Mid month update

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Suzanne

I haven’t been posting much because frankly, I can only say “Wow, I’m tired” or “Holy cow, my job is busy” so many times. It’s all true, but it doesn’t make for interesting blog fodder.

I did get to use my Mom voice today: some students were in the detention room working on an assignment, and I could hear an awful lot of talking. So…I walked around the corner and of course they all startled when I walked in. “Aren’t you supposed to be working on something?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Well, I hear any awful lot of talking and if you are talking you aren’t working so…please get back to work…”

It was a tiny bit quieter after that…

Tonight I dragged myself on to the treadmill and managed to run for 25 minutes straight. I was feeling pretty good about this, until I discovered that now, apparently, the people that designed the running schedule I’m following have decided that because I ran 25 minutes in a row ONCE, they think I should do it ALL the time. The next three runs are 25 minutes…and then they think I’m going to do 28! And 30! Ack!

Racing for the Cure

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Suzanne

Long time readers may recall that last fall I participated in a Race for the Cure in Des Moines, IA.

I walked most of it, which was OK (my final “official” time was 49:40). I also managed to raise over $800. I didn’t think that last part was too remarkable (since my race time clearly wasn’t…), but as it turns out, it was: I was one of the top 100 fundraisers last year. Number 36, to be exact. (You can see the list here. It’s a PDF.) Of course, I’m well aware that the only reason I managed this is because my family and friends were so amazing with their support.

Naturally, though, my competitive nature is rearing its head: not only do I want a better race time this year, but I start to wonder: how much can I raise this year?? Can you help me, and more importantly, can you help the Iowa Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure?

Suzanne’s Personal Fundraising Page

(Right underneath the thermometer is a MAKE A GIFT link).

When you click on that link, you can choose one of their “suggested” donation amounts, or you can type in your own: even $5 if that’s all you can afford.

I’ll be posting with updates as I get ready to run/walk again this year, and even if you can’t help with a donation, please keep me in your thoughts.

Thanks,

Suzanne

The battle of the chub

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Suzanne

Last year, I did this great thing: I started exercising on a regular basis, and it felt good. I made good progress, and even finished a 5K (I walked most of it, but I finished, and by the time I got to that point, I was pretty happy with that outcome).

But I was struggling with plantar fasciitis and shin splints, and I let the winter blahs get the better of me, and I pretty much quit doing anything.

So here I am, starting over. I am not upset with myself, there’s not really any point. I think the important thing is that I am moving again, and you know what? I’m not as bad off as I was worried I was going to be. Oh sure, I’ve gained back the weight I had lost last summer (and it brought a few of its friends along for the ride), but the actual workouts? It feels good to be moving, and already I am back to 10 pushups and 15 situps (even if my pushups are pathetic). We’ve also had a pretty active summer, with the sanding and the moving of boxes and everything else involved with Mom’s new house, so even though I’m sore all of the time, it’s a GOOD sore.

One thing I’m doing is tracking my workouts on Daily Mile. I’ve added a widget on my sidebar that shows my latest workout. (I could have picked one that showed how many donuts I’ve earned (based on the number of calories I’ve supposedly burned). For the record: I’ve now earned 20 donuts. Or 7 cheeseburgers).

I’m working on the treadmill, using a plan to get me running called Couch 2 5K. You start off slowing, alternating running with walking, gradually increasing the amount of running you do. (And I’m trying really hard to be careful about not having a repeat of the shin splint episodes from last year).

As I’m torturing myself, I keep asking myself, why? Why do I want to be able to run? I could do all of this work on the elliptical, which is low impact, but gets my heart pumping, and my competitive little soul finds it pretty satisfying to see the miles add up on that thing.

My main goal is to be healthier. To set a better example for the boys.

But I should be completely honest. I want to be able to run so that in the coming zombie apocalypse, I’m not the slowest piece of meat running away from the zombie horde.

12 more days

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Suzanne

There are 12 days left until the Des Moines Race for the Cure. My so-called “training” got run off the rails by a number of things over the last 10 days, but I’m somewhat sort of back in action.

Mostly, I’m freaked out by the fact that my race packet arrived the other day. They have 18,000+ runners signed up, and I ended up with number 15. I could have just as easily ended up as number 16,879, but I think it’s really kind cool to have gotten a number like 15.

You’ll notice that when I do pin on my number, I have a spot to write in how much I raised. The goal I set was $500, but in my effort not to be obnoxious and pushy about asking for money, it seems that I made it sound like I didn’t really need anyone’s help at all. Well, that’s not how I meant it to come out. So I’m going to try again, because I do need your help, but more importantly, the cause needs your help. A portion of the money raised goes towards breast cancer research, the bulk is used for local education, screening and treatment support services.

One of the reasons I ended up going quiet here on the blog was that my Grandma Humphrey passed away a little over a week ago. She was a breast cancer survivor, and I’ll be walking/running in her memory. I’m also doing this because I need to take better care of myself.

I know that times are tough, or maybe you are already supporting a Race for the Cure participant, or you have allocated your charity dollars somewhere else this year, but if you can help me reach my goal, I’d really appreciate it.

My personal fundraising page is here:

Suzanne’s Race for the Cure Page

When you click on the “Make a Gift” link, you’ll be presented with a bunch of radio buttons with “suggested” donations, the lowest being $25 — you can always type in your own amount, even as little as $5. And even if you can’t donate, please be thinking of me and my effort to convince my body that walking/running 5K is a good idea.

Thank you,

Suzanne

Counting Down: 24 Days

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Suzanne

24 Days until I Race for the Cure. (I still have a long way to go on my fundraising goal, if you can help, here’s my personal fundraising page. If you CAN help, I’ll be eternally grateful).

Today’s run/walk: 2.44 miles total, 1.04 running. I had Mark get my bike down — I was afraid I’d hurt myself, if I tried to pull it down. Plus, the tires needed air, and as it turned out, the seat needed to be raised — he had lowered it to let the boys ride on it one time. I didn’t actually decide to ride it today, I find I have to work into the idea of trying something new. Not that the bike is new. Good grief, that thing is…older than the boys, certainly. Actually, I can remember buying it at the Target in Cedar Rapids, so it must have been shortly after we got married — which makes the bike 14-ish. I never did ever ride it very often, gee, I wonder if that’s because I was out of shape back then, too? Or that I get excited about something, only to abandon it shortly thereafter? At any rate, it’s waiting for me to hop on it when I’m ready for it, as a cross-training option.

And…now I’m going to include a really cute picture of one of the boys right after he had gotten his first haircut, in order to distract you from the fact that I don’t have anything else. Wasn’t he cute? Doesn’t Mark look young?