Jive SBS Syndication Feed

"Jersey Shore" Finishes 2nd in the Almost-5K

RonnieFR — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:46:08 GMT

I guess by now everyone knows our 5K was not quite. I was a bit disappointed because I really wanted this to be my baseline for the many runs I plan for my future. I finished the not-quite-5K in 36:18 which was pretty much on pace for me. The good news is that I came in 2nd in the old ladies 50+ group. And the even better news is that the person who beat me by 7 seconds was a year younger than me. So, I'm not embarrassed. Although I don't have an honest baseline, I have a sense of where I stand in relation to the other women my age, and I have a new goal. I figure if I can do an entire 5K in 36:18 that would be awesome!

Unlike Jewyl who was able to run the entire course, I walked some. Especially in the first mile - it takes me a while to settle in. By the second mile, I was pretty well in a groove and then - oops - it was over. My daughter, Erica, ran with me the whole time which was really nice of her - unfortunately this put her near the bottom of her age group. Thanks for sacrificing yourself, Erica! You kept me moving. And Mike, with that %^#&# video camera - every time I wanted to stop and walk you were there filming. You kept me moving, too!

I really enjoyed this, and I still can't believe I'm running. I always thought running was dumb, but now I've learned to like it. I think as you get a little better at doing something, you tend to like it more and that's where I am with running. I do think I will continue - I may even sign up for a local 5 mile run next month. I know I'll walk A LOT for that one, but it really doesn't matter. It's the fun of getting out and doing it that counts. And I feel so cool crossing that finish line, no matter what the clock says

Thanks to everyone at Active for making me do this and keeping me on track. It was so much fun to meet the people who I've met via email over the past few months. Thanks to Dave and Nancy for your insight and encouragement. Thanks to Giselle, Melissa and Emily for coordinating this team, helping me when I couldn't figure out the website and for leaving some fun comments on my blog. Thanks for the wonderful goody bag - I look forward to using the spa gift certificate soon, but I really treasure my framed picture from Active. I'm putting that up so I can see it every morning for motivation!

Jewyl, keep running or swimming or whatever - and best of luck to you and Mike. Giselle, good luck with your marathon. Erica, get another car key!!!

Countdown

RonnieFR — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:20:01 GMT

Less than four days to go! The race day that seemed so far off back in December has finally arrived and I wish I had another month to train! I feel like I might be getting the hang of this - better late than never. I'm still slow, but I can run the 3.1 miles over and over again. I'm hoping that the excitement of being in a ‘real race' will motivate me even more and give me an extra boost of energy.

Today I ran my last training run. I ran a really decent 3.1 miles on Sunday - on a treadmill, though, because it's been raining for what seems like weeks. Did a gym workout yesterday, and ran again tonight (on the treadmill, still raining). For the rest of this week it's relaxing and letting the old body recuperate. Wednesday, it's a nice relaxing massage - a gift to myself for getting this far. Thursday, pack for San Diego. By Friday afternoon I'll be scouting out the race area in San Diego and looking forward to meeting everyone that I've met on line.

This has been a fun experience. I wish I had taken this a little more seriously at the beginning, but it seemed like I had so much time to get into running shape. So, here we are at the proverbial finish line and I'm not really in the best shape. But you know what? I've learned that you have to commit - early and often - to get the results you want. And I realized that running isn't all that bad, and that sometimes I really, really enjoy it (usually after I'm done). The better you get at something, the more you enjoy doing it. I think I'll keep this up for a while.

No News is Good News

RonnieFR — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:37:29 GMT

It's getting harder to write something interesting because there's no drama. For me, that's a good thing! No injuries, no issues, no obstacles - just trying very hard to keep motivated in these last couple of weeks. For part of last week I was in New Hampshire on a business trip - planned to run, but never got to it. However, I did get in my runs on Tuesday and Sunday, and my gym workouts on Monday and Friday. Not bad. I haven't been on the treadmill for about two weeks because it's been nice enough outside to run - and every time I run outside now I do my 5K trying to better my time.

Speaking of time. I bought myself a stopwatch because I've just been timing myself with my wristwatch. At this point every second counts So on Sunday I took off with my brand new stopwatch - I checked at my 2 mile mark and was pretty happy. I tend to do well with my last mile, so I pushed pretty hard and couldn't wait to see the final time at my finish line. 48 seconds. I must have hit something as I was running and reset the time. Oh, well. I had no idea what time I left the house (because I had my NEW stopwatch), so I can't even tell you if it was good or bad.

Last night was a gym night - my knees are miraculously holding up great! Tonight was an unexpected rest night (I took a nap after work and it lasted too long - LOL). But tomorrow is another mid-week 5K.

Oh, and BTW, do I still have a Rookie Runner Team? I know Jewyl is halfway around the world - so that's a good excuse for not checking in. We know she's doing something amazing - swinging from trees, etc. But Josh? Scott? Are you running so much you can't take the time to share your thoughts? Check in, guys - I'm getting lonely!!

Overcoming My Inertia - and - My Second 5K

RonnieFR — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:51:39 GMT

I seem to have lost some enthusiasm. This week was tough - I did do my running three times (I try for four), but have to say it was an uphill battle. And an argument with myself. I don't know if it's because my weeks are getting routine, I'm not dropping the weight I think I should, or I don't seem to be getting any better with distance and time. I've hit a wall. Is this normal, or am I just a whiner?

Anyway, yesterday I came home and REALLY did not want to go out. It was supposed to rain, so I was intending to hit the treadmill at the gym but fortunately/unfortunately (depends on the viewpoint) the rain held out until late at night and I was able to hit the pavement. As long as the weather is decent, I've been trying to run outside. All week I was able to run outside, but I didn't have much motivation, and Sunday and Wednesday I did about two very slow miles.

If I lived by myself, I probably would have hit the couch last night instead of the pavement. But my husband kicked me out which some encouraging (nagging?) words about how important it is to exercise when you don't want to...blah, blah, blah. Grudgingly, I changed into running gear and started - in my mind planning to run one mile (essentially to get him off my back) then come home. A funny thing happened - I started doing pretty well. My feet didn't hurt, my legs didn't hurt, my breathing was pretty decent. I did my first mile and thought, "What the heck?" Once I got a little farther it was either run the rest of the way home or call someone for a ride - so I ran. I ran the entire 5K route - 3.1 miles, running a majority of the way.

So this was my second 5K around town. I did it once before a couple of weeks ago with abysmal time. But I chalked that up to my shin hurting and my first time seeing how long 3.1 miles can be. Last night I did the entire distance 9 minutes less than I did the first time. I'm still not "fast" but I feel confident now that I can reach my first goal for our 5K - to finish!

Saturday (today) is my ‘absolute rest' day - I religiously don't work out or run just to give myself a mental and physical break. Hate to say it - but - I'm looking forward to my THIRD 5K tomorrow. And I sooo plan to knock a few more minutes off. I figure if I can do reasonably well NOT wanting to go, think how well I'll do if I'm motivated! And I have another goal - to knock an average of 2 minutes off my time each week. I don't know if that's realistic (I feel like it is), but if I can do that I'll actually be proud of my time in May.

Four more weeks until our 5K Rookie Run in San Diego - and I hope I've overcome my inertia for good! Happy running!

How Times Have Changed

RonnieFR — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:13:00 GMT

I was out running a few days ago with my husband and a young woman (mid-20s) ran by us (blew by us, actually). She looked totally at ease running, while I think I may look a bit scary. Anyway, my husband noted how women's fitness has changed since I was young and how I didn't grow up with any focus on fitness - that's just the way it was.

My high school had over 3000 students in three grades. Because of its size, there were tons of options for classes. However, the only women's sports teams were tennis and cheerleading - and cheerleading was not gymnastics-focused like it is today. I had the same gym teacher for two out of the three years - and she taught us dance. She had been a Rockette in her very early years, and that's what we did every day for phys ed. Tap, tap, tap, turn... can you imagine?? In three years of high school PE, my heart rate probably never rose higher than normal resting rate. Cardio was not a concept. Even ‘jogging' wasn't in the dictionary. Proof? "Veronica and I are trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. It might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild." (And if you haven't seen Anchorman with Will Ferrell, you need to stop working out and rent the DVD!).

There was no such thing as sports teams for young kids. I'm sure there was Pop Warner Football and Little League, but nothing for girls. Now, we start our children - boys and girls - in sports almost as soon as they can walk. We know the value of an active lifestyle. We encourage our children to try all the sports and keep active - and most of the recreational sports make sure that each child gets equal playing time. By the time the teenage years arrive, even with some less-than-healthy choices, we hope the fitness habit has been ingrained.

So, here I am trying to make up for growing up in a time where ‘strong' and ‘girl' were mutually exclusive. The ‘good old days' were not always. And it's never too late to have a happy (and active) childhood!

My First 5K (and Weekly Update)

RonnieFR — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:20:36 GMT

After MONTHS of this, I finally decided to buckle down and stop being a wuss. I normally log about 2 - 2 1/2 miles on my runs. I realized that we only have about 6 more weeks to prepare for this race so need to kick it into high gear. I mapped out a real 5K route through town and hit the pavement after work. Proud to say that I finished (the first phase of my goal). The time wasn't great but at least I have the "feel" of the 5K. And I have 6 more weeks to shave a bit of time off each day. If I keep it up, without any injuries, I just might finish with a respectable time in May.

Sorry, Dave, for not posting my weekly update. It's just that nothing exciting is happening, so I thought my blog would be boring. I've been a bit lax about updating the training log, too, so if you're looking at that I have some entries to make.

Summarizing - last week I got in 4 days of running. Still, when I say ‘run' I mean jog and walk. I don't know if I'll ever be able to run the entire route. I'm working on adding a few more running steps every day. On Saturday I woke up feeling like I was getting a cold, so I took the day to rest. Jogged on Sunday around town (the beginning of my week) but only did about 1.5 miles because I still felt a bit tired. On Monday, I felt a bit worse, so I rested again. Tuesday (yesterday) was cold here, so I hit the gym and the treadmill for a half hour and was feeling better. The LAST thing I need is a cold!

I'm liking the new training plan too. Have to admit that I was a bit shocked when I downloaded it after my short vacation two weeks ago and saw all the extra training days. But, hey, May is almost here. Plus, I like the variety even if I can't complete everything as directed. I get points for trying, right?

Oh - one issue - maybe. I've been feeling some pain in my right shin when I run - and it radiates to my calf too. It was bothering me last night on the treadmill, and today I still feel it in my right leg on the lower part of the shin. It slowed me down tonight, but seemed to feel a bit better during my last mile (maybe I finally warmed up?). Always something. It stinks to be old. Will break out the trusty ice packs tonight. Any advice?

Spring Break Rules!

RonnieFR — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:43:53 GMT

I don't know if anyone missed me - it's been over a week since I last blogged. No, I'm not hiding out, I have not given up, I am not injured. I was just on a short vacation - spring break in Punta Cana. Yeah, I know I'm too old for spring break, but never too old to head to a nice beach and relax for a few days. And, no, I did not run while I was in Punta Cana. My trainer told me to get my exercise in ‘different ways' - so I did. We walked MILES on the beach and back. We walked all day around the very large complex, plus we were on the third floor with no elevators. I swam - even more than just to the pool bar and back. I even took a bike tour from our resort into town - a few miles out and back. Here is a picture of me on the bike ride to prove I just didn't lounge by the pool all day, every day. Hair sticking out, funny helmet, but the bike ride was fun.

So now I'm back at home and back into the swing of things. I've downloaded our new training plan and am starting it tomorrow, a bit later than I should. I did do some weight training today to loosen up. But I'm refreshed and invigorated and psyched because we have less than 8 weeks until our 5K. Crunch time!

Oh, and the place we stayed at was an all-inclusive. I haven't gotten on the scale yet to see what damage I did. I think I'll wait until the end of the week, with a few runs under my belt, before I take a look. I'll be running tomorrow, I'll probably be able to FEEL if I gained weight. Updates will be coming at the end of the week.

Thanks for the (Music) Advice

RonnieFR — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:11:17 GMT

I just wanted to thank everyone who left me suggestions for "music to motivate" me during my runs. It's now almost midnight and I'm teaching myself how to download mp3 so I can run tomorrow with my music. Thankfully, I have a lot of friends who are iPod savvy and have given me some advice. This will take a while, and tonight we lose an hour of sleep. But I'm determined to run outside tomorrow fueled by some upbeat tunes. I'll let you know if it helps. I'm thinking I was "Born to Run"......

Epiphany

RonnieFR — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 03:03:52 GMT

I don't have an ipod. When I run in the gym, they have little TVs and I plug into those and watch Rachel Ray or an old Friends episode. On Sunday, because all my favorite treadmills were taken, I ventured into the "theatre" for my 30 minutes, bothered by the fact that I had to run in the dark watching a concert video. Well, now I know why everyone who runs seems to have an ipod. How fun! Granted, I have no control over what concert they're showing, but Sunday they showed Journey (an oldie but goodie), and I think I ran faster and easier. Tonight - Coldplay - and I'm still running well! I'm hooked. So, now I'm going to "borrow" my husband's ipod - the one he got from our kids for a Christmas gift that he still hasn't loaded - and download my favorites.

I was looking forward to running outside this past week, but only got out one day before the snow hit. Sunday morning we woke to a coating of snow, and Monday it dumped close to a foot - so no outside running for me. At least I got my three runs in this past week - Sunday, Tuesday, Friday - and my weight training on Monday and Thursday. I'm noticing that I finally can do a solid 30 minutes, but I'm still slow. I'm pushing myself a little more each time and - dare I say it? - starting to enjoy it. Maybe now that I'm adding music to my workouts I'll progress faster. I have a feeling if they show a Bon Jovi or Springsteen concert, I'll be running a half marathon in no time

So now a little help from my friends. I need some recommendations for upbeat, motivating, jogging music. Any suggestions?

Out and About

RonnieFR — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:47:07 GMT

Yesterday finally met my requirements for a good running day! Still quite cool, but sunny and not very windy. So after work I came home, changed and hit the streets at around 5:30. How nice is it that it's still light out at that time? I've marked out a nice 2.2 mile route through our little town. Since this was the first time running on pavement, I was really looking forward to seeing what I could do. I decided to mix it up a bit and instead of doing a 5 minute brisk warmup, as Coach Dave advises, I hit the ground running (literally). So five minutes into my run, after the excitement of hitting the pavement wore off, I'm really sucking wind! HA! I needed my walk break way before I expected to, but it's all about learning, right?

I thought I did pretty well yesterday for my maiden voyage around town. 2.2 miles in 36 minutes - not bad for me. And I finally have an outside, street-valid baseline. My plan is to continue this 2.2 mile route until I can get the time down to something I'm really happy with, then I'll start adding my final mile (which I already have mapped out). I felt great after running yesterday - it was really fun. I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm looking forward to doing it again on Friday and, of course, doing it faster!

And, yes, people did see me running. Me. Running. Very cool. But that's also the downside of running outside in a small town - you see people you know and want to stop and chat. But I can only wave and keep going - because now I'm a runner!!

(BTW, Erica, Warren says hi. See?)

Weekend Update

RonnieFR — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:25:30 GMT

Yes, I'm plagiarizing the title from my favorite SNL segment. Unfortunately, my update is not as entertaining ("Really? Really?"). This week was a back-to-normal, no injury, no drama week. I have myself on what I think is a pretty good schedule: running on Sunday, Tuesday, Friday; weight training Monday and Thursday; glorious rest on Wednesday and Saturday. Since returning from my knee injury, I found that this works the best for me - I don't overdue it on any day and I need the two days of rest. The day that I blew out my knee was the last day of an active week, and one where I packed in running and weight training. So that's a no-no for now.

I was looking forward to running outside again this week, but the weather has just been too cold and windy. Sunny, high 30s/low 40s, little wind I can take - windy, wind chill in the 20s, dreary, not so much. Tomorrow I was looking forward to a nice run through town, but we're supposed to get snow overnight so it may be back on the treadmill again. I'm actually looking forward to getting outside and running the ‘circle' which is a bit over 2 miles. I hope I do well and I hope lots of people see me - LOL!! But, come on, get warmer!!

Summary for Coach Dave: I'm still entering my runs in the training log because I like the way it calculates my time and can give me a monthly summary. This week I did my three runs, 30 minutes each. And when I say run, I mean run/walk. I'm still a real rookie yet on doing those longer segments. Friday I felt really tired and it showed in my running time. Two days of weight training - 45 minutes each with a personal trainer.

Wind Whippin' Down the Boardwalk

RonnieFR — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:27:11 GMT

Today was the first day I took to the streets - well, the boards really. It was nice enough outside to get off the treadmill and head outside to see how I do in the ‘real world'. Instead of moving directly to pavement, especially in light of my recent knee injury, I went to the Long Branch boardwalk to test my street-feet. I now know the genesis of Bruce Springsteen's lyrics "It's cold down along the beach, and the winds' whippin' down the boardwalk." The Boss is so smart.

So, heading north was heading into the wind, big time. I did two miles in about 32 minutes which is really good considering it's the end of my first week back running. I'm betting the first mile took me 20 min and the next mile, with the wind at my back, took significantly less time. Pray for a tail wind in May, Rookies!

This week I read Lori's blog on the Bye Bye Baby Weight team, and she remarked that when you stop running on a treadmill you fall off, but when you stop running on the street nothing happens. HAH - how true. This means you have to dig deep to motivate yourself to start running again if you happen to stop, even if the stopping and walking feel pretty good. The nice thing about the boardwalk here is that it is marked off in 1/10 mile increments - so you can always play little mind games with yourself .. "only 1/10 of a mile to go and I can walk...".

Today was also the first time I broke out the Omron pedometer. Love it! And absolutely essential to running without the treadmill keeping track for you. Thanks, Active!

I'm Done

RonnieFR — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:54:12 GMT

That's right - I'm done hobbling around!!! YAY!! I can't say that I'm 100% but the knee injury that had me sidelined for two weeks has FINALLY gotten better. It seemed like I turned the corner last Wednesday. I was finally able to put my shoes on without tears and I could get through the day without some painkillers (OK - maybe that was cheating, but too bad!). I kept up with PT, ice, and rest. For nearly two solid weeks I didn't do anything (unless hobbling is an exercise), and finally last Friday night I couldn't take it so I did some weight lifting at home, some calf raises and just got some blood moving again. Saturday at PT, I hit the bike for some no-impact cardio and I was able to get through it without pain.

Today was the 'big day' for me because I had an ortho appointment. I believe now, seriously, that the way to heal any injury is to make an appointment with a doctor - by the time you get in to see the doc you're almost completely healed. I've been worrying that he was going to tell me I need surgery now, and I've been asking everyone how long it would take me to recuperate - "Can I have surgery now and recovery to run by May?". One 'visiting' doc at the chiro said - "It depends on what May you're talking about." - which sort of bummed me out. Luckily for me, my very-cool ortho, who is almost like Dr. House but a bit funnier, is pretty conservative and HONEST. We both know that I'll have to have surgery sometime, but apparently he doesn't think I'll do more damage to my medial meniscus tear (I finally asked him what it was) and I can have surgery after the run if I need it. He said that he really "supported my goal" of running the 5K. I got a cortisone shot (wow - now THAT hurts), did a full weight workout (but took it easy), and went to PT/chiro.

So tomorrow is the BIG RETURN to training. I think I'll take it easy for awhile to see how it goes - some of my hesitancy may be psychological now. Since I've missed the last two weeks of the longer runs, I'm going to go back to where I left off (or even a bit before) and start working up from there again. Good idea, Coach? I'll be a couple weeks behind everyone, and I may be bringing up the rear of the 5K in May, but I have 3 good months to work on it. And there's always next year to improve my time.

Go Rookie Runners!!

Still in Hiding

RonnieFR — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:37:39 GMT

Oh - I feel so bad! Over a week now, and I'm still hobbling around with my knee. I haven't done anything in 10 days and I can't even say that my knee feels better. I saw my miracle-worker chiro and his PT staff four times last week, and it's not really helping. I'll be going a few more times this week, and to the ortho on Monday (finally he's back from vacation) - so I'll keep you all posted. Thanks to everyone for leaving me uplifting messages - they help. But in a way they make me feel sorry for myself because I'm worried about failing before I even begin.

I wish I had read Coach Dave's blog on Injuries before I decided to 'push-through' the pain on my last jog. His advice was "if you limp through it you will make it worse" - I guess that's why he's the coach and I'm the bonehead.

My Tale of Woe/I'm Moving Slow...

RonnieFR — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:41:52 GMT

I'm being punished for being too cocky. I was so proud that I've been keeping up with workouts and steadily improving. Last Saturday I went to the gym, started my training on the treadmill, and my left knee began to hurt. I'm no stranger to bum knees (I currently have TWO tears in my left meniscus), but I really thought that through strengthening and some PT I was back to nearly 100%. Dead wrong. I had to cut my workout short - only completed about half. Then, feeling a little bit better in the afternoon, I did some weight training and (stupidly) included some rope jumping and other leg exercises. Here it is Wednesday, still in pain and walking like I'm 95. I hobbled into my miracle-working chiropractor and his staff of therapists on Monday and Tuesday, I've had ice on my knee, it's wrapped and swollen and maybe only a tiny bit better than at the beginning of the week. I can barely walk, let alone jog. I go back to Dr. Tom tomorrow.

In the meantime, I called my ortho just to get a quick check to see what the deal was and he's on vacation until next Thursday. Smart man. However, I got a call back from his assistant who proceeded to lecture me and told me how I'd never get back to 100% and that I really need surgery. She mumbled something about quality of life as I was thinking about how long I have until our 5K. Last summer was when I injured my knee and through strengthening and PT I was able to recover to the point that I thought I had "healed". So I have faith that if I take if easy for a while, keep the ice on it, then ease back into exercising I'll be OK.

Still looking forward to my first (and maybe my only) 5K. In the meantime, I think I'll focus on losing a few more pounds. That has to help, right? Moral of my story: Don't wait until you're in your 50s to get serious about exercise!!!