Ask Me Anything! for NaBloPoMo

I'm not going to try to write a novel for NaNoWriMo this year. I want to focus on running consistently again and reestablishing a balanced workout routine now that I am healed. I've been slacking on the healthy eating (read eating lots of halloween candy and comfort foods while sick), so I will make it a priority to eat real food and avoid sugar/fried foods to keep my weight from creeping up too much.

I'm going to participate in NaBloPoMo - National Blog Posting Month instead. I'll blog every day in November to breath some life into this blog. They provide daily prompts I can use if I want, so that will help when I get stuck, and I have a chance to win prizes! I don't want to go off topic too much just to blog daily, so I'll only use prompts that fit the "lifestyle chance" theme of this blog or I may add them at the bottom of a regular post and you can feel free to comment with your answers too. 

Ask Me Anything!

I've blogged for 30 days before, and it wasn't too bad, so I know I can do it again. A little help wouldn't hurt, so that's where you come in. I'm taking a page from many other bloggers I follow that have been struggling with inspiration for content too. This is your chance to get to know me and ask me anything you want (within reason). Just comment with your questions and I'll answer them in upcoming posts. You can ask me something specific about my lifestyle change, running, healthy eating, green living, bike commuting, life without a car, or life in general; or you can just give me a general topic you'd like me to write about. So ask away! 

Today's nablopomo prompt: "What toy from your childhood do you still have in your possession?" The answer should be obvious: LEGOS! :) I still have one of the original lego buckets I had as a child, including many of the instructions. I've grown my collection as an adult, because they are still my favorite toy. You can see some of my lego creations on flickr. 

Three Things Thursday: Health, Running, Weekend

1) Health: I'm feeling much better. I still have residual tooth ache, but nothing a little ibuprofen can't handle. The runny nose is non-existant. I cough every so often, but it's not chronic and mostly a dry cough. I'm certainly on the mend. Yay! :)

2) Running: I still have not run since the 12 miles on 10/16, and I'll be running a half marathon in 3 days. Surprisingly, I'm not anxious at all about the race. I know I've trained enough to finish without injury. I also know I have not trained enough to PR, and I am prepared for a PW and just have fun, but I'm afraid of a relapse if I run before then. So instead of running after work yesterday, I made excuses why I couldn't -- its too hot, I'm still coughing, my tooth hurts, I need to help make dinner, I think my tummy aches -- LAME! 

The reality is I think I have a mental block. After not running for this long due to illness, I'm almost afraid to try for fear of getting sick again or it sucking. I keep telling myself that nothing I do this week will affect my performance on Sunday, and that it's probably better to rest up and ensure my health is 100% for the race. This sounds like another excuse, but I'll be more upset if I run and then am too sick to even try the race. I'd like to try at least a short run to remind my legs they can still run and prepare myself mentally, but I'm somehow more at peace with just resting until race day.  

3) Weekend Plans: The race is in Miami, so we originally planned to drive down with my parents Saturday morning and returning on Monday. It looks like I have to work on Monday, so we'll likely be driving by ourselves Friday night, then driving back on Sunday shortly after the race. I don't mind coming back early, but I was really looking forward to a massage on Monday. I may just schedule it after work or when we get back into town Sunday. Is it too soon to have a massage the afternoon after a morning race?

The State of Kitzzy

It still holds true that my motivation to blog is directly related to how well my running is going. I guess I like blogging about my accomplishments instead of dwelling on the negatives. So here's a brief summary of what's been happening and what lies ahead, in bullet form because I was even boring myself writing this out =P

• Week 40 (Oct 4-10): 124 miles
• Week 41 (Oct 11-17): 61 miles
• biked to work once
• ran 18 miles over 3 runs, with my last long run of 12 miles on 10/16. 
• began feeling sick on 10/14, but wasn't too bad until Sunday night when I was absolutely miserable
• Week 42 (Oct 18-24): 
• Sick all week with a nasty cold = Zero exercise
• other than walking to the bus stop and dinner occasionally
• Sun, Oct 24: 
• sinus issues and tooth ache
• went to the doctor and got antibiotics
• Mon, Oct 25: 
• went to dentist for a check up and the tooth ache
• 1 small cavity and aching tooth may need root canal :(
• apparently sinus symptoms related to tooth ache 

And that brings us to today. I went back to the dentist this morning for a cleaning, a cavity filling, and to fix the aching tooth. Thankfully I did not need root canal! :) The tooth was cracked under the filling, so he fixed it and put on a temporary crown; I go back for a permanent crown in 3 weeks. I LOVE this dentist at Greenberg Dental. I was there for less than 2 hours, and they truly do cater to cowards. He explained what he was doing every step of the way and put me completely at ease, and he performed the fastest cavity filling I've ever had done in less than 10 minutes.

Coming Up ...

• I still plan to run the Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon this Sunday, but I have set low expectations due to all the recent setbacks. I'm still going to try my best, but listen to my body and just have fun running in costume. Maybe I'll take it super easy and just take lots of photos of all the other costumes. 
• Monday Brain Exchange is back! I've been looking forward to it's return, and I'm hoping it will help motivate me to blog more, at least once a week :) 
• I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, so this may mean I blog even less in November as I attempt to write at least 50,000 words in 30 days. I have a vague idea for the plot, well the setting really, so I'm not sure how successful this will be, but the focus is on quantity not quality :) I'll probably just start writing on Monday and see where it leads. 
• I originally planned to participate in National Blog Posting Month, but that may be too much for one month. I may still try, but I'm not going to commit to it. I may just post some excerpts of the novel as I go on here from time to time. 
• Jason and I registered for Urban Dare Orlando at the beginning of the year, but they have since changed the date to 11/6. This works out better because there are all kinds of races I want to do on the weekend of 11/13, but we're trying to get our money back since they changed the date after we registered. 
• I'm toying with the idea of either running the Baldwin Park Half Marathon on 11/13 (and thus become a half fanatic) or do the Founder's Day Distance Dare (10k + 5K). I've not run either race before, so we'll see. There is also the possibility of Beach Palooza on 11/13 or just going out of town for a mini 4-day vacation. Thoughts? 
• I'm very tempted to do the OUC Half Marathon, but I've done it 2 years in a row and the medal never changes and I kinda just want to do new races for the rest of the year. However, the start is one block from my apartment so it's very convenient. I may just volunteer at the finish line and cheer on all my friends who are running it.

124 Miles! (Week 40 Recap)

This was an amazing week. I logged a total of 124 miles, and finally got back into a well-rounded exercise routine. The weather has been amazing, so I've been biking to work a lot. It's still hard to bike every single day, and specially on days when I run, so I've been biking in the mornings and taking the bus home for at least part of the way. This has proved to be a good compromised that lets me enjoy the awesome weather but not destroy my legs so I can still run. I know all the cycling helps my running too, as long as I don't get hurt or over do it.

I ran 5 times this week (twice in one day), for a total of 23 miles, including a 10 mile run! I'm really excited! I also kept up with my push ups, started doing core workouts, and did lots of yoga. I think this is why I've been feeling so strong during my runs and had no pain. The plantar fasciitis is still there, but the discomfort is minimal and very manageable.

Last night I finally figured out what I'll wear for the Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon in 3 weeks (still need to get a few pieces, but the idea is fully formed in my head), so now I'm really looking forward to that race. I can't even remember the last time I ran a race, so it feels good to be back into the groove.

Week Totals (rounded)

• run - 23 miles (5x)
• walk - 3 miles 
• bike - 98 miles (7x)
• strength/core - 85 push ups - week 2 of challenge + 15 min FitDeck core workout
• yoga - 3+ hours (8x)
• total - 124 miles / 17.5 hours

I know this makes me look like an exercised crazed person, but keep in mind that 80% of these miles were from my work commute. While that is still exercise, the purpose of those is to get from point A to point B, so I don't push the pace if I don't want to.

Workout Summary

See details on Dailymile. 

• Monday 
• ran 2.5 miles; 
• biked 24 miles (work commute)
• 26 push ups
• Tuesday
• biked 31 miles (work commute)
• 23m yoga
• Wednesday 
• ran 6.5 miles in am
• 19m yoga 
• ran 2 miles in pm
• Thursday 
• biked 25 miles (work commute)
• 29 push ups
• 15m core
• 20m yoga
• Friday 
• 18m yoga (on the bus)
• ran 2 miles
• walked 1 mile
• 10m post-run yoga stretches 
• Saturday 
• 1.5 hr yoga (2 sessions)
• biked 17 miles (errands)
• walked 2 miles (sak) 
• 30 push ups
• Sunday
• ran 10 miles
• 19m yoga