Friday, January 24, 2014

Doing Some Hard Work

   I was doing some really great things last year, eating right (mostly), running, and strength training, then my plantar fasciitis  was getting worse and worse and I knew the only way I was going to fix it was to stop running. So I did quit in July. For almost 5 months. And now I am better. Like completely pain free. And, we figured out at my doctor's appointment in August that a prescription I was on was actually making it very hard for me to lose weight. While training for our half in May, Mark, who wasn't that overweight to begin with, lost 40 pounds. I lost 25. I have like 70 I could lose. So talk about being frustrated. Luckily, my doctor is also an avid runner and she was able to help me out a lot. I am now prescription free and all of my health is so much better. I went from 15 migraine days a month the last 4 months I was on it, to one, maybe, a month. My moods are better. And best of all, losing weight is a little easier!
  But still, in order to fix my foot, I couldn't run. So in the meantime I had to find something else do to try and take off weight. In October I started doing Hip Hop Abs. It was fun, for the first 2 weeks. I soon because very bored and needed something else. Then I found some beginner cross fit workouts on Pinterest and began doing them. Mark also got a free yoga studio app on our iPad and I was doing that a few times a week too. I lost the weight I had regained while trying to figure out a new regimen and things were going good. Then the dishwasher mess started.
   If you haven't been reading this blog, then you have missed out on a couple of things, like the impromptu kitchen remodel we had to do. In November, Home Depot does a huge appliance sale and we decided that our dishwasher needed replaced because the prongs were breaking off and it didn't clean well. The laminate flooring in front of the dishwasher felt spongy, but after repeated looks under the dishwasher in the year we have lived here, we never saw a leak. We even asked the inspector when we bought the house about it and he told us it was nothing and the dishwasher was fine. So imagine how upset we were when we notice the floor sponginess spreading after we ordered our new dishwasher. Mark took another look and BAM! A new leak.
   So we knew at that point we were going to have to pull up the floor. Okay. We hated the floor anyway. The previous owners put it in and the purposely matched the floors to the cabinets to the kitchen table they gave to us. Everything was that honey oak 90's ugliness. YUCK. So okay, we get a new floor. Then we took out or dishwasher and some flooring, only to find that the water had gone to our island and started soaking and staining that. CRAP! So after a great scrubbing or 4 with Clorox, I got the stain kind of off, and the cabinet was fine. Discolored a little, but we didn't have to replace it. Still, if we had the flooring up, we might as well refinish our cabinets in the dark color we always wanted.
   We also bought a new microwave because ours we on the fritz. Mark realized that the new microwave was a couple inches taller than our old one. The old one was too close to the stove as was, so we realized we would need to move the cabinet above the stove up a few inches in order for the new microwave to fit properly. It was at this point we called Mark's dad because we were now way over our heads.
This is after we painted the pantry, removed the old flooring, and installed the dishwasher, but as you can tell, the cabinets are the horrible honey oak. YUCK!
   To start the remodel, I painted the inside of the pantry white and the door a green tea green. We got our new dishwasher and installed it. Then the real work began. So the week before Thanksgiving, Mark went to work for his 9 or so hours and I got everything ready for that day's work. We painted the pantry and the door on Monday. Then we painted the ceiling white on Tuesday (because who DOESN'T keep their ceilings white? Our kitchen was a peachy brown cave of all one color.). Wednesday, we started refinishing our lower cabinets with Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations in Kona. The work wasn't nearly as bad as sanding/staining would be, but it was still hard work and we were working until like 2 in the morning every night. Did I mention Mark was working from 9-6 every day too? Thursday we continued with the refinishing and started paining the walls Honey Beige from Glidden. We swear by Glidden Duo paint. Friday was more painting and refinishing.
   Saturday morning Mark's parents came to help us with all the grunt work. Mark and his dad took out the old microwave, moved the cabinet, put in crown molding on the top of the cabinets, and started refinishing the upper boxes. Sunday was more work, leading Mark's dad to decided to stay with us a few more days to install the floors and trim work. So Mark's mom left to go back to work while we were working like crazy people to get the doors redone, the floors in, and the trim done. This went on until Wednesday, when we all had to go back to Idaho for the holiday. Mark and I were DRAGGING from all the very very late nights.
  We came back and slowly got all the doors done. This is what my kitchen looks like now...
Kona brown cabinets. Not quite black. I love them.
If you ignore the high chair tray and the crooked rug, the kitchen is looking  great!
   However, the kitchen remodel, and the month of December (it's Isabel's birthday month. I always eat my feelings this month) took their toll.I gained back 15 pounds I had lost. So I started again in January. Luckily for me I could start running 3 times a week again (with new Altras, so I have been taking it slow to build miles) and doing the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout 3 times a week. I just started training, again for another half in May (maybe one in April). And, I am back counting calories and as of my weigh in yesterday, I am down 10 pounds already! Yes! 
   I still have a lot of work to do, but I have to look at the work I am doing for me as I did the kitchen. Everything I am doing is only adding value to me.
   

Monday, January 20, 2014

Speed Work and Races Around The Corner

  Is it really the middle of January already? That means we are less than 3 months away from the Salt Lake Marathon, in which I will probably run the 5k with Addison, unless Mark is still injured. Then I will take over his half marathon entry. I am less than 4 months from The Famous Potato half marathon in May. And I am barely back to running after recovering for my plantar fasciitis injury. But I am back and pain free! YAY for no pain running!
  So for the last two weeks I have been doing a run/walk training plan to get me back into training shape. Three times a week I have been running for 30 minutes around my town home community, or 2 miles on the running trail with Mark. Mark is trying to recover from an IT band injury and is struggling with wanting to run and not being able too. It's hard to keep a runner down. His Saturday run was ruined last weekend when he forgot his brace, so I ran ahead and just did 2 miles. I decided to do some speed work so (1) I would get back sooner to Mark and Addison who were forced to walk and (2) to help me shave 15 minutes off my time at the Potato Half. The run was great, until I got done and had an asthma attack from the poor air quality. The attack lead to a migraine, which I get after running anyways, but still, no fun. But I feel like I had a great workout, and that is all that matters to me right now.
   This week will be more run/walking workouts as well as a strides workout, probably tomorrow, after my run. Then on Saturday will will be celebrating Addison's 3rd birthday by helping her complete her first 5k at the No Snow Indoor 5k  for Habitat for Humanity. It is a pretty relaxed 5k and was Mark and I's first race ever last year. There is no better race for Addison to run than this one. It is fun, cheap ($10), and you get a shirt and a pancake breakfast! Plus it all goes to a great cause. Addison has been "training" with me by running with me while I run a little bit. We'll see if she can make it the whole 3 miles or if we have to leave the course early to get her pancakes. We are going to let her decided what she wants to do. Right now, getting her excited about running is all about exposure to racing. So that is how we are looking at this race.
   However, because I would like to get in SOME running, I will probably start the hour before the race and get in a 5k before the race starts. Then anything I get after that is just an added bonus. I am hoping Mark can get in a little running too. He needs it for himself. Like I said, it is hard to keep a runner down. We'll see how it goes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Saturday, January 11, 2014

A New Year, Another Start

   So after our last race in July, I decided to really rest my foot. Mark continued running until he himself got hurt with IT band issues. He ended up having to bow out of a race in December, again disappointing Josh. But, you can't run if you shouldn't run.
   We ended up doing some fun things for the rest of the year. We went to Vegas in September for a fun little family vacation. Addison still asks us to go back.

  We helped Mark's parents move from his childhood home into a house a 2 miles from my parents home (in the country, like they are, they are practically neighbors!). We spent some time with Isabel too.


  We got a new dishwasher because ours wasn't that great only to find our crappy dishwasher was leaking and ruined our laminate floors. We pulled them up and realized that our island was stained and we had to refinish them. We ended up having an impromptu kitchen remodel the week before Thanksgiving, but we think it turned out pretty awesome.
The before (top). We pulled up the floor that matched the cabinets
 and everything was that honey oak color. GAG. We don't miss it. The after (bottom). Dark floors, darker cabinets, new stainless steel microwave and dishwasher (I can't wait to replace the stove and fridge), honey beige walls, and new under cabinet lighting. I am living in heaven right now...
  Mark turned 27.
Death By Oreo Cupcakes mad by me. YUMMY!
  The holidays came and went.
Addison's face sums up what she thought about Santa.
But she believed in time to have a great Christmas.
  We had Addison's birthday party a month early so that we could do it in Idaho with family. I did a lot of crafting for that, and it was pretty darn cute. Thank you Lisa Wagner for the awesome cake.
A popcorn bar and some yummy cake. A Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
party done right. Addison loved it.

   The remodel ate away at my last nerve and I ate my feelings leading up to Isabel's 4th birthday and death anniversary. I ended up gaining all but 9 of the pounds I lost last year. Uh-oh...
   But, race season is coming and we can't go back. So, I am looking forward. I have re-lost 6 pounds I gained. Today was Mark and I's first run on our favorite running trail in months. We went 2 miles and about died. That is what I get for doing leg day 2 times this week, then going running. But, everyone starts somewhere, and this is where we are. Mark's first half is the Salt Lake Marathon in April. Mine is in May. We'll get there. Slowly. But we will.

Race Update (Really REALLY Late)

   I don't know how this is possible, but I missed a race update. From July. Seriously. And then I missed the last half of 2013. Yep, it was that kind of race.
   Our good running friend Josh talked Mark and I into doing an all night marathon in July. It was a special all night marathon. We were going to run a half marathon in Farmington, Utah Friday night then drive all night to Idaho Falls, Idaho and run another half then next morning. Mark and I, not being ready to run 2 half marathons in 24 hours decided to break it up and each of us do one of the half marathons. Then I got hurt. So Mark signed up for both. Then I did some running and decided I could push Addison and do the 5k (actually, I went back and forth between doing a 5k or 10k, but since I was supposed to drive the 3 hours, overnight, after the race, I decided that a short race would be best). So after much preparation and excitement, the day finally came.
   That night was HOT. Mark and Josh left on the buses to the starting point for the half leaving Addison and I to wait it out, in the mosquitoes for the next 2 hours until our race start time. Waiting with a 2-year-old means running after her and by our 10 PM start time, I was tired, eaten by bugs, and sweaty.  I figured that since it was a weird race, I shouldn't push myself too hard and just enjoy a nice run rather than run to beat 30 minutes, the 5k holy grail for a slow poke like me. We were sent off from the finish line (it was an out and back race) and I remember thinking, "How are they timing us? We didn't run over the time setting thing that I have in every other race." But what did I know? Turns out, they timed us all from the start time, not from when we crossed the start line. Hiccup #1 for the race.
    The race was thick with people! And they didn't line us up, so I got stuck being walkers that took up the whole freaking trail for awhile. Now here is my runner's soap box moment, if you are a beginner that isn't going to (a) run or (b) know you are really slow, start in the back! You deserve to get ran over by the people that take racing seriously. Another runner pushing a double stroller literally cussed that women walkers out as we all had to off road our strollers to get past them.
   We left the fairgrounds and met up with a trail that goes from Roy, UT to south of Salt Lake City. There were many turns and weird paths we had to take to get there, but finally I was there. I remember thinking it was weird that I never passed a 10k runner who, although their start time was 30 minutes before ours, they would have to follow the same path I was on to get to the finish line and a lot of runners should be passing me by now. So I kept my eye out. At some point I looked at my clock and realized I had been running for 20 minutes and I hadn't turned around or met up with the watering station that was supposed to be at the halfway mark. I started to panic. How slow was I running? I was sweating like crazy from the 90+ degree heat and tired and surely, even though I am slow, I should have turned around by now, right? So I kept running. I finally found the watering station and wondered where the hell the turn around was. I asked if I had passed it (I was 25 minutes into my run!) and was assured I wasn't there yet. The frustration was so intense I couldn't believe how slow I was running. 25 minutes for less than 1.5 miles? That is ridiculous.
   I kept running into the night. That path was DARK. Finally I found the half way point and turned. But I was tired. I was emotionally done. I had to walk. Pushing Addison in that much heat was just too much. I was passed by some runners I assumed must have been half runners. I thought about Mark and hoped his run was better (it wasn't). I watched my clock. I knew it was going to be a long night. My head started hurting. I reached the water station again and drank 2 cups of water and made Addison drink up too. I ran a little, I walked a lot. I had never had a race go so bad before. I realized I had been out 50 minutes. Pitiful.
   I fell behind a young couple just after getting of the trail to head back to the fairgrounds and the finish line. I heard the woman bitching about how the race HAD to have been mismeasured because her GPS said they had been out 8 miles, not 6.2 for the 10k. WHAT? I got to thinking. Yep, that would make since that the watering station was at mile 11 for the half marathon, meaning it was at mile 2.1 for a 5k. And I had to run past that! The woman asked the race official that was directing us into the fairgrounds if they knew they were wrong. Apparently, they figured it out after we had all started. And my 5k was actually 4.4 miles! No wonder!
  I finally made it in 1 hour 10 minutes. I walked way too much for a good time, but it was still 85 degrees when I got back and it was past 11PM! It was terrible. And the bugs were thick. I counted over 30 bites. I stumbled into the after race food area and got as much as I could to drink. My head was killing me. I managed to get to the car to get migraine meds and a Mt. Dew. I ate and drank. I made it back to see Mark finish his half in 2 hours 13 minutes. Then Josh came in. We stumbled around getting after race loot and talking about how bad the 5k was. We left Farmington just after midnight and headed to our house to shower and get on the road. But as I was driving home, I started getting really sick. I held it together to get home and get showered. But by time Mark got out of the shower I was throwing up and in way too much pain to even thing about getting in the car. I was in so much pain, I struggled to breath. Mark and Josh talked and decided that maybe we should call off our all night madness. We were all to tired to be that sad.
   It was possibly the worst migraine of my life. I was eaten to death, throwing up multiple times, and asking Mark to take good care of Addison because I knew I was going to die. Mark watched me until long after I was asleep because I would stop breathing. Looking back, if Mark was less tired, he would have realized that I should have been taken to the ER. Luckily, I have my guardian angel watching over me and we all lived to tale the tale.
  I woke up disappointed and very VERY sorry I had ruined our plans. I shouldn't have ran. It was a terrible race for me and I ruined another race for all of us. Josh forgave me and Mark did too, but I still live with the hurt from it. I am beyond disappointed, even still 6 months later.
   And the race officials did do all they could to fix their mistake. They gave all of us medals. They gave us discounts for the 2014 race. And I saw that their New Year's resolution was to measure the races correctly. Now I can laugh about it.
 Before race pose.
 Addison and I all glow sticked out and ready for the start. Like Addison's wand?
 Addison ready to roll.
 Mark coming in. Isn't he the hottest?
 Race done (bloddy nipples and all).
I actually don't look too bad for how sick I was!