labor day and such

labor day was nice and peaceful...mom, dad, juju and I went mini golfing!
we kept score, but we all won, so who cares!
we took the packard for a spin to minigolf to give the ole gal a ride in the sunshine

we played at Farmview Golf Center which has a lovely mini golf course and juju and I even went back for a second round for half price

we all headed over to White Castle for some sliders and freezees.  mom has recently become rather addicted to the pepsi slushie or whatever it is there, so we hit the drive through in the packard!

it was a lovely day and one of those that makes me smile thinking back on it

injuries, trips and much more and such.....

this has been one heck of an interesting summer...

I had to stop training for the 5k while in vermont in mid august due to an injury to my left knee.  I was training up there and had continued my progress nicely, but had a bit of a misstep and either tore my meniscus or sprained it.
I went to the ER at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townsend, VT and was treated by the great Dr. Montgomery and the amazing nurse and staff of Grace Cottage.  My mother came with me and she was equally impressed with the hospital as a whole.

They x-rayed and found nothing there, but said i also have no signs of arthritis YET!  I have never been nice to my knees or body, so the fact I have not started to show signs made me very happy.
I was given pain meds and an immobilizing brace and told to see my home doctor and get it taken care of.

Dr. Montgomery said he wants me to either call him or stop in when  head back to VT this fall to let him know what has happened and what it was (he believes it is a tear but they do not have an MRI at Grace Cottage).  That is very sweet of him.

A few days later Juju and I went to the Bromley Slide and I had to take a few pain meds and remove the brace (painful the next day, but we do it every year and  could not let her down).  We rode it about 12 times each in a row!  It is always so fun and Juju is a bit timid, but here riding the chair lift and sliding on her own, she gets more and more brave....maybe one day skiing and horse back riding...or maybe just a carousel and escalator even? (told you she is timid!)

An employee gave my mom 10 more free passes to ride, so we cam back a few days later after Juju's camp one day and rode five more times each!

I attended a few shows and was able to take care of a little bit of business at the same time, you have to love that part of my job is talking to bands and agents and managers, so I "have" to attend shows to meet in person sometimes!
I was able to catch Dark Star Orchestra in Burlington and meet up with some friends (Ron and Bree from NJ were there and totally random to see them so that was great, as well as many friends new and old from VT).
I also took a trip to the Barn outside of Saratoga for JGB show and to meet one of the mgmt staff to talk dates and such.  Nice to put a face to a name in situations like that.

I have attended Barn shows before and even seen JGB there, but it had been a massive rain storm and the place was 3-6" of mud, so the show was indoors and not a camping show (though we all stayed over and slept in cars and campers).  It was a bit hard getting around in the mud with the brace, but I made due and a few beers helped ease that pain and stress!

Juju loved her tennis camp.  She attended it for a total of 3 weeks this year, one early in the summer and two at the end of August. She attended last year and was excited to return this year.  She attends the Clif Drysdale Tennis camp at Stratton Mountain.
My mother used to attend the John Newcomb tennis camp there when I was a kid! Her and her girlfriends would all go to VT for a few weeks and leave the kids with the husbands, then we would all come up and join them all for the rest of the summer.

Juju also attended 2 other camps this summer, each a week long and located at Pope John________ in Sparta NJ.  One week it was soccer and one was basketball.  They are not serious camps, but they teach and mix in other games and sports related activities.  She really had a good time.

She had to miss another basketball camp in town because she injured her toe and her nail was coming off and since she couldn't wear a shoe when that was happening, she went to the pool a lot instead!

I am very disappointed in not being able to achieve my goal of doing the 5ks, but prior to the injury I had started to consider hiking the Long Trail next summer.  I think this is an achievable goal and I would love to do it, so I am going to focus my training to that...I will not give up on the 5k, I WILL run one, just not right now.
I am going to begin with the Long Trail Training first, and then blend i the 5k a bit down the road once we know for certain what my injury it and the treatment it will require.

The Long Trail is 273 miles and goes end to end.  I cannot wait to get into it and will be researching and collecting all the items needed and will spend this winter getting ready for it.

Well, I have typed enough about major events this summer.  I know I am missing some and I am not even going to get into Furthur shows in this post....but I will keep up on my posts because as I heal I am back in training and will be documenting that and also I want to make sure I cover my cooking and eating habits from time to time since I have been making an effort to try new things and old favorites...I cook a lot for my mom, dad and juju, and they are enjoying it as am I...I cook and mom cleans (well I help, but hey awesomeness!!)

day off from training and such...

so i took a total day off today, no walking, no running, just errands around town and oil change.

it is a good thing as it was raining on and off all day and the left knee is still letting me know it is there when i bend it 90 degrees or about that (stairs, in and out of car)

i will start phase three tomorrow and then drive to vermont. i will not slack off on the trip as i love it up there, so being out more in nature is exactly what will spur me on! where i will be training is where my father ran for many years daily, so i look forward to following in his footsteps for once!

ok, i am going to pack and finish up everything for the trip tomorrow. i hope i will be able to get some decent access to blog a bit and track my runs where i will be...at least to upload!

finished phase 2 day 3 and such...

so i did part 3 of phase 2 which is warm up (i do between 8-9 mins brisk walk warm up) then 90 sec jogging/2mins walking

well the knee is still letting me know it is there and it was rather hot and bit humid, so i jogged a little slower, but i def feel an improvement in my overall endurance

i took some nice stretching time and once i started jogging and paying attention to how i land my feet the knee didn't feel bad at all...once i stopped and rested a bit then moved, the pain, or actually twinge when i move it came back....

i wanted to go out today, i really wanted to, and finishing i felt heavy, my legs felt heavy, but that is fine with me...i am going to take tomorrow off to rest then move on to phase 3 on friday!

friday afternoon i head to vermont for a week or more, but i will be sure to continue on my progress up there.

i know i said i wasn't going to be obsessive about weighing in, but since this is my first time with this program and being a female, i decided to see what changes happen as i go along and such...i gained another freaking pound!
so this means since starting this program i have gained three pounds....astonishing to me since i have not increased anything i have eaten, in fact, cut down a bit and making healthier choices!

oh well...after this weekend i will worry about those pounds since again it is that time for me and it began today, so that stupid bloating i go through every month is just on a much more observed scale than i have ever cared about before!

sorry if any guys are reading or have bothered to read, but hey, it happens, i am a woman and these are things i have no one else to discuss with, plus i want to be sure to document all that i go through during this couch to 5k program

tomorrow, for my day of rest, i am debating actual resting or maybe a nice walk on level ground....maybe a mile or two, just to keep the motivation going, or stay off the feet and knees and give them an elevated on the couch watching ab fab season 2 while working from home?

not sure what is better, total rest, or just a calm walking? any opinions?

my knees have always been bad (as my mom pointed out again this morning on the phone when asking about my progress), so not sure if total rest or continue with at least a walk to work toward strengthening the knees and losing weight

still inspired, just feeling all of my overweight 36 years at the moment....stiff and sore, but that is ok, just means i am working!
i do a nice stretching combo for about 10-20 mins before each session now, a combo of yoga poses aimed at lower body and legs and back...feels great and limbering up before the warm up walks!

phase 2, day 2 and such...

it was so humid out!!!

it was 81 degrees and 61% humidity!

yesterday it was about 90, but not nearly as humid

my left knee is feeling a bit wonky today. i know it is because i am not paying attention to how my foot is landing when i jog or walk, so i must pay more attention to that. knee problems are not new to me, that was what ruined my Olympic aspirations many years ago and have had to deal with it since.

i feel like if i get a better insole for my left foot, slightly raising it up, it would realign that side as when the hip feels off the knee is right behind it.

and if i pay attention to it and do not allow my foot to roll inward upon landing, i am fine.

i know once the strength builds back up, it will be much better, as i am so terribly out of shape now, but i am going to look into that insole very soon

i also shot an email off to RexFoundation.org letting them know my intentions for matching at least what i have already raised for them this year with my 5k.

there, see, now i cannot take it back! not that i would, just nice knowing the wheels are now in motion.

next week i will contact my cousins and brother and let them know my intentions as well and see if they want to help out too!

i want to get a few weeks in on this training to show them i am not kidding around or will give up, this is serious and it is for my health and to help others, so double whammy of good karma!!

my warm up walk was a little slower today then recently clocked, but that is fine, as i said today was very humid and even though the weather.com folks say it is 61%, it had rained within an hour and i could feel the humidity coming off the pavement...made for lots of huffing and puffing!

i tried not eating before training again today, and i have to say i rather enjoy that!

i drink tons of water, all day long, in fact the only time i don't is when i treat myself to a glass of santa cruz organic lemonade and i cut it with half water because it is so sweet and tart

i just worry about losing something valuable to my body (always hear people touting electrolytes on tv) and not replacing it with enough veggies or fruits or what have you and i am not a fan of gatorade at all, so is it wise for me to buy a bottle or two of smart water? or how about coconut water?

a glass of that a day?

i have cut out almost all dairy (i have to occasionally yogurt or string cheese snack, but milk products really gross me out for the most part), all high fructose corn syrup products, rarely if ever have coffee (mainly because i have it with dairy and sugary stuff, so why bother)

i weighed myself this morning before going out training, having had nothing in my stomach and same clothes as last weigh in last week and gained two pounds!

i have no idea what that is about, but then again it is getting close to that time and i do gain a few in water weight, then a few days after go back to normal, so shall be very interesting to see what next weeks weigh in will hold.

i am not really looking to weigh in obsessively, why bother...i am fat...not obese, but way over weight and in dire need to be a good looking mom once again!!! people say how much my daughter and i look alike and i think, poor kid, i hope she doesn't end up like me, then i realize if she does it is my fault! look at what a horrible example i set for her...

NO MORE!

the example i am setting now is healthy eating (she has always eaten healthier than me, I cannot stomach certain veggies she loves and fruits, i am a very smell and texture person, but forcing myself over that to get healthy) and lots of exercise....

how can i make her play soccer or tennis and go to sport camps when i do nothing but yoga....see i have lit that fire that has not burned in me for a long time and now that it is going again i feel so good!

today's workout inspired me...my knee hurts a little sure, but i won't give up. i have been through this, i know what that means, i know how to care for it, i know it does not mean quit and get lazy and use it as my excuse anymore...i had to use crutches for it once, i won't let it be my crutch anymore!

missing jerry, phase 2 of 5k training and such...

i really miss jerry....i cannot believe it was 15 years ago today he left us....i will never forget where i was or how i heard, it was horrible and all alone, no one understood....i was laughed at, people thought i was some sort of cult member...

it still hurts as much today as it did 15 years ago

i spent late last night updating the dead www.PhantasyTour.com summer tour list and thought of jerry almost my whole running/walking training today.

i make sure to document what music i listen to during my workouts and today i listened to closing of the winterland disc 2....the only thing that kept me from crying was the distraction that moving to the 90 sec jog/2min run in 90+ degree weather is hard for my fat ass...i keep thinking i am doing this first for me and second for the www.RexFoundation.org....i haven't told my family or asked if they will help yet, i think if i do it a few more weeks, to show my commitment, they will be there to sponsor my run and support me...

below is my training blog

i took yesterday off...felt good to rest...i didn't even go for a long walk, just relaxed...

today i went out and upp to phase 2 of the couch to 5k.
this meant my usual warm up walk which was 8.21, then 90 sec jogging/2min walking which i did for just over 21 mins for a total of 1.3 miles!

then i had a nice cool down walk for .6 miles at just over 13 mins...i tried to walk around in the shade because i did not realize going out there that it was about 90 degrees!

humidity not too bad, but wow, upping that program just 30 secs per jog and that heat, i had sweat coming from the creases of my elbows! never in my life have i ever had that happen!

i also pulled out an older sports bra i forgot i had and used that for my run and it really made a difference.
i have never had big girls when working out before, so this is new to me...i was practicing yoga 3 times a week, but it is easy to work around them there...they are not ginormous, but 36-38DD and can get in the way when jogging, so ii have been trying dif bras i have here and a few of my older ones from when i was smaller are working out great...the more recent ones, not so much because i have been losing weight, so while they work for day to day stuff, this jogging, well, not so much!
never thought i would post a blog about that!

as for this blog...i don't know if anyone reads it and that is fine with me either way, this is for me and my records of what i am doing...though a little support is nice too!!!

i am just trying to say that all i put here is to keep track of what i am doing for my sake so maybe if i need to change it, or see a change in my attitude about it, it will all be there, no denying it! i will have to own up to my results! which is fabulous in my opinion

also, i am truly liking the hand writing out my daily results into that $2 desk calendar i bought at barnes & noble last week! i have already seen an improvement in my distance and there is just something about putting it down on paper that is so very satisfying as well as logging them here!

oh well, i think i have finally stopped sweating and cooled down completely now, so off for the shower!

oh one questions (if anyone has actually read this far, if at all!!) is it better to eat before or after exercising? if so how long before or after?
or if eating before is there a certain type of food that is best? or after?

I don't drink gatorade or any of those artifically filled items, so if there is a natural alternative i would love to know....
is smart water a better alternative?

thanks if anyone has any answers for me!

first week completed and such...

i went out tonight and did a nice warm up walk for about 9 mins, 60 sec jog/90 sec walk in just over 21 mins, then cool down walk of 8 mins for a half mile, so cleared 2 miles easily in about 40 mins!

i was going to take today off, but i was really feeling good today and that inspiration is really carrying me...

tomorrow i may take the day off and just walk a few miles, but who knows...as good as i am feeling now, not perfect, just pushing it enough, but not too much to hurt myself....i can maintain reality and not get ahead of myself!

i said that of today, that i would just take a long walk, but when i walked outside at 9pm, i knew i was not going to just walk!

so, by doing this, i technically have completed week one of the training from couch to 5k!

i spent the first part of the week easing into the idea of this program, a long walk on the 2nd (monday), then a .4 mile brisk walk and 1/10 mile jog 3x on tuesday, then a day off and thursday, i kicked in the program

this is good since it will allow me to begin pacing the couch to 5k nicely for the next 6 weeks and not try to force it or overdue it just to make the goal on the date!

i have to say that last 1/2 of that last jog, i was tired, legs felt heavy, but much better than tuesday, or even yesterday!

i am going to compose an email to my family about what i am doing and one to rex foundation as well...they have been very sweet since i have raised/donated $161 to them so far this year and would love to let them know i am going to work to get them more while getting myself healthy!

off to shower and eat some locally grown cantaloupe!!!