouring something fierce and the thunder and lightening was pretty intense. I got soaked just getting to her car!

Lucky for me Deb has this subconscious control over the weather. We waited a few minutes for the rain to let up a little and by the time we arrived at the park, the rain had stopped. We were able to start our 8 miles just 5 min late.

Others in our group joined us at 8 and we ended up with about 9 people! After our walk we had a great breakfast at Bob Evans. (If you put lipstick on a flying pig it is still a flying pig!)

It's days like this one that I am really glad I'm a member of such a fun walking club and that I have so many nice people to train with. I'm confident we are all going to be ready for the New Albany Walking Classic Half Marathon next weekend!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

I Beat the Rain

I had good intentions all week. Unfortunately, I'd get too bogged down in stuff, postpone walking and then just never do it. (Again, this is why it is usually recommended that we walk earlier in the day, right Cindi?)

Again, good intentions today, but I wanted to get some big stuff done before I went out. About an hour ago I heard thunder. Just what I need, to end a beautiful day by having to walk in a miserable rain! (It was beautiful all day.)

I quickly changed clothes and walked for 45 min. With about 8 min left to walk, it started to sprinkle, but I got back home before it rained any harder. Perfect timing.

I've been feeling sluggish the last day or two and I am starting to feel better already. Once some things calm down, like in a week or so, I won't have much of an excuse not to walk.
___________________________

I don't have a problem walking in my neighborhood whenever I feel like going out -- even 10 p.m. or later. In the dark, I tend to stay close to the single family residences right by my house and avoid the apartments and duplexes down the street. I am so bored with walking up and down the same cul de sacs, I decided to break it up by going by the apartments. Let's just say, the apartment dwellers are a little bit scary in the dark. Between the big dogs that don't behave on leashes to the super loud stereos blasting as they drive by with all of their windows down... I learned my lesson. If I'm going to wait until dark to walk, I need to be on the boring cul de sacs where my quiet retired neighbors live.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Speed Workouts Again -- Finally

Deb and I were able to start back with our speed workouts today! It felt great and we both missed it.

We did 6 X 1/2 mile. We weren't as fast as we were when we left off a couple of weeks ago, but it felt good.

We averaged 7:01-7:08 for the first 5 laps. The last 1/2 mile was just under 7 min. (Deb cheated for one lap. She stopped a little early to get a drink. I told you I would mention you!)

The temps were great, there was a breeze for most of it, it was a great day for walking fast!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Is This Weird?

Because WALK! Magazine comes out quarterly instead of more often, we sometimes have difficulty being as timely as I would like. (Many magazines have a similar problem because it takes a while to produce each issue.)

I'm explaining this because we have a weird timing situation happening for the Fall issue. We did not have an issue come out between the Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games. For that reason, we are including both a report on the Olympic Trials AND the Olympic Games.

I'm not quite sure if there is a different solution. I think both events are important. Until we can publish more than just 4 issues a year, I think we will face something like this again.

Thanks for understanding!

Saturday, September 06, 2008

10 Miles Today!

I'm not sure if we are really in the "taper" yet, getting ready for the New Albany Walking Classic half marathon, but we never have to walk as far as 10 miles again!Woo hoo!

We were lucky with weather today! It rained last night and early this morning, but it stopped before we started walking at 7:30. I think it is the luck of Deb. Anytime she chooses when we will walk, it is always the best weather of the day.

We were at a park with a lot of construction, which was annoying. Because of the rain, there were several large puddles. The loops are only 1.23 miles (according to Laura's Garmin), so it made today's mileage a little tougher mentally. Because Ameriaflora was hosted here years ago, the landscaping is great and the park is beautiful.

I have to admit, I didn't get all of my mileage in this week. I think for that reason I'm a little more stiff than I should be normally. I really should not be stiff when we step down our mileage on Saturday. Regardless, I feel great and I'm feeling confident about the upcoming half marathon!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

The Truth About Obesity

If you think you know the truth about obesity, check out the Showtime show Penn & Teller: BS Obesity. In their humorous and sarcastic way, they give a lot of information about obesity myths! Very interesting!

Because I watched the edited version, there was a LOT of bleeping. There is a lot of good information about BMI and the diet industry. I had no idea BMI was developed so long ago. (I personally do not like BMI, there are plenty of people I know who are rated as obese, and I wouldn't even consider them heavy.)

The show features a couple of authors who have written about obesity myths that I'll check out.

If I got Showtime, I'd probably watch Penn & Teller: BS more often. Alas, I'm doomed to just watch the episodes I can find for free online. Luckily for me, this one was a topic I'm interested in.

Walking Update

OK, I walked on Tuesday for 44:29 min (I rounded up to 45 min). I could have sworn I posted something about it. It was so hot and humid, I was LOVING AC that night!

I've been getting pretty bored walking in the neighborhood, even putting it off until as late as possible. So, today I decided to return a library book and took an easy paced walk. Because the library is just a little more than a mile from our house, you would think it would take just about 30-40 min to walk it. It never fails, it always takes me longer than I expect.

Anyway, I walked for over an hour today.

I feel good!