Marathon Training Week 13 and an Award!

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I can’t believe that it’s been over 3 months since I began training for the marathon. In some ways I feel like I am starting over. My runs are slow. I have yet to do a long run over 13 miles. However, the great news is I am running and going to the gym again.  So here is the breakdown of the past week.

Date

Scheduled Run

Actual Workout
Sunday, 10/9/11 Rest Day Rest Day

 
Monday, 10/10/11 5 Mile Run 5 Mile Run

 
Tuesday,  10/11/11 Rest Day Rest Day

 
Wednesday, 10/12/11 7 Mile Run 7 Mile Run
Thursday, 10/13/11 Rest Day Rest Day

 
Friday, 10/14/11 5 Mile Pace Run 4 Mile Run

 
Saturday, 10/15/11 15 Mile Run 45 Minutes on the Arc Trainer at the gym

 

Beginning this week I am revising my training schedule to reflect where I am at now. I appreciate the comments I received here during the broken rib ordeal. Writing about my experience helped me to take the time I needed to heal. I remain marveled by the body and its ability to endure something so painful yet repair itself as though nothing had ever happened. Rest assured that while I feel terrific, I am still going about the training in a mindful, cautious manner.

In other news the very sweet Marion, from Affection for Fitness awarded me a Liebster Blog award.

As she explained the word Liebster means ‘Beloved’ in German–and a show of love and support is what this award is all about.  The idea is to bring attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers.

Thank you so much Marion. I am participating in Marion’s Fruits & Veggies 30 Day Challenge. She keeps everyone focused with daily articles or information about fruits and vegetables. I am enjoying the challenge and it has really made a difference in my diet over the last couple of weeks. Marion’s love of weightlifting is inspiring and motivating. Learning to lift weights at the gym can be a bit overwhelming especially for women. I love her attitude towards the gym. I just know if we went to the same gym she would have had me bench pressing a long time ago!

As I am relatively new to the blog world as an actual blogger I have very few followers. For those who read my blog and continue to come back, thank you very much. If you are new to my little blog please leave me a comment even if it is just to say hello. Please link to your blog too. I will repay the visit.

Work

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I don’t mention my job much here, but I am a nurse. I’ve been a nurse for five and a half years. It is my second career, the first being a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher. I began my nursing career on a standard Medical/Surgical unit aka Med-Surg. I learned so much in my nearly three years there. I saw a wide variety of cases. I confronted most of my nursing fears head on as I delved into patient care which included post-op patients, pre-op patients, patients with drains, tubes, dressings, etc. I learned to manage my time with an often overwhelming patient assignment including admissions and transfers. The experience prepared me well. Med-Surg nurses are often overlooked and underrated. I have great respect for Med-Surg nurses who have dedicated their careers to this demanding, specialized niche of nursing that really serves as the backbone for all of nursing.

After being floated numerous times to the Intermediate Care Unit (IMC), a monitored cardiac unit, I knew that the time had come for a change. The great thing about being a nurse is that there are so many areas I in which to practice. The switch to cardiac care initially proved to be a challenging yet rewarding change for me. My co-workers were incredibly supportive and knowledgeable. However, my training was severely lacking and I trudged along for a year feeling as though I was not quite cut out for the critical care setting. Aside from the frequent staff drama there were also some major administrative and management changes that had occurred a few months after starting the position in IMC. I had an erratic schedule and I was leaving later and later each day. I loved the patient care aspect but the rest of it weighed heavy and caused a great deal of unnecessary stress both at work and home. I got talking to one of the nurses from the Psychiatric Unit and after numerous chats she told me of a night shift nursing position available on her floor. I went to Human Resources that morning after work to apply. I didn’t even need to think about it.

Did you ever just feel right about something? I knew instantly that this was the path I was supposed to take in nursing. Needless to say I have been on that unit for almost two years. The time has flown by and I have never been happier in my nursing career. I absolutely love what I do. I work with a terrific group of people. I have a supportive boss. I get out of work at 7 am on the button which makes bringing Carlos to school possible and going for runs immediately after work on the weekends a lot easier. I have a set schedule and no mandatory holiday schedule. Though we are required to work some holidays there is a sign up sheet that is posted for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. The funny thing is the slots get filled without any difficulty or argument. Some of us like the extra money and don’t mind working those holidays, others are so grateful to be able to have the time off.

It isn’t hard to believe that while working on the previous nursing units I was unable to lose weight and though I tried to run I didn’t stick with it. Since I started on the Psych Unit I have lost and maintained an 8 pound weight loss. I have been able to commit to running. I find sincere support and interest from my colleagues. They actually let me blab about running amongst other things. It’s a two way street as I love hearing about their lives too. We all lend an ear when someone has a dilemma or had a bad day. We work great as a team. I truly enjoy going to work at night (oh and believe it or not I love working nights!).

Being content at work has translated to other areas of my life. I always believed that my career would be a priority. That was until I had my son. I am a hard worker with a very strong work ethic. I’m motivated and driven to succeed, but not in the same way I once thought was important. Ultimately caring for Carlos is my primary job and one that I am blessed to experience. People often ask me if it is difficult to work nights. I reply, “my night job is not nearly as difficult as my day job.” When I come home in the morning grinning from ear to ear it’s not only because I’m happy to see my family, it’s because I’ve had another great night at “my other job.”

Weigh In Day: Week 1

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I started this blog to chronicle my marathon training. I don’t focus on my weight or my history with weight struggles, but I’ve mentioned it here and there. In the last few years I have lost weight through a healthy diet and increased activity, plain and simple. Over the past year I have been stuck at about the same weight. To me this is still somewhat of a success because I never before had a handle on maintaining my weight. Despite staying at the same weight my body changed as I trained for a half marathon and began to strength train on a regular basis. I was starting to feel comfortable in my own skin. However, in the last four or five months not much has changed and I am not entirely comfortable in my body. I still carry an extra 20-30 pounds on my 5’2″ frame.

I saw my primary care physician in the second week of marathon training for a physical. He assessed my vital signs, looked over recent lab results and we talked about my health, my diet, my training and lifestyle. He agreed that everything looked great, but he wanted to do an EKG as a precaution. I have never had an EKG before. The EKG picked up a slight irregularity, T wave inversion. Without getting too clinical this reading on the EKG is insignificant in and of itself and since I was asymptomatic (no chest pain, no difficulty breathing) there was no reason to panic without further examination.

I was sent to a Cardiologist. A repeat EKG was performed with the same results appearing. The Cardiologist sat with me for 45 minutes at the end of a Friday. We talked about my health in-depth including family history. He reviewed my labs. My cholesterol levels had improved over the last few years. I had lost over 60 pounds since giving birth to my son in 2006. I have eliminated meat and most dairy products from my diet. The Cardiologist was pleased with all of this information and he enthusiastically gave me the go ahead to train for the marathon under one condition: that I continue to make weight loss a priority and strive to get down about 20 pounds. This would put me at the high end of normal on the BMI scale. I greatly appreciated that the doctor was not placing unrealistic expectations on me yet he was holding me accountable to myself to keep up the work I had been doing to improve my health. As for the EKG results, the doctor encouraged me to go forth with life without worrying about the irregularity because it is likely benign, but obviously stop activity at the earliest sign of chest pain or shortness of breath and call the office.

From early adolescence weight loss was about appearance for me. Since the birth of my son, weight loss is about creating a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle. I don’t want to simply lose the weight without understanding how to keep it off. I don’t want to necessarily get thin I want to get healthy.

Right now I am participating in Biz’s Holiday 2011 Challenge and I am really committed to it. When I signed up to do the challenge my goal was to lose 20 pounds by New Year’s. I got off to a slow start and then broke my rib which brought my physical activity to a screeching halt. Instead of giving up I decided to journal my food and track calories as much as possible. My weight has hovered at 161.5 for the last few months. It fluctuated a bit in the first week that I wasn’t exercising. I weighed myself one morning and was really disappointed to see 163. Once I got a handle on my limitations I stabilized back to 161.5 pounds.

I have been exercising again for a week. I continue to journal my food as often as I can. I have been really trying to limit my snacking especially at work. Yesterday was my first official weigh in for the Holiday Challenge.

Weigh in #1 = 160.4 pounds

I am beyond thrilled. I have re-evaluated my goal for the challenge and as of right now I am committed to losing enough weight to put me into the 140s by New Year’s. That is 11.4 pounds in 11 weeks. This is a manageable goal. I feel like I’m back on track and I’m ready to lose this weight. I know that I will feel better, run a little faster and be closer to optimal health.

My weigh in day was Thursday this week but next week it will be Saturday because of my work schedule and will alternate that way. I prefer to weigh myself in the morning after a night off.

Sorry for being so wordy tonight. I have been wanting to write this for a few days, but had to wait for the weigh in. Thanks for reading 🙂

Marathon Training Week 12

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The holiday yesterday totally threw me off. I always do my marathon training updates on Mondays, but all day yesterday it felt like Sunday. The weather this weekend was incredible. It was blazing hot yesterday. Well at least it felt that way outside on the blacktop at my son’s school’s Fall Festival. It was a great turnout and Carlos had a blast. He now has a tattoo (temporary of course), a paddle ball game, a big bag of greasy popcorn and a new stuffed Clifford dog!

So marathon training has been rather dull for the past couple of weeks as I allow my broken rib to heal. However, I was able to incorporate more activity this week. Here is what should have been and what actually happened.

Date

Scheduled Run

Actual Workout
Sunday, 10/2/11 Rest Day Rest Day 
Monday, 10/3/11 5 Mile Run 2 Mile Walk 
Tuesday,  10/4/11 Strength Training None

 
Wednesday, 10/5/11 7 Mile Run 60 Minutes on the Arc Trainer
 
Thursday, 10/6/11 Strength Training  None
Friday, 10/7/11 5 Mile Pace Run 4 Mile Walk with intermittent slow jogging 
Saturday, 10/8/11 14 Mile Run None

 

As you can see I “ran” for the first time since injuring my rib on Friday. I slowly jogged for minutes at a time and alternated walking the rest of the time. I felt great despite an obvious awareness that I recently hurt myself. There was no pain during or after exercising. I took Ibuprofen as scheduled, rested in the afternoon, and stayed well hydrated with water and mineral tea.

I started this blog to document my marathon training. I want to be honest, but as always I do not recommend that anyone take my words for advice. I am not a doctor. I did, however, call my doctor this morning. I had a physical in the second week of marathon training so my doctor knows about my running goals. He was aware of the broken rib the day after it happened although he didn’t feel that it was necessary for me to make a visit to his office as long as I was adhering to the proper treatment. My doctor has given me the green light to continue running at a slow and comfortable pace as long as there is no pain or difficulty breathing. He recommended taking rest days in between runs over a few miles and advocated for a return to mild strength training as I am able.

Again this is not meant to serve as advice for anyone reading this. Each person heals differently and has a different baseline for their health. I intend on taking it easy while running and on my rest days. I will stop exercising immediately at any indication of pain or discomfort. I am very pleased with the progress I have made but I know that I am still vulnerable. I do not intend on doing anything to jeopardize my ability to work, take care of my son and safely train for this marathon.

I will be re-evaluating my training schedule over the next couple of days. I’m not exactly sure when the double digit runs will reappear, but it will not be this week.

In the meantime I am relaxing outside on a gorgeous Indian Summer October day with my little guy. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll at the college this morning, both with our cameras. I’ll be back tomorrow with some of those photos.

Challenge

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I am currently participating in three challenges that I wanted to talk about. I love a challenge. I’m not competitive by any means. I could care less if I “win” although that’s not really the idea with any of these challenges. I enjoy being a part of a group all striving to better themselves. I love the support that comes from the participants. I find it motivating to hear how others are doing. Evaluating my progress helps to keep me accountable as well.

The first challenge I joined is Biz’s Holiday 2011 Challenge. Each participant has a different goal and we update our progress weekly. My goal for this challenge is to shed those last 20 pounds by the New Year while training for a marathon. It has certainly been a challenge so far with this darned broken rib halting my progress. I haven’t lost any weight since the accident, but I haven’t gained any either. I’m going to change things up a little this week with my diet in hopes of shaking up my metabolism. Namely I will be filling my plate with fruits and vegetables, there will be more Green Monsters, lots of leafy green kale and spinach salads, and roasted root vegetables. This leads me into my next challenge.

I am also participating in Marion’s More Fruits & Veggies 30-Day Challenge over at Affection for Fitness. The idea is to incorporate a variety of fruits and vegetables into your diet during the month of October. This is a great month to be focusing on eating healthy because as Halloween approaches the tasty temptations begin to appear and don’t disappear until after Christmas. Marion posts daily and includes interesting research about fruits and vegetables. I love learning more about nutrition. This challenge has also helped me to transition from summer to fall/winter vegetables and to start thinking about new ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into my diet.

The third challenge is the Brita Challenge. The idea is simply to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. There is a twitter feed and emails to offer support and reminders. Seems simple right? Well with the temperatures cooling down I am guilty of not drinking enough water. I am enjoying this challenge because I think I often snack when I’m actually thirsty. Now I reach for a glass of water before deciding to snack. I’ve been drinking lots of mineral tea to aid in the healing of my broken rib so that has been a flavorful way to hydrate. Oh and did I mention that if you join the challenge you will be entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the Biggest Loser Ranch.

I has been a gorgeous weekend here in New England. The leaves are slowly changing color, but there are pumpkins and mums galore.

Pumpkins Galore

Fall is here

Carlos and his auntie carved a jack-o-lantern yesterday while I baked oatmeal cookies for Carlos’ school bake sale.

Carlos' Jack-O-Lantern

We have soccer games all weekend. So far Carlos is loving it especially the social aspect of it!

Ghosts vs. Pumpkins

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

FiveFridayFacts

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Just a few things you may or may not know about me.

1. We have only one television in our house and I don’t watch it. The few things I do watch I view online.

2. I suddenly become very curious about famous people after they die. I start googling and reading Wikipedia articles. Needless to say I’m anxiously awaiting the Steve Jobs biography. So sad 😦

3. I now understand why Pinterest is all the rage. My page is a bit drab but I’m getting the hang of it and it sure is addicting!

4. I ran today for the first time since “the injury.” I went very slowly and took walking breaks. It felt great to be out there again. I did what felt comfortable and I don’t feel as though I overdid it.

5. One of my favorite books is “Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus” by Orson Scott Card. This book explores the past through time travel and tries to answer the question, what if Columbus had never “discovered” America.

It is shaping up to be a gorgeous weekend here. I’m looking forward to my weekend off. Carlos has a soccer game Saturday and Sunday. My fall decorations will be up by Sunday. I have some baking to do for the bake sale at Carlos’ school’s fall festival on Monday.

Have a great weekend. Pinterest here I come!

Marathon Training Week 11

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I did not do any physical activity last week because of my healing rib. I was very compliant with doctor’s orders to rest as much as possible. As a result I am feeling so much better.

Here is what was expected during week 11 of marathon training:

Sunday, 9/25/11 – Rest Day

Monday, 9/26/11 – 5 Mile Run + Strength Training

Tuesday, 9/27/11 – 7 Miles Run

Wednesday, 9/28/11 – 5 Mile Run

Thursday, 9/29/11 – 3 Mile Run + Strength Training

Friday, 9/30/11 – Rest Day

Saturday, 10/1/11 – 14 Mile Run

It has been exactly two weeks today since I last went for a run. I am taking it slowly to ensure that my rib heals properly. However, this morning I feltl up to a little activity so I went for a 1.5 mile walk at the reservoir after bringing Carlos to school. I felt absolutely fine while walking and thereafter. My heart ached a little as runners passed by me, but I will be back in action soon.

This afternoon Carlos and I walked to the library, well I walked, Carlos rode his scooter. I have to admit that on the way back I began to feel a little sore. So I just took a couple of Tylenol and I’m resting on the sofa. The amount of medication I take is greatly reduced to Ibuprofen three times a day and Tylenol or Aleve as needed as well as vitamins and a couple of homeopathic remedies.

Carlos and I were both really excited to see some signs of fall on our walk. Everyone (except me!) has their mums decorating their homes and we saw a few Halloween decorations too. There were quite a few crisp leaves along the sidewalk. The air is noticeably cooler. We love it!

Carlos and I did some baking over the weekend. We made Mama Pea’s Chocolate Chip Cake from Peas and Thank You, but since I didn’t have a cake pan (I know – Shame!) I used a brownie pan. It didn’t matter, our brownies cake was delicious. My husband and co-workers agreed!

Have a great Monday!

Raindrops

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It was a rainy weekend here, but despite the raindrops we had a fantastic family weekend. My son had his first and second soccer games, one on Saturday and another today. The rain broke long enough for them to play on Saturday and out of a gloomy morning came a sunny afternoon today. Carlos plays on a 4 year old instructional soccer team. The kids are absolutely adorable to watch. The coach is a saint with more patience than even a preschool teacher.

Pay Attention Carlos!

Game day was a hoot. I have not laughed so hard in ages. Picture a bunch of fidgety four year olds chasing a soccer ball around a field in a cluster. There were two nets on either side but no goalies! Most of the time the kids couldn’t remember which goal they were supposed to shoot into and ended up shooting at the wrong goal. Then much to their chagrin after half time they switched sides causing mass confusion as parents hollered “other way, turn it around.” The referees certainly got a work out as the ball was out of play more than it was on the playing field.

The Cluster - Carlos is #23 in the white shirt

At one point Carlos stopped and turned in the direction of the ice cream truck that had just made an appearance in the parking lot and yelled “ICE CREAM TRUCK!”  Suddenly parents were promising ice cream treats if their child would just shoot the ball into the goal. Most of the time Carlos looked as though he was practicing a dance. He was fascinated with a plane flying overhead, the grass, the string on his shorts and really anything but the ball unless it rolled in his direction.

Carlos kicking a corner kick

Unfortunately the Ghosts lost both games. Bottom line though, everyone had fun especially us parents. Of course we treated Carlos to ice cream at Friendly’s after the first game. Watermelon sherbet for me, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup for the evil “can eat what he wants and never gains weight” husband. I gained three pounds simply looking at his!

Rib update: I am feeling fantastic. I am in virtually no pain unless I reach, turn or stretch the wrong way, but even that has dulled considerably. I have been diligently resting whenever possible. However, I am going to try to resume some type of exercise tomorrow while Carlos is at school even if it is just a walk with purpose. I do not intend on pushing myself too hard. I know my limits and I am also very cognizant of the fact that although the physical pain may be gone the bone itself is not likely to be fully healed just yet. I do not want to re-injure myself. It hasn’t even been two weeks but I am definitely moving in the right direction and I am very hopeful that I will be running within the next two weeks.

I’ll be back tomorrow with my usual Marathon Training update and information about a few challenges I’m participating in to keep me on track with my diet goals. Hope you had a great weekend.

LinkLove

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No Debbie Downer here today. I woke up feeling a little better today. I went to get my eyebrows waxed last night which made me feel like a new woman! I could barely sit in the chair but a girl’s gotta do what she has to so the brows don’t become one. I’m getting my hair done this weekend, go away grey! I spent some quality time with my husband last night catching up on life. Today is our official 10 year wedding anniversary. Luckily our anniversary trip to Bermuda came earlier in the month. See these posts for a recap of our gorgeous weekend in Bermuda.

I have been enjoying a few recipes around the blog world. I am inspired everyday by the amazingly talented bloggers out there who graciously share their delicious creations. I have been moving towards a whole foods plant based diet. For me this is a process. It is certainly made easier by the wealth of vegan recipes shared online. So here are some of the dishes I’ve made recently with links to their origin.

With all this rest I’m getting I have even managed to watch a few things in their entirety. I never watch television so everything I watch is on my computer. I generally watch movies online on Netflix although unless I buck up and pay for the online membership that will be a thing of the past soon. So here’s what I’ve been watching.

  • The Biggest Loser on NBC – this is the only television show I’m watching right now and I’ve only seen the first episode so far. I know this isn’t a realistic model for weight loss, but the personal stories of the contestants get me every time. Although I have to say I have conflicted feelings about the contestants running a marathon without dedicated training.
  • Forks Over Knives – this is a film which follows the journeys of Dr. T. Colin Campbell, the author of the book “The China Study” and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn as they explore the relationship between the food we eat and our health. The overwhelming message of the film is that we have the ability to take control of our health simply by eating a plant based diet. I am slowly making my way through the China Study on the Kindle App on my iPhone. It’s interesting and definitely makes me think about my food choices.
  • A Diet for all Reasons – I discovered this on one of my new favorite blogs, Marion’s Affection for Fitness. This is an hour long presentation of Dr. Michael Klaper as “explores and explains the relationship between diet and health.” It very much echoes the sentiments of the information provided in Forks Over Knives, but interesting none the less.