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January 31, 2006

Humpf

I don't feel so good. I woke up with a headache and, despite a short interval at work wherein a double dose of Advil put my head at ease, it hasn't gone away.

This morning when I got up, I instantly headed for the Tylenol only to find our bottle had long ago expired. What's up with that? I very rarely get headaches and apparently either does O because the bottle looked like about 2 pills had been used. I trashed it and then bummed some painkillers off my friend at work. I felt okay during the day but after a long and boring staff meeting my headache had returned with a vengence. Like one of those all encompasing headaches where you can't think. I whined some to my friend who told me I wasn't very good at being sick. I told her that was because I don't get much practice. :)

So on my way home from work I stopped at the drug store to pick up some extra strength Tylenol and then headed straight for the couch (after I fed the hungry dog of course). No spinning tonight. I probably would have survived just fine but I couldn't bear the thought of bouncing around on the bike when my head hurt just blinking my eyes. The acute pain seems to have stopped but my head feels very TIGHT now.

Regardless, this all sounds very dramatic when in reality all I have is a headache, something most people deal with on a regular basis. I just hope it goes away soon because my co-workers may not be able to take another day of my whining... :)

Posted by beth at 7:27 PM | Comments (3)

January 30, 2006

Feeling Lazy

Today I was feeling really lazy after work and *really* didn't want to go to the Pitt gym for my bike/lift. I avoided it for a little by chatting in the office at the end of the day and then very slowly walking up towards the gym's entrance. I had myself convinced that I was going to go home and take a nap but about 5 minutes later I was changed and on the bike. I think most distance runners are probably like this - you always "think" you're not going to do something you don't want to do (even though you know you should), but then always end up doing it anyway. Weird.

The gym was pretty unexciting today. I did see someone I knew - O's cousin who is also a grad student at Pitt and who is training for her first marathon. She really helped pass the time while I was on the bike because she stood there and talked with me for 10 minutes about marathon training. It really made me want to run another marathon myself, but I think that might be pushing it considering my highest mileage for a week in the past 7 months has been about 10. :)

Regardless, I biked for 45 minutes with 3x5 minutes at increased resistance while maintaining the same RPMs. I can get my heart rate up relatively high doing that. Nothing like running, but what is like running? :) Afterwards I lifted.

And now I'm sitting at home, icing my feet, blogging and watching Roxy chase her tail. It's quite amusing. I'm waiting for her to figure out that the item she is tugging so desperately at is connected to her body. Ah dogs - I highly recommend them! :)

Posted by beth at 6:24 PM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2006

Long Run

Watch out folks - I did a long run today - a whole 35 minutes total! :)

O and I set out this morning with Roxy in tow. It was raining at first but stopped mid-run. It was in the 40s so I wore shorts and although I was cold at first, I warmed up very nicely about 10 minutes in. We did:

3 min walk
25 min run
3 min walk
10 min run

At which point we were basically home so we didn't really do a walk at the end. That's fine. I felt pretty good today although I do get tired towards the end of these runs. I would guess we were running around 8 min pace or a little slower. My feet continue to hang in there. I think when I do a full 30 minutes of running without stopping I will feel like I've reached a major milestone. A 30 minute run is actually a "run" in my head - not just a jog around the block. Of course I have very far to go yet to feel like a runner again, but if my feet continue to behave I'll get there sooner or later.

After the run I iced my feet, did my core and feet exercises and then showered a stretched before we went to church. Today is a homework day, but as it my tradition, I'm definitely going to need a nap beforehand... :)

The indoor track season seems to be heating up with some fast performances, auto NCAA qualifiers, etc... yesterday. The indoor season always seems very quick - conference meets will be here before we know it and then nationals...and then the very LLOONNGG outdoor season which never seems to end (I felt that way when I ran it and now as I watch it... :)

Posted by beth at 1:54 PM | Comments (1)

January 28, 2006

Brick Workout

I don't know if I'm actually using this term correctly, but I believe I did a triathlete's brick workout this morning - a swim and then a bike. Eventually I'd like to focus more on the bike to run brick but I first have to get my feet strong enough to attempt such things.

O and I went to the YMCA this morning where I first headed to the pool (while he was playing basketball in the gym and lifting). I did a shorter and easier workout than yesterday.

400 yd easy
200 yd kick easy
200 yd easy

5 sets of 100 yd hard, 2x50 yd kick hard w/10 sec rest and 1 minute rest between sets

200 yd easy

That was only 2000 yds total and only 1000 yds of hard intervals.

After that I changed and had about a 5 minute break before my spinning class started. O joined me at spinning. My quads were kind of tired again but otherwise the spinning was fine. There was a guy in the class that looked like a bona fide cyclist. He had biking shorts with KONA on them. I wanted to ask him if he was a triathlete but didn't. I could not believe how quickly he was pedaling during class. It was amazing how fast his feet were moving! :)

And now after coming home, showering and stretching, eating lunch and doing some odds and ends, I think it's about time for a nap. We don't have much planned for the afternoon which is just the way I like it!

Summary for the week:

Sunday - 44 min walk/jog w/30 minutes running, core and feet exercises
Monday - 45 min biking and weights
Tuesday - 1 hour spinning, core and feet exercises
Wednesday - off (class)
Thursday - 42 min walk/jog w/32 minutes running and weights
Friday - 3000 yd swim w/4 sets of 100/200 and 6x50 kick hard, 2x25 pushups and 2x100 crunchups
Saturday - 2000 yd swim w/5 sets of 100/2x50 kick, 1 hour spinning, core and feet exercises

PS Last night O and I watched Cindarella Man and it was EXCELLENT! I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone, sports lovers or not.

Posted by beth at 1:31 PM | Comments (2)

January 27, 2006

Early Morning Pool Time

Last night I decided I wanted to swim in the morning instead of after work so that when I came home tonight I would be DONE. I'm glad I did it that way now of course, but let me tell you, it was very hard to get in that cold water this morning! I survived, as I suspected I would.

400 yd easy
200 yd kick easy
200 yd easy

4 sets of 100 yd, 200 yd hard w/15 seconds between intervals and 30 seconds between sets
6x50 yd kick hard

300 yd easy
200 yd kick easy
200 yd easy

I sort of made up the workout myself. The 200s were very hard. I was sucking air for sure. It was 3000 yds total and 1500 yds of hard stuff.

The goggle lines on my face didn't disappear until after I was at work. I tightened them up today because they were leaky and about 45 minutes into the workout I thought my face was going to fall off. I can't seem to get those things down pat - they are either too tight or too loose. I think that the answer is that they are just going to hurt and I need to accept that.

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! I don't work and that makes HAPPY! :)

Posted by beth at 3:59 PM | Comments (2)

January 26, 2006

Worn Out

The day after class I'm always so tired. Tired at work, tired after work, tired, tired, tired. Research methods must be more of an exhausting topic than I thought. ;)

Today I went for a run (yay!) after work and then to the YMCA to lift. I drove to the trail to run and it was COLD down there. It was just under 30 degrees but the windchill - whoa momma! I survived though - I just couldn't feel my legs for the first 15 minutes.

I did the following:

3 min walk
20 min run
3 min walk
12 min run
4 min walk back to the car

I was trying to cut down on walking time, mostly just because it was so cold. I felt pretty good. I'm calling it 4 miles (32 minutes total of running) because the 2 miles that I checked my pace on were 8 min even and 7:50.

Nothing exciting happened in the weight room. I just did my thing and got out of there.

I made a patient cry today at work. I didn't mean to. I'm going to blame it on her emotional state (just had surgery for a colonic tumor). She was so sweet and so thankful for all the care she's receiving at the hospital. I told her that's what we were there for - that's why they pay me $2/hour. :) She burst into tears. She was just so appreciative. I think you can tell a lot about someone's character when they are really sick or get really bad news. I can only aspire to be as brave as some of the people I see every day.

Posted by beth at 7:24 PM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2006

Killer Quads

Wow were my quads tired today. It may have been the harder biking yesterday or the squats or even the 2 day after effect from running on Sunday. Regardless of what it was, as soon as I stood up in my pedals at spinning tonight I knew I was in for a long class. And it was the hard instructor today too. :) I survived though. They felt a little better as I went, but a couple times - man were they sizzling! I also did my core and feet exercises today.

Steeler-mania is reaching new heights for me. The Steelers won 4 Super Bowls in the '70s during which time (I'm sure) Steeler-mania was so incredibly overwhelming, it was unbelievable. I wasn't born then though (I was actually born the year they won their last Super Bowl in 1979), so I wasn't really aware of how crazy Pittsburghers are about their football. The Steelers last went to the Big Game in 1995 but haven't been back since. I don't remember it being this crazy in 1995, but then again I was a sophomore in high school and probably didn't care too much about football. I just can't get over how excited people are. I'm excited too. It's kind of infectious. :)

Roxy refuses to be ignored any longer (she MUST play ball NOW) so I will end this entry for tonight! Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 7:53 PM | Comments (1)

January 23, 2006

Biking and Lifting, Lifting and Biking

Nothing too exciting to report on the exercise front today. After work I hit the Pitt gym where I biked (45 minutes) and lifted. I did 3x5 minutes of increased resistance while maintaining the same RPMs on the bike. I did this, of course partly for the fitness benefit, but mostly to keep myself from being bored out of my mind. Lifting was fine. I was able to do my 2x15 sets of 65# on the bench press, but it was harder than last time. I almost asked some random guy to spot me on the 2nd set but decided I could get through it by myself, and indeed, survived.

I've started to notice a rather odd character at the gym lately. I first saw him on Saturday - he caught my eye because he was running on the treadmill in spikes - the kind of spikes that are rubber on the bottom but you can put spikes in if needed. Cross-country spikes - a pair of which is hanging in my closet right now. Anyway, I saw him again today, this time biking, and then lifting, in the same spikes. He wears a shirt (same both days) that says New York City Democrat. What would one make of that? He's fun to watch. Keeps things interesting anyway.

In other news, my low-fat diet is going pretty well, in case anyone was wondering. My only change has been to not eat ice cream but cereal instead. I'm still living to talk about it too. :) I'm going to go to my PCP in a couple months and ask for repeat blood tests. If nothing changes I'm going to chalk my high cholesterol up to bad genes, accept the fact that I'll eventually need a statin and go back to eating all the cookies and cream I want. :)

And finally a class update. I got my paper done last night. Let us just say it's not my best work. It will do though. This class is a lot of work and that's something I just do not like. But what can you do? Roxy is doing VERY well in her class. She now knows how to sit, heel, stay and give her paw. Of course she doesn't know how to do these activities quite as well when you are not holding a piece of string cheese in your hand, but again, what can you do? :)

Posted by beth at 7:33 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2006

Time to Get That One for the Thumb

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Steelers wonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!! Literal craziness in the streets. As I'm sitting here typing in our house I can hear a mob of people oustide screaming and yelling and singing the "Pittsburgh's Going to the Super Bowl" song. Now I hear horns honking. I can only imagine what downtown is like...

The Steeler madness will now continue. Pittsburgh will be in a good mood for two more weeks! Go Steelers - get that one for the thumb!

Posted by beth at 6:35 PM | Comments (3)

It's Bronco Busting Time!

I'll admit - I stole that title from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette this morning. :) But the big game is upon us! Watch out Denver!

This morning before church O, Roxy and I went for a run. It was cold - about 22 degrees - which really isn't that bad but also isn't 55 degrees and sunny like the last time I ran. :) We did the following:

5 min walk
15 min jog
3 min walk
15 min jog
about 6 min walk back home

I felt pretty good running although I was actually kind of tuckered out on that 2nd 15 minute running session! My feet are hanging in there. At first, when I started running again at the beginning of the month, I was worried about them. But as time passes I'm starting to feel a little more confident that I will be able to run "enough" (that being a VERY loose term) to complete the 5K portion of the triathlons I want to do. I've had this injury long enough to know that what I'm able to do now may be very different than what I'm able to do in June though...so I'll try not to get too hopeful.

Regardless, I also did my core and feet exercises today. O and I went to church, read the newspaper, ate lunch and are now getting ready to watch the game. I also have a paper to write of which I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it in. I have to get it done today though - it's due Wednesday and I don't usually have the time (or energy) after work to write papers!

Go Steelers!

Posted by beth at 1:39 PM | Comments (0)

January 21, 2006

Title Block? - Part Two

I'm having title block again. What's up with that?

Today after work I headed to the Pitt gym. I did the bike for 30 minutes, the elliptical for 25 minutes and then my core exercises. It all went by pretty quickly. My whole day went by quickly now that I think about it. It feels like I just woke up (but with a lot less energy!).

Tonight O and I are going to one of those murder mysteries where the audience is part of the story. I've never been to one of those before so I think it should be interesting. Free dinner too - what more could you ask for?

Summary for the week:

Sunday - core and feet exercises only
Monday - 48 min walk/jog with 25 minutes running and weights
Tuesday - 1 hour spinning and core/feet exercises
Wednesday - off (class)
Thursday - 41 min walk/jog w/25 minutes running and weights
Friday - 2500 yd swimming w/600 yd time trial and 6x50 yd hard, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchups
Saturday - 30 min bike, 25 min elliptical, core/feet exercises

Posted by beth at 4:55 PM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2006

Time Trial

A while back I decided I needed a way in which I could monitor my swimming progress. When I swim "intervals" I don't time them like I would a track workout. I just sort of do them. I'm not sure if that's what swimmers do, but that's what I do.

I determined that I should do a time trial of some predetermined distance every once in a while so I could see if I'm making any progress and also give myself something to shoot for. I picked 600 yds as my distance for no real reason other than the fact that most of the sprint distance races I'm considering doing this summer are in the 400-700 yd range.

So when I went to the pool this morning I did my usual warmup (400 yd easy, 200 yd kick easy, 200 yd easy) and then started my 600 yd time trial. I had no idea how I should approach swimming hard for 600 yds. When I was about 300 yds into I thought I had probably gone out too hard, but when I had 100 yds to go I felt like I was able to really pick it up. Who knows. I was just hoping that nobody (such as the lifeguards) were laughing at me flailing around in the pool in my attempts to move faster than usual.

The end result was a 9:52.65. Of course this being my first time, I don't know what to make of that. I honestly thought it would take me more like 12 minutes so I was surprised when it was under 10. I'll try another time trial in a couple weeks to see how it compares.

After the 600 yd hard I was breathing pretty hard. I took an easy 100 yd to catch my breathe and then did 6x50 yd hard (kind of like doing 200s on the track after mile repeats?). I cooled down with 200 yd kick easy and 500 yd easy, all of which I believe was 2500 yds total. Incidentally, I'm about 99.5% sure I did 7x50 yd hard instead of the 6 I had planned. As I was doing the last repeat I was thinking to myself that I had definitely already done 6 but hadn't paid enough attention to know for sure. Swimming is definitely a mental challenge for me. :)

Last night O and I were planning our summer vacation. It's not until June but we both needed something to look forward to. We are going to Hilton Head Island where my parents live and on the way down I wanted to stop in Charleston, SC to do a triathlon. It's a sprint race with distances of 0.3 mile swim, 13 mile bike and a 5K run. As I was looking at previous years' results I was trying to predict what I'd be able to accomplish. I gave myself 10-12 minutes for the swim (it's in open water so there is no telling what may happen), 50 minutes for the bike and 23 minutes for the 5K. Add in another 5 minutes for transitions and that brings me up to a best case senario of about 1 hour and 28 minutes. If we round that up to 90 minutes total, that puts me in just about last place. Yikes. Or should I say DOUBLE YIKES. Looking at similar distance races here in Pittsburgh, I'd be much more in the middle of the pack, or even towards the top. Not sure why the race in Charleston is that much more competitive. But I do know that I don't want to finish last. Perhaps that will be my goal when I go down there. I'm starting to wonder what exactly I've gotten myself into... :)

Posted by beth at 10:02 AM | Comments (8)

January 19, 2006

Too Good to be True

This weather is crazy. It was sunny and 55 degrees today! It's January 19th! I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! Very concerning for the greenhouse effect and our environment yes...but it's hard to be in a complaining mood when the sky is blue and the sun is warm on your face. Life is too good!

As it so happened today was a running day for me so I COULD NOT WAIT to get home and go running. When you only get to run 2 days/week (and it's stretch really to call it "running"), you're always excited to run. But when you only get to run 2 days/week and it happens to be 55 degrees and sunny in the dead of winter - that may friends is indescribable. :)

So I headed to the trail in my shorts and long sleeve t-shirt. The trail is a great place to run but it does feel about 5-10 degrees colder there because it's pretty much all in the shade, it's in the woods along a creek, etc... This will be an awesome thing in the summer, but today I was a little chilly. No complaining here though - it could have been 10 degrees with a -5 windchill, ice and snow. I did the following:

5 min walk
10 min jog
3 min walk
10 min jog
3 min walk
5 min jog
5 min walk

Pretty much the same thing as Monday but I felt a lot better today. I timed one mile at 7:45 which I was surprised at. I honestly feel like I'm running 10 min pace. I know my fitness is going to be EXTREMELY slow to come back because running 6 miles/week is not the training of champions, but for now, I have to accept what I can get.

On the way home from the trail I stopped at the YMCA to lift. I had a good lifting day. I did 2 sets of 15 reps of 65 pounds on the bench press which isn't that significant other than the fact that that's a 10# weight on each side. Today was the first time I've ever done that. I was thinking that I'm much stronger physically than I have ever been - even in college. Of course in college I could run under 18 minutes in the 5K and 38 minutes in the 10K and now I'd be lucky to run under 25 and 55 minutes respectively - but hey, you can't have it all. :)

I have tomorrow off work because I work Saturday. I would much rather work tomorrow and have Saturday and Sunday off but I'm not too sad that I get to sleep in a little tomorrow. I didn't get to bed last night until late after class and I could use a few extra Z's. :)

Posted by beth at 7:36 PM | Comments (1)

January 17, 2006

Title Block?

I'm having trouble thinking of titles for my blog today. I have trouble most days thinking of a title but today it's especially bad. Not that it matters much. Worse things have happened. :)

I had a pretty good day today. Despite the fact that it was rainy and dreary in Pittsburgh and it seemed like EVERY patient I saw today was dying of cancer, I was in a good mood and the day went well.

When I got home from work I did my core and feet exercises, played ball with Roxy, and then headed over to the YMCA for my spinning class. I'm really starting to like the Tuesday 5:15 pm spinning instructor. She plays the best music of the group and is really good at spinning herself so it's a challenge to keep up. I was really pushing myself today, sweating like crazy and breathing very hard. When it was time to get off the bike, I could tell I was sore already! My hamstrings are already mad at me for running yesterday so I have to make sure not to overdo it. :)

In other news, I think I've been rookered into getting a Mary Kay make-over. One of the nurses that I work with asked me today if I'd be interested and she caught me off guard with no excuse to say no. I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not that she asked me. I was thinking she probably took one look at my poor complexion and thought that I could use some help. :) She's just getting started up with the Mary Kay stuff though so she said she wants some people to "practice on". I have no problem helping her out. Nurses are always very good friends to have (that makes me sound like I'm using her but I don't mean it that way).

Posted by beth at 7:37 PM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2006

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

O and I both have the day off for Martin Luther King Day. What a treat! We slept in until around 8 am and then headed out for the run that I didn't do yesterday.

We did the following:

5 min walk
10 min jog
3 min walk
10 min jog
3 min walk
5 min jog
about 12 min walk back home

Roxy came with us too. It was nice to be out because it was a beautiful, sunny morning but it was also really cold - about 20 degrees with a cold wind. After running on Thursday in 60 degree weather it was a shock to the body to say the least! I kind of felt cold and tight the whole time but I survived. 10 minutes felt like a long time to run. That's pretty lame. :)

After the run we dropped Roxy off and went to the YMCA to lift. I usually sweat like crazy when I lift there but today I was still so cold and actully kept my long sleeve shirt on! I'm nice and warm now though.

Today I seriously need to do some homework. I haven't really done any since my class started. I don't want to get too far behind because you know what that leads too - stress and feeling of being overwhelmed.

Hope everyone has a great holiday and a nice day off (if you get the day off that is...)

Posted by beth at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2006

They Won, They Won, They Won!

Steeler Madness in Pittsburgh. Craziness. Riots in the street! I'm so excited that they won. I'm probably not going to be able to talk to Barb this week since we'll be playing her Broncos this upcoming Sunday. :) Although I'm sure she's glad Pittsburgh won today so Denver will get to play at home. Either way, I'm always amazed how a sports team can bring a city together - literally. I don't know how it is in other cities, but Pittsburgh LOVES their Steelers.

Regardless, today has been a pretty good day other than The Big Win. I accomplished everything on my list except one thing. The trouble is, that "one thing" was kind of an important one - to run! I sort of ran out of time to go running. We got home from Penn State around noon today, unpacked and then it was time to watch the game. I took care of some odds and ends during the game, and then after the game ate dinner before we headed over to our church for a class/meeting. We just got back from church around 8:15. I had at one point entertained the idea of going running after we got home from church - but it's cold and very dark and I decided it would be best to just run tomorrow instead. I was going to swim, but the swimming can wait until later in the week.

I did sneak in some core exercises and feet exercises so all was not lost. I could have easily run during the game, but I didn't want to and was afraid I would be shot at for doing something as frivolous as running when the Steerlers were playing (and winning no less) in a playoff game. The neighbors don't take kindly to that kind of heresy. :)

We had a good time at Penn State yesterday. We watched the tail end of their indoor meet and then went to the alumni thing afterward. It always amazes me how the feelings of nervousness and excitment well up inside when I walk into that indoor track. So many hours of hard work and sweat on that track and on the outdoor track which is situated right below. Lots of memories - some wonderful, some bad. It's funny how time has a way of slowly erasing the bad memories though...and leaving you only with the good ones. :)

Posted by beth at 8:20 PM | Comments (2)

January 14, 2006

Forgot the Summary for the Week

Sunday - 48 min walk/jog w/19 min running, core and feet exercises
Monday - 45 min bike and weights
Tuesday - 1 hour spinning and core and feet exercises
Wednesday - off (class)
Thursday - 47 min walk/jog w/22 min running and weights
Friday - 1 hour bike ride (OUTSIDE!) and 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchups
Saturday - 3000 yd swim w/10x100 yd hard, 10x50 yd kick hard, core and feet exercises

Posted by beth at 10:44 AM | Comments (1)

Choppy Waters

Well, the good weather is gone. It rained all night last night and turned cold. Now it's snowing. It was very nice while it lasted! :)

I'm glad we were outside yesterday because the snow and wind made it pretty clear that staying inside for a swim was a good option this morning. So I went to the pool at 8:15 am when it opened. There were already several people swimming by the time I got in the water so I had to choose who I wanted to share a lane with. I chose the lane with the person making the most waves. I figure it would be good practice for open water swimming. I'm sure swimming in the ocean or a lake is much worse than a busy swimming pool, but considering I usually have the whole pool to myself, this was a good step up. :)

I did the following 3000 yd workout - which happens to be almost the same one I did the last time I swam:

400 yd easy
200 yd kick easy
200 yd easy

10x100 yd hard w/10 sec rest
10x50 yd kick hard w/10 sec rest

300 yd easy
200 yd kick easy
200 yd easy

I swallowed some water today. The woman I was next too really splashed around a lot. Good practice I hope! During the cooldown laps I decided I would try and see how long I could go without taking a breath. I would try 8 strokes, and then 6 and then 4 all in a row. Now that's some serious oxygen debt! At the very least it kept me occupied. :)

So now I'm icing my feet. All I have to do is take a shower, stretch, pack and O and I are off to Happy Valley! Yeah fun times! :) Have a great weekend everyone.

Posted by beth at 9:42 AM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2006

Friday the 13th

The weather was awesome again today. I think it was even warmer than yesterday - in the low 60s! Yes, that's right, the low 60s!

I had planned on going swimming after work today but as I was walking up the hill to my car after work I knew I had to amend that plan so that I could do something outside instead. It's supposed to be windy and snowing tomorrow. You just can't squander 60 degree days in January!

So on the way home I called O and inquired as to his interest in going bike riding. As in "real" bike riding. As in "real" bike riding OUTSIDE! I was so excited, as was he. I changed quickly when I got home, we figured out how to use our new bike carrier/rack thing that fits on the back of the car, we packed up to two bikes and we were off. We went to the trail which is great for bike riding, although seems a bit like you are cheating because it's totally flat. We rode for 12 miles which took just about an hour. The weather was great but I will say, riding a bike is not like running. It's hard to dress for bike riding - you get hot when you are working hard but instantly cold the second you take a breather. I still wore shorts though. Shorts in January is just too good to pass up.

So that was a lot of fun. I probably won't get to use the bike again until April, but I'm thankful for the chance to use it now, even if just once.

And now I'm trying to dry off because we just gave Roxy a bath. She's actually very good while getting a bath, but O and I end up pretty wet regardless. Right now she looks like a puffed up rat. It's way too cute.

Tomorrow O and I are heading to Penn State. Very exciting. There is an "function" for track/XC alumni after the indoor meet they have tomorrow. I'm meeting two of my former roommates there. Fun times! The one other teammate/roommate I had in college now lives in Key West, Florida. She won't be attending. She'll likely be on a beach somewhere tomorrow, in 85 degree and sunny weather. :)

Posted by beth at 7:52 PM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2006

Wonderful Weather

The weather was so beautiful here today! It was in the mid 50s with a big, blue, sunny sky. It felt like either April or October. I couldn't decide. Either way, it was some good running weather.

So I drove straight home after work, changed, collected Roxy and drove to the trail for a run. I was so happy that I had planned to run anyway today so I could enjoy being outside in such beautiful weather. O was at an orientation tonight so it was just the pooch and I.

We did the following: (in shorts and a t-shirt no less!)

5 min walk
7 min run
3 min walk
7 min run
3 min walk
8 min run
about 14 min walk back to the car

The last run was supposed to be 7 minutes but if I had stopped when I was supposed to, we would have finished right along side a huge dog that was barking it's head off at us. So we kept going a little further up the trail to steer clear. It ended up being 22 minutes of running. It was kind of awkward running with Roxy. Running with the leash changed my stride a bit but it wasn't too bad. Usually O runs with her and I follow behind. If I was in better shape and could keep up with her it would probably be a little smoother!

After our run, I drove back to the house, fed Roxy, gathered up some stuff and a snack and headed to the YMCA to lift. I wanted desperately to ride my bike outside since it was so nice but I sort of ran out of time and daylight. Oh well, next time it's 55 degrees I'll go for it! I really didn't want to lift but was fine once I got there.

And now another day is done! This week has gone fast. Friday is almost here!

Happy birthday Dad!

Posted by beth at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2006

Hypocrite!

So I have high cholesterol. What's up with that?! I'm 26 years old, an "athlete" (if that's what you want to call it) and a dietitian to boot.

Here was the breakdown:

total cholesterol - 230
HDL cholesterol - 92 (this is the good stuff)
LDL cholesterol - 125 (this is the bad stuff)

(blood pressure, triglycerides, glucose all within normal limits)

My HDLs are awesome - the higher the better - and they have actually risen over the last time I got my numbers checked (about 13 months ago). You raise these guys by exercising.

My LDLs are not so good though. Given that I have a family history of heart disease, my LDL should be under 100. Arf. Because my LDLs are higher than they should be, my total cholesterol is high too - should be under 200. Double Arf. Total cholesterol isn't really the best way to look at it, a better number is the ratio of your total cholesterol to your HDLs, which is really good for me. But any way you look at it, I need to lower my total cholesterol and I need to do it by lowering my LDL cholesterol.

There are a couple ways you can do this:

1) lower your saturated fat intake and cholesterol intake
2) take lipid lowering agents
3) curse your parents for giving you bad genes (okay, this won't really lower your LDLs, but it may make you feel better)

I consulted several doctors today at work as to what they thought about my numbers. The first, a marathoner that happens to specialize in infectious diseases, didn't think it was such a big deal but was going to ask her cardiologist friend. The second, a gastroenterologist, told me to put myself on a low fat diet and get it checked again in 4 months. The third, a critical care doctor, laughed at me because I'm a dietitian with high cholesterol. All three said it wasn't at a level where I would actually be prescribed medication but that I should keep my eye on it. Note, none of them were cardiologists. I don't happen to know any cardiologists. I might go hang out on the cardiology floor tomorrow and see who I can wrangle into giving me (free) advice. :)

But I'm not messing around. There is a history of heart disease in my family and I don't want to continue the trend. We don't have much cancer in the genes but bad tickers instead. I guess you have to die somehow.

I don't think more exercising is my answer - my HDLs are already good. And losing weight isn't a good option either because I'm pretty much exactly what my ideal weight should be. Meds are out (they cause liver failure anyway). So that leaves me with diet. Imagine that? My co-workers told me I could consult them for diet education if needed. I told them I thought I could handle it. :)

The first thing to go is ice cream. I just eat too much of it. I'll take that out first and then see what will go next. It might be reducing red meat intake (but not totally getting rid of it). I'll have to replace the calories with something else but I'm not sure what yet. I'm thinking cereal. I could use the extra calcium anyway. Then in a couple months I'll go to my PCP and get some new measures. I think I'm up for the challenge!

Cholesterol talk aside (assuming you are still awake) - I did exercise some today. Spinning and core exercises to be exact. The spinning instructor today was one of my favorites. She plays the music REALLY loud (further contributing to my hearing loss) but plays very good, upbeat music. It's hard to keep up with her.

Hope everyone has a great night!

Posted by beth at 7:48 PM | Comments (3)

January 9, 2006

Just Another Manic Monday

Remember that song? :)

Well the Steelers pulled it out but not without much controversy. I feel badly for Carson Palmer. That stinks big time. But I just cannot believe it was intentional and all the claims that it was a "dirty" play grate at me. Regardless, onward we move. Indy here we come! :)

Today was a pretty ho-hum Monday. I had one of those heartbreaking patients - he's had cancer 3 different times and is currenly awaiting pathology results to see if it's returned. He's 87 years old and lived through prostate, ampullary and renal cancer. He has a gastric outlet obstruction (as in the stuff that goes into his stomach has no where to go because "something" is in the way), which is highly suspicious for recurrent carcinoma. (he can't eat and is on IV nutrition - that's why I'm involved) And when I was in there he just couldn't hold it in - he told me how afraid he was and how he just didn't know if he could live through another bout of cancer and more surgery. My Lord they just don't teach you in school what to say to something like that. I was deperately hoping someone else would come in - like his surgeon - but no such luck. I asked him if I could pray with him and he agreed. It still felt inadequate though. I guess we should be comforted by the fact that prayer is never inadequate.

Drama aside, I went to the Pitt gym after work which was crawling with Pitt students. There wasn't a bike available when I arrived so I started to lift first. I only got about 4 exercises in when a bike opened up so I hopped on and rode for a good 45 minutes. I tried to work hard, making the resistance hard and still maintaining the same RPMs. After I finished there, I finished lifting and took off.

And now I just finished a big bowl of ice cream. :) I have a health screening tomorrow morning at work where they check our cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, height, weight, etc... and you have to fast for 12 hours. No more eating tonight for me! That's a task because I usually always have an evening snack (even though I don't usually eat dinner until 6:30 and I go to bed around 10 - doesn't leave much time between dinner and the snack if you know what I mean :).

Posted by beth at 6:33 PM | Comments (1)

January 8, 2006

Here We Go Steelers!

The game has already started so this will be quick! Beat those Bungles!! :)

This morning before chuch I tried another run. My feet are feeling relatively well. They are definitely more sore through the day since I tried running twice last week, but I'm going to try and work through this for a little (with 2 runs/week) to see how things transpire. My feet do not hurt while I'm running. They haven't really ever, it's just the aftermath that gets me. :)

After doing my feet and core exercises Roxy, O and I headed out in the neighborhoods around our house. We would have driven to the trail but it had snowed and I didn't want to run on anything icy or slick. We walked 5 min, jogged 7 min, walked 5 min, jogged 7, walked 5, jogged 5 and then walked home, another 14 minutes or so (it was around 48 minutes total). That was 19 total minutes of running. I think Roxy wishes I was in better shape so she could really run instead of this walk/jog stuff. :)

I will say doing the walk/jog in the middle of winter is tough. The choice of clothing is so integral - you certainly have to wear more than you would if you were just running because during the walking portion you get cold. This morning I wore WAY too much. I think I have forgotten how to dress in cold weather! :)

As an update, I wanted to write about the masters swim team idea. At the encouragement of some others (thanks guys!) I actually looked into the masters swim team at my YMCA. I almost had myself talked into it when I saw that they only meet one night a week and that night is the night I have my class. Bummer! I guess it wasn't meant to be for now, but I haven't totally given up on the idea and decided I would revisit it in April when my class is over. The team does meet year round.

And now I must not wait another second to start watching the game! I just heard a big groan from O...not a good sign...

Posted by beth at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)

January 7, 2006

Merry Christmas (Again)

Today is Christmas for those that are Serbian Orthodox. That happens to include my mother's side of the family so after work today (I worked on Christmas Day twice this year!) O and I headed to my uncle's house for their Christmas celebration. It's always a good time. My only complaint is the number of smokers on that side of the family. O and I always leave smelling like a smoke stack.

After work, before the party, I zipped over to the Pitt gym for a quick workout. I did my core exercises and then the bike for 25 minutes and the elliptical for 20 minutes. That was all I really had time for. It was fine though. Lots of people at the gym which is odd for a Saturday afternoon. It's still early in the semester though. Nobody probably has homework yet. :)

Summary for the week:

Sunday - 40 min run/walk with 15 min running and core/feet exercises
Monday - 2500 yd swim w/20x50 yd hard and weights
Tuesday - 1 hour spinning and core/feet exercises
Wednesday - off (class)
Thursday - 15 min elliptical and 35 min run/walk with 15 min running and weights
Friday - 3000 yd swim w/10x100 yd and 10x50 yd kick hard and 2x25 pushups/2x100 crunchers
Saturday - 25 min bike, 20 min elliptical and core/feet exercises

Go Steelers! :)

Posted by beth at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)

January 6, 2006

Long Swim

I swam long this morning. Well, long for me anyway. It was 3000 yds total which is probably more like a short swim for real swimmers. But a real swimmer I am not, so I'm calling long. HA!

warmup: 400 yd easy, 200 yd kick easy, 200 yd easy
workout: 10x100 yd hard, 10x50 yd kick hard (everything had 10 seconds rest)
cooldown: 500 yd easy, 200 yd kick easy

Everything feels extremely heavy to carry, indicating that my arms are tired.

Anyway, I've been thinking about swimming lately. I think I'm pretty limited in the pool because I only know how to swim freestyle. Don't know any drills or other strokes or really what I would do with one of those things you put betweeen your legs so you use your arms only. I don't even know what that thing is called. I think I'll try reading up on swimming "stuff" in my triathlon books but it seems like learning how to swim from a book is probably not the best way to go about it. There is a masters swim team at my YMCA but I'm very hesitant to try it truthfully. I don't know why. Perhaps because I'm worried I may be lauged at? :) The good thing about running is, there is no real way to do it wrong - no technique - it's just a matter of doing enough of it to run fast. Swimming is more complicated. It's times like these that I wish I could run all the time!

So that's my story for the day. Now I must shower soon or the chlorine that has soaked into my skin is going to make me scratch my face off! Hope everyone has a great start to their weekend!

Posted by beth at 9:40 AM | Comments (3)

January 5, 2006

Back to School

Yesterday both Roxy and I went back to school. I went to research methodology from 5:30 to 8 pm and she went to obedience school from 7 to 8 pm. Actually her first class was for humans only - so O went by himself. I hope we both learn a lot throughout our semesters. I offered to switch with her - if she would go to my class I would go to hers. She licked me. I'm not sure what kind of answer a lick indicates. :)

Today I went to the YMCA grudgingly after work. I was tired and wanted to sleep instead. When I got there though I was fine. I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical and then went to the treadmill for a session of walk/jog (3x 5 min walk, 5 min jog for a total of 20 min walking and 15 min jogging). My feet felt okay. They don't seem to like the treadmill as much as the soft trail, so I might stick to the trail. I also lifted this evening.

I don't work tomorrow because I work on Saturday. I kind of feel like I work part time right now. I'm not quite sure when the last 5 day work week I had was...but that will soon come to an end. The long, endless winter is upon us where there are no vacations. :)

Posted by beth at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)

January 3, 2006

Clean Bill of Health

Do let me boast for a bit. For once in my life I went to the dentist and DIDN'T have a cavity! It's amazing! It has to be the flossing I'm doing. I started flossing after my last dentist appointment because I did have a cavity...and now look at me. I guess they're not lying when they say flossing works. Regardless, this news is made much sweeter by the fact that O did have a cavity at his appointment last week. Not that I wish ill will on my own husband, but he laughed at me last time (when I had a cavity and he didn't) and he flosses only flippantly. AHHHHH YEAHHHHH! :)

Anyway, because my dentist appointment conflicted with the afternoon spinning class at the YMCA, O and I hit the 5:15 am spinning class this morning. It's taught by one of O's fellow math teachers. It was pretty good, but her music choices weren't my favorite. Perhaps she toned them down some and mellowed things out because it was early in the morning. Now I just have to do my core and feet exercises tonight and I'll be good to go.

Random Thoughts:

1) I finished my book yesterday for real. My next book (first one for year 2006) is entitled "Triathlon Training" - very original. :)

2) My prayers to the West Virginia miners and their families. Seems like the mining accident in Somerset County, PA just happened, although it was almost 5 years ago.

3) GOOOOOOO PENN STATE!!! The mighty Nittany Lions play tonight in the Orange Bowl. I expect everyone will be cheering for them. We are - Penn State!

Posted by beth at 7:46 PM | Comments (6)

January 2, 2006

Rainy Day

It is quite the rainy day here in Pittsburgh! It's been raining all morning and the forecast for the evening looks like rain all night too. It's the kind of day that makes you want to curl up with a good book and sleep the day away...

I'm glad I didn't have to work today! I slept in until 8 am, tooled around the house some, quickly learned how to override the programmable thermostat that was letting the temperature go down to 58 degrees, etc... The YMCA didn't open until 9 am today but I didn't actually make it there until around 9:30 anyway. I did a swim workout, one of my longest, and then lifted.

Swim workout was:
400 yd easy
200 yd kick easy
200 yd easy

20x50 yd hard w/5-10 sec rest

300 yd kick easy (giving the arms a break)
400 yd easy

That was 2500 yd total, which made for tired arms while I was lifting. I survived nonetheless. My feet don't seem much worse for the wear with yesterday's run. I may try another 15 minutes on Thursday.

Several updates:

1) I didn't finish my 3rd book on time! I actually have another 30 pages to go or so, so I suspect I'll finish it today. I guess this technically means I didn't achieve my goal of reading 3 books in 2005, but if I have a 2 day grace period, I'm okay. :) I purchased 2 triathlon how-to books over the weekend so I plan on getting an early start of my goal of reading 4 books in 2006.

2) The dead deer hanging from the neighbor's tree is already gone. I think it may not have been cold enough to keep it outside as it's been in the 40s, sometimes high 40s for several days over the past week. I wasn't sad to see it go. :)

3) My spring semester class starts this Wednesday. What's up with that? I felt like the fall class just ended. I did send my article off to the editor however, so at least that's one thing off my to do list for now. My advisor seems to think that it will come back with lots of requests for revision (humph) but for now the ball is in their court!

Posted by beth at 12:34 PM | Comments (1)

January 1, 2006

Starting the Year Off Right

Knowing that the YMCA would be closed again today, I decided about 2 weeks ago that I might try a little running today instead. It's been exactly 2 months since I have even tried running. And prior to these past two months I wasn't exactly "running", if you know what I mean.

So O and I woke up and took Roxy to the trail. We walked/jogged - 10 minutes walking, 5 running, 5 walking, 5 running, 5 walking, 5 running, 5 walking. Only 15 minutes of running total but it really felt great to run again. It always amazes me how much I love to run when I haven't done it for a long time. Running truly is my first love.

As for my feet, they were fine. They usually are when I run, it's just that running progressively makes them feel worse and worse. So I'll have to wait and see how they react. In a perfect world I would like to be able to work up to running 30-40 minutes 2 times per week. A far cry from 40 or 50 mile weeks I know, but a great improvement over what I'm currently doing. If I can work up to this goal in the next 2 months, I think I may be able to slowly add in a 3rd day, add some distance, and therefore be prepared "enough" to do a triathlon. We shall see I suppose!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to 2006. I certainly am...

Posted by beth at 8:16 PM | Comments (1)