Yep, tomorrow is it… my first running debut.
I went and picked up my packet yesterday. Got two cute stickers included that say “my first 5k” after I saw them give one to a five year old so I asked for one too. Early day tomorrow with a 4:30 wakeup. On a Saturday even!
There will be pictures!!
I finished this quilt top last month, it’s based on a baby quilt pattern called strip and flip or something like that. I bought one of those “jelly rolls” at Joann’s. I actually bought two, one solid and one patterned. Got home and opened up the patterned one and it was cut so far from straight that I had to take it back. They didn’t have another so I bought cut fabric to match the other roll. I have the batting for it but don’t have backing fabric yet.
This next one is from leftover denim scraps and recycled jeans, finished last weekend. I think I’m going to double layer flannel for the backing and forgo any other batting. I think a bandana print would be a cool backing.
So today’s sewing was little, quick, and nothing fancy! Catnip mats for the kitties.
Sometimes titles are hard.
So, fun fact, I am typing this out on my phone while walking on the treadmill. Today, being Sunday, is just a walk day at 3mph.
Yesterday I did run/walk for a full 5k distance… 15 seconds faster than last Saturday. Yay 🙂
We then went and drove to where The Color Run is being held so we could scope out parking and such… We will be picking up my stepfather and his wife (who is not my mother, whole post topic there…) as they want to come cheer me on.
Later today I am going to try to get in a bit of sewing and maybe some pictures of the two finished quilt tops. The baby shower for the quilt finished last month is the 18th. I think today’s plan is just sewing some catnip pillows for the kitties. Easy peasy.
Time to hit post and wipe off some sweat…
I am obsessed. If anyone that knew me were to read that I am sure their response would be either: “what else is new?” or “about what now?”
So one obsession is the running. Not that I am awesome at it yet but I enjoy it. That surprises me every day. I am absolutely planning to continue running after next week! When I started the C25K program I thought I probably wouldn’t continue after doing The Color Run and would at that point find a different exercise to substitute in its place. Nope!
The next? My hair. I got my Amazon order Tuesday. Thursday I set 100g of henna to dye release and when I got home from work that night the DH helped pour it on my head while I worked it in. Turns out I only needed 50g (mostly because I mixed it too watery) so I froze the other 1/2. Supposedly you can do that… we’ll see when I thaw it next Wednesday or Thursday. It put a bit of red into my hair, a good start. Now I’m sitting here with a mixture of coconut and almond oil coating my hair. After I run tomorrow I will wash it well. I expect it to be super soft! In the meantime I look like I swam in an oil spill.
I have an obsessive / addictive personality and so have to be cautious when I start new things that I am not starting fifteen new things at warp speed all at once! Because the end result of that is often failing at fifteen new things soon after starting… And so I need to monitor myself. I feel like I’ve done good at limiting my crazy this year and so have been pretty successful at various things I’ve attempted. (weight loss, quitting smoking, some sewing projects, cleaning projects, upping my water intake, and my latest obsessions )
I cleaned out my side of the closet today to make room for my recent shopping extravaganza spoils. Out went the 2x shirts that bag around me making me look pregnant, the 20W pants that I’d taken in to about a 16 and had been wearing to work even though I could again take them off without unbuttoning. They are being replaced with shirts in size L and pants in size 12. Halle-freakin-luiah!
Shopping for clothes has never been my favorite activity. Still isn’t. But it was necessary and I know that having things that actually fit does feel better. I did pretty decent with sales. Last week I got a pair of pants from New York & Co. for $16! Thursday, I got clearanced sleeveless shirts for $2 each from the evil Wal-Mart (I wear them under uniform shirts for work – which those are all too big but I’ll likely wait a bit to replace them, I just leave them unbuttoned and open like a cardigan.) Then yesterday, sweaters and pants on sale, both $16.99. The store (KMart) only had one color or the pants I wanted in 12 Short so I bought a pair of grey pants from the store and shopped online last night for 2 pairs in black and a pair in denim. I also got some workout shorts and capris and a white shirt for the upcoming color race. About the only thing still on my “clothing to buy” list is an additional sports bra (sports bras… that is a whole post topic there!) Pretty impressed with KMart’s online ordering, I placed the order at 11:30pm last night and got a shipping confirmation with tracking number at 2:45pm this afternoon.
I refuse to spend a ton of money on most of my clothes. One, I plan on losing more weight so I will need to replace them, likely before they wear out. Two, even though I don’t often work “front-line” at my job, I really never know when I might have to provide back-up in a crisis… as a last resort, if a kid’s behavior is a safety risk, we restrain… you would not want to be wearing $60 pants, have to assist in a restraint, and find your knee going down into a pile of mud, or feel your pants catch on a rock and rip!
I didn’t sew today, probably tomorrow. I finished a rainbow themed quilt top a few weeks ago. Currently I’m working on a denim quilt top with chopped up old jeans and leftover scrap denim from various sewing projects. I need to get fabric for the back of both of them (another item on the “to buy” list, geez.) I’m thinking of using flannel and just doing a double thickness of it with no batting for the denim quilt. I have the batting for the rainbow quilt. Here’s a picture of it from midway through it’s creation… I’m currently too lazy to walk upstairs and get better pictures of the rainbow top actually completed and the denim one in progress. And because it’s been too long since I’ve posted Tippy helping me sew… here is also a picture of her doing her stretching exercises (she hangs on the cat tree like this often)
I got excited today thinking my order from Amazon was in the mailbox. Walked to it and it wasn’t. The order contains henna for my hair, coconut and almond oils (actually for my hair as well but I’ll probably keep them in the kitchen since I can cook with them if I want too.) I went to a health foods store last weekend and got a box of henna and indigo and did my hair. The indigo took more than the henna… it looks good but it just isn’t red enough! That was my first natural dye job, won’t be my last! I don’t want to use permanent chemical dyes anymore because I am trying to grow my hair as long as I can and damaging it with dye jobs won’t help that goal (plus, permanent or not… red fades.) I love Manic Panic dyes (no damage and awesome colors) but with the running and accompanying massive sweating I foresaw rivulets of color streaming down my face and back since it bleeds color for weeks after use. So, my answer to the dilemma is henna with an occasional indigo addition if needed: Red, more permanent than permanent chemical dyes, no damage, and no bleeding. Woo-hoo! My hair currently measures 23 inches from my hairline to the ends. First goal, 25 inches.
So to add to my crazy out of character shopping sprees, I ordered three pairs of glasses from Zenni for myself (including a pair of prescription sunglasses with cool rubberized tips on the temple ends for running outside!) and one pair for DH on the 19th. I’ve gotten the notification that their manufacturing is done, I expect I’ll get a tracking number Monday or Tuesday.
Well, I’m going to shut up for now. This is why I came back to having a blog… so I can ramble about anything I feel like in a format more conducive to rambling than Facebook is.
Anxious? Yes…
My first 5K in two short weeks. Though luckily I chose essentially just a fun run for my first attempt. I don’t know if I said before what I am doing for my first, it’s “The Color Run”, untimed and full of walkers so I don’t have to feel like a loser if I can’t run the whole thing! Yes, I know, just attempting it makes me not a loser.
I have kept up with an every other day running schedule but have really been struggling this last week and a half or so, finding myself barely able to run three minutes. So yesterday was supposed to be a running day. Nope, I just walked for a mile and a half. Apparently my body needed that. Today I was able to run again with a bit more ease!
Most days I do about a half hour total. Last Saturday and again today I’ve kept going to finish a full 5K through both running and walking to become more prepared for what I will actually experience. Last week it was just a bit over an hour total. Today? 54.5 minutes, woo-hoo!
So… I am thinking of modifying my schedule to the following: run/walk a 5k Saturdays, walk a 5k Sundays, run/walk Mondays and Wednesdays 30 minutes, walk 30 minutes on Fridays. I think this will be doable and keep me progressing for now. Next Spring I would like to do a real and timed race.
I know one thing… I don’t want to stop running. How weird I find that statement!
I didn’t do much of anything yesterday or today!
Yesterday I went to my friend / coworker’s house for a Tastefully Simple party so I ate bunches, ordered spices, beer bread, and desserts, and then scheduled a party at my house for November.
Today I didn’t leave the house. I did not shirk from my run though and completed W6D1. (A little faster for my run parts at 4mph which apparently is most people’s walking speed, oh well!) Next Saturday should be W7D1 and I am planning to do it somewhere outside… I don’t know where though, I’d prefer somewhere where the hills won’t completely kill me and here in Southwestern Pennsylvania even somewhat flat surfaces are hard to come by. Since the first 5K I’m signed up to do is The Color Run and it is going to be in South Park, I’m considering going there.
I didn’t sew a bit this weekend either. I did look at quilts and other sewing on the Internet and on my way to the party yesterday stopped at a quilt store but anything productive? Nope. Lazy weekend!
Monday… tried W5D3 and didn’t get through it. Supposed to run 20 minutes straight, I ran 9, walked 2, ran 9.
Wednesday… again tried Day 3, didn’t get through it. Actually did worse than Monday. Ran 10, walked 3, ran 5 or 6 (not sure).
So then I started to think maybe I couldn’t do it. I started thinking maybe I’d skip over completing day 3 and just do W6D1 ’cause that goes back to run/walk intervals.
When I stepped on the treadmill this morning to warm-up I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Then I decided I would be pissed off at myself if I gave up ’cause it was hard.
I kept my sweat towel covering the time and focused on how many laps I finished. When I finally looked at the time (when my math based on laps and speed said close to done) I had gone 20 seconds over.
Yes! Talk about feeling accomplished! Sunday’s run should be almost easy after beating my demon’s ass!
I’m sure the cooler weather helped but still… I did it. I didn’t give up!
Week 5, Day 1 is completed!
When I started this a month ago I couldn’t even run for 30 seconds easily. Today? I completed three segments of 5 minutes each of running.
It is possible to amaze yourself.
Still not smoking… that has been tough but self talk gets me through when the cravings hit.
I am up 3 pounds… that is the only negative at the moment.
Finished a quilt today, it’s about 36″ x 40″ and is for a coworkers baby. I surprised myself as I only started it by cutting the strips Friday night!
C25K update: This morning I ran Week 4, Day 2… it should have been Day 3 but I’m calling Friday Day 0 since I just struggled with completing the runs at all… There were definetly moments during today’s when I struggled to finish the full run time but I mind talked my way through it!
Afterward I found a great quote: “The voices in your head telling you that you can’t do it? They’re lying to you!”