Good to go

For the last couple of weeks, I have been getting used to being back at work, fundraising, and getting myself into a more athletic state. None of these have been easy, but they are all helping me in their various ways.

"Dug" the dog in the movie "Up"

I am glad to be back at work, among my colleagues and trying to be productive. One of the current issues I have is an inability to keep focused. I experience this in more than just work, as I have a hard time reading, or even gaming, without everything distracting me. I cannot even stop the distractions, be they external or in my own mind. This frustrates me, as I used to be a very focused person, the kind that could get into a book or a game to the extent that I would not even hear people talking to me. The number of times my hubby would get up from his computer desk and tell me he was going to make dinner, only to come back to get me an hour later because my food was getting cold, and I had not even realized he had gotten up or spoken to me! I am hopeful this is just temporary, and I am really trying to pull my attention back to the work at hand. I call this the "squirrel" syndrome, after the dog in the movie "Up" :)


Fundraising has been going very well. I had no idea what to expect as I have never done this before. So I aimed rather low, and started early, figuring that way I could get some done before  I get busier with work, training, and summer stuff around the house. I have mainly just been emailing friends and colleagues, telling them what I am doing and why, and the generosity so far has been amazing. I find it a great comfort that so many are willing to help out for a good cause, in memory of hubby. I met my initial goal within the first week, and met my second goal as of today. The support I am getting beyond the fundraising is also wonderful. Each word of encouragement just confirms that I am doing the right thing with this endeavor. So, thank you!!!!

As to the actual physical part of this, the running, I am good to go. My friend "L" has been a great help, giving me excellent guidance on gear and motivation. She is an experienced marathoner, who is now attempting to move to the triathlon scene. About 2 weeks ago, she took me shopping. I love her attitude about what is worth the money and what is not. Shoes and socks are super important, so those we went to specialized stores to obtain. I was expecting to pay $$$ for shoes- I mean those are taking a lot of abuse when you run. I was quite surprised about socks, although they also make sense. So $150 on shoes was not shocking to me, but for some reason $15 for a pair of socks was :) But if I am doing this, then I will listen to those that have done this, and the advise they give me. For clothing, "L" was less inclined to go to the specialized stores, and instead we went to a lower priced department chain. I did learn about the importance of clothing that did not hold moisture (wicking fabrics good- cotton bad), and something I had not considered- seam placement and chaffing potential. This apparently is of concern also with sports bras, but as I told her, I am happy I was able to find ONE that works, as there is not a lot of choice for me. I could not even have considered running until fairly recently because there was nothing suitable for "bounce control" in my size. I will deal with chaffing if it becomes an issue. She did point out an interesting item in the one store, a product called "Bodyglide" which I gather is used to combat the chaffing issues. I have to say, it reminded me of, well, lubricants, and the thought of slathering that on before running is not something I want to contemplate. Yet. Let's tuck that into the "advanced topics" folder for later. When I am comfortable with $15 socks.

Brooks Pureflow 2 (above) and
Saucony Powergrid Ride 6 (below)

I really have no idea what type of shoe I prefer, beyond how it feels on my foot and the need for cushioning. One salesperson was telling me about the need for super light shoes for races, and how he loves to feel the road. When you are built like me, "feeling the road" does not sound like a good thing. I want cushioning and lots of shock absorption. :D That said, I ended up buying 2 pairs. One I got on sale, and is a pair of Brooks Pureflow 2.0s. These are sort of minimalist in that they are pretty flat from toe to heel, but they also seem to have decent cushioning, especially for the midfoot region. If nothing else, I hope they will allow me to experience that type of stride, as for the most part I feel that I am more a heel person, which I gather is not the most efficient. If they don't work out, at least I won't feel bad about wasting money. The other pair I got was a pair of Mizuna Wave Rider 17. In the store they felt very nice. There were other pairs that felt nice too, but at the time I was there, they had a warranty whereby I could wear them anywhere and try them for 60 days and still return them if I was unhappy. I walked/jogged in them once, and found they were too narrow once my feet got warm, so back they went. Now I have a pair of Saucony Powergrid Ride 6. They seem much better. I also have an older pair of Saucony that I had bought last year when I thought hubby was better and I was starting to try some jogging (without success as I overdid it too fast). I am now rotating between all of them.

One thing I just have to mention with respect to running shoes, and actually most athletic shoes I saw. Are manufacturers having some sort of contest to see who can make the most gaudy-butt-ugly pair or something? The choice and mix of colors is just awful. I have ended up with ones with purple, not because those are TNT colors, but because that was the only color in my size of the on-sale Brooks, and unless I wanted to go with the more expensive, and hideously colorful vizi-glo ones, grey and purple was the only other choice for the Saucony pair. My older ones from last year happen to be a very bright turquoise with fluorescent orange, but again, I got those on sale. I can forgive a lot once the price goes down.

"L" also loaned me some hydration belts to try, to see if I have any preference, before I buy any of my own. I certainly now have a better idea of what will and will not work for me. :) I thought the ones with the four smaller bottles would be wonderful. Ummm no. How the belt sits on my waist and where the bottles fit (even if I rotate the belt some) is pretty much right in the way of my arms. I did however like the elastic nature of that belt over the ones that are just nylon and buckle affairs. So I will look for something that has the bottle(s) at the back, and also has the comfort of stretchiness for a secure fit.

Who knew that there was so much to know and learn about gear for a sport as simple as putting one foot in front of the other with a bit of speed???

Another thing "L" did was give me a beginners schedule for starting to run, since I felt it was a real shame not to use the almost 2 months before TNT training kicks off to so something towards the goal. I have been using it since about the second week of April, but am not advancing to the next "week" unless I am comfortable with my progress and how I feel. So currently, I am doing a mix of

Me out in the April snow

Week 2 Walk 1 min, run 1 min, walk 1 min X 10 sets (run 10/walk 20)
Week 3 Walk 1 min, run 2 min, walk 2 min X 6 sets; run 2 min, walk 1 min (run 14/walk 19)

where I go out every other day. I am also going out no matter what the weather. So I have been out when the temperature has been at freezing, in the wind, in some snow, and also rain. I am well aware that I have no control over what the weather will be on race day, so no real point to only heading out on fine days. Not that mother nature has been giving us many fine days yet :) "L" gave me some great advise to help me get my butt off the couch and outside- tell yourself that you will only go for 10 minutes and if its really that bad, you can then come home. She said she has never done just 10 minutes, and so far, neither have I.
　
So far, I am liking the activity. My brain goes mostly calm, apart from wondering how long I have left in the running intervals and wondering how many more run intervals I have left. :) I listen to music, and just try to enjoy it no matter what its like outside. Right now, its not my breathing side that is getting tired. Yes, I do breathe harder and faster, and my heart rate goes up, but I am held back more by my legs adjusting to this new activity. My shin muscles are not used to the exercise and they like to cramp up. Usually about half way through the above workouts they do this. So I have to walk for one of the run intervals and then they are fine again, and I can continue. I am being very cautious about increasing things too fast, as last year I did that and ended up with shin splints, which basically stopped me from continuing past a few weeks. So now I am on the lookout for any pain that persists. So far, the slight pain I get is only for that brief window at around the 15-20 min in mark, and is totally gone when I am done. So I feel things are okay.

I did break down and purchase one more item. Really, the techie in me could not resist. I did argue with myself about the cost, but then I asked myself "What would hubby have done?" He was even MORE of a tech gadget person than I am, and I knew he would have bought this before he even got shoes! So I now own a nice GPS runners watch, so I can track my distance/pace/time and also program in the intervals so that I don't have to keep track of that sort of thing manually. However, unlike what he would have gotten, I did not get the fanciest thing on the market, and just went for one that seemed to do what I required right now.

I am trying to eat a bit better now than previously- we had a lot of high calorie meals to keep hubby's weight up during the months and months of chemo and the time post stem-cell transplant. Better for me means more "green stuff", and more fresh rather than processed/pre-packaged foods. I love meat and pasta, and veggies tended to get in the way. Now I make sure they are part of every main meal. I am cooking in bulk on weekends and freezing it (pasta sauce, chili, stews), so that I don't have to spend too much time making things during the week. If I do make something during the week, its something like chicken Souvlaki or steak, which do not take very long. I am not much of a cook, and in fact hubby was the main cook in our house, with me helping him and doing the BBQing. With the addition of working out to my life, plus having to assume all the household chores, any time savings I can find are a bonus!
　
So, since I am also doing this to get back in shape (as well as fund-raise), I should be honest about my current shape and fitness. So, here I go, posting my weight publicly for the first time ever. At the time my hubby passed away, I weighed 190 pounds. I am only 5'4". According to all the charts, this classifies as obese, not simply overweight. At the time I started to use the schedule from "L" (about 7 weeks after his death) I was down to 180 pounds. The grief diet works wonders, but I do not recommend it. I am currently at 176 pounds. According to the body fat gadget I found in my hubby's office (that man seems to have acquired one of everything if it was a gadget !) , I am at 36.7% body fat with a BMI of 29.7.  My exercise level going into this would be best described as light to none, although we did occasional walks in the last half year or so. I did bike about 4-6 km most days until it got cool last fall, but that's not really a huge workout. I will update my progress on the "fitness" front from time to time as I continue this journey.