For the Children

I was not able to go to practice this morning. I felt a lot better, but knew I was still very weak. I just did not have the energy to run for 2 hours and 45 minutes. However, today we volunteered to run a game booth at a Halloween party for the children. It was a lot of fun, but I did feel very naseous for about 2 hours. A little shade and water helped out and I felt a lot better by mid-afternoon. I just wanted to feel better. I'm so sick of feeling sick. Weight: 117.5 pounds Breakfast: cereal Lunch: roast chicken sandwich, 1 1/2 chocolate chip cookies Dinner: pasta and garlic bread

Halloween Fun

Today I felt a lot better when I woke up. I could tell that my body was retaining the water well. I was able to get to work. I was scared walking down the street, the sun still felt so hot but I made it to work okay. I felt a little weak, but not as bad as yesterday. Everyone in the office was setting up for Halloween fun. I donned my "Stitch" costume and felt happy. My mind was all over the place and I couldn't really concentrate, but I tried my best to function during work. There were lots of games and fun setup at each department. It was highly amusing. Fortunately I couldn't eat any of the candy or treats that were in the office. I felt completely exhuasted by 11. I ate some soup and more gatorade and by noon I was feeling great. The feeling only lasted a few hours. I struggled to stay at work and then left to go home early. It was going to be a long walk home. When I got home, I felt weak and feeble. I could barely pick myself up onto the couch. After a good dinner, I felt a lot better and happy that I was finally starting to see the end of this flu. Weight: 116.5 pounds Breakfast: 2 Eggo Waffles Lunch: Soup Dinner: pasta and garlic bread

I Think I Can.....Nope I Can't

Today I had full confidence that I was feeling better and well enough to at least go to work. I was still a little weak, but I felt much better. I got dressed and ready for work, grabbing some water on my way out. The evelator ride downstairs seemed like forever, so many stops. I took my time walking down the street. The sun seemed to beem down so harshly on me. It was like mid-day on the equator. By the time I got to Wal-mart I started to get dizzy and light-headed. It wasn't looking good. My co-workers immediately noticed something wasn't right. I was taken to my doctors office. The Doctor suggested that I stay for a few hours and get some fluids through IV. That seemed good to me. After an hour of fluids, I started feeling much better even hungry. It took 2 hours for me to finish hydrating. I did feel much better, but very very weak. When I got home, I took another nap. By night-time, I felt good enough to sit up and watch TV for a little bit. Weight: 116.5 pounds Breakfast: 2 Eggo Waffles Lunch: Soup Dinner: Soup

Sleepy and Dizzy

Youch! The aches were very bad today in my legs and I was still very naseaous. At least I was able to keep some water down during my resless night of sleep. I definitely did not do the running exercise today and I did not go into work. I spent the entire day on the couch, mostly sleeping. I tried to just watch TV, but I slept through everything. I think I was awake for only 2 hours until dinner time. I felt so sick the entire day. It was very dizzying. It was such a struggle to get up to get water/food. I just wanted to feel better. After I ate dinner, I felt a little better. A little stronger. Maybe the bug was out of my system. I just hoped I had enough strength to run this weekend. Breakfast: 1/2 piece of toast, lots of water Lunch: 2 Eggo waffles Dinner: Breaded chicken pattie and bun

Hmm, What's That Rumble in my Stomach?

This morning's exercise was extremely challenging. A little bit of warm up and then a tough Threshold sequence. 7 x 6 T with 1 min. walk. Granted 6 minutes is a lot better than 10. It didn't seem like forever, just a really long time. The 1 minute in between was like nothing. By the time I caught a breath the minute was almost over and it was time to start again. I do know that these exercises will help me, but it was brutal to get through all the Threshold sequences. In fact, I didn't do the last Threshold, I just did the 10 minute easy run back home. It was still a very productive training and my leg muscles were burning by the end. I'm just so happy I completed what I did!! I felt a little fatigued throughout work, but it was a good fatigue feeling like I had accomplished a tough task. Around 4 pm, I felt very hungry and naseous. I tried eating some grahm crackers, but that didn't really do much. Ugh, I struggled to stay upright until 5 pm and then I left for home. Maybe I just need some real food. I started reheating leftover Salmon and some rice, but it was too late. My stomach was ill and it did not want to ingest anything. I couldn't even hold down water. I tried to just eat the rice just to have something in my stomach, but it was no use. Then by the time I went to bed, the aches and pains with the stomach flu came. I was in lots of pain, not to mention very naseous and dizzy. There was no way I was going to make it up for running practice let alone work. I did not have a good nights sleep. I just wish the pain would have gone away, then I could have dealt with the naseous feelings. Weight: 119.5 pounds Breakfast: Cereal, yogurt, orange juice Lunch: 2 soy chicken patties Dinner: Ummm....nothing stayed down

Pushing Through the Anguish

Today we were to run 2 hours and 30 minutes. I was nervous because the last time we had practiced this route, I got so winded and tired. Starting out, I was still a little tired from the 18.6 mile race last week. I knew that I needed to take it easy and not push myself to much. I felt confident that I could make it to the aide station at the gas station and then come back in the loop. I knew I could do that. It would be a great accomplishment if I completed the loop. I set my sights on doing the loop, but when we got to the aide station felt okay to go onto the highway. I don't know what it is about the highway, it is just so challenging for me. It could be all the exhust or the blazing sun, I don't know. But it was 15 minutes down the highway and 15 minutes back. I was so fatigued by then, but grabbed more gatorade drink for energy. The road back seemed like forever. Even though it is pretty flat for a few miles, the hill up Diamond Head road is so hard. I felt great when I reached the top. I knew it was just all downhill back to the start. I had done it. I made it the entire loop, plus some time on the highway and I did not need more than a few minutes rest to refuel. I felt like I had accomplished quite a bit and was very happy. Weight: 119 pounds Breakfast: Cereal, yogurt, orange juice Lunch: roasted chicken sandwich Dinner: Pasta and sauce

Sleepy

Woke up very sleepy this morning, but I knew I had to get up and do the scheduled 3-4 miles. My legs weren't in pain like Wednesday, but they were tired. My upper body was sore, but it was a good muscle building pain which I kind of like. It makes me feel strong. Throughout the whole run I was just fatigued. My legs wanted to continue to sleep even though they had a day of rest. But, when I got home, I discovered that I ran 12 minute miles. Now if I could only keep that up for 26.2 miles, I'd do half-way decent in the marathon. Weight: 119 pounds Breakfast: Cereal, yogurt, orange juice Lunch: 2 chicken soy patties, banana, Hershey kisses Dinner: Pasta and sauce

Upper Body Strength

Today was a rest day for running. I actually woke up early and did "The Firm" Upper Body Split DVD. It felt so great, I got a rush of endorphins :) It made me feel stronger. Lesson number 1982374018923748901273489712 = Stopping Upper body strength training is not such a good thing. It causes me lots of pain and aggrivation. It's not just enough to have leg muscles when running, I need core/upper body muscles at well to help support me. The new Sam's Club opened up today. I went during lunch. Who would have thought shopping at a large wholesale club would be so exciting. I got lots of free food samples; pizza, pineapple, apple, Kalua pork with Kimchee, sausages, fresh fudge, chocolate cake, and some banana bread. It was all so delicious. I really like the new store, a little bit better than Costco although it mostly had the same brands. Weight: 119.5 pounds Breakfast: Cereal, yogurt Lunch: Lots of free samples, 2 chicken soy patties, grahm crackers, Hershey's kisses Dinner: Pasta and sauce

Owe!

I'm still in pain. The blister on my toe (right foot) is so tender. We went out for a 4 mile run this morning. My toe was the most painful. Forget about the fact that my quads were crying in pain, my toe made it very difficult to run. But I pushed through the pain. I needed to get back in motion. I feel better when I'm active.
My back still feels weak. The muscle strain in my right sholder/back still bothers me. I know I say this a lot, but since tomorrow is a rest day for running, I'm going to do upper body strength exercises. I really hope I don't convince myself out of it tomorrow morning when I wake up. I'm so depressed about how poor my muscle strength is in my abdomin, back and upper body.
Weight: 119.5 (I must stop eating evil food)
Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, orange juice, cereal Lunch: 2 soy vege patties Dinner: Cheese tortolini with sauce, popcorn

Limp, Wobble, Groan

Obviously I am in pain today. My quads are very soar and weak, it's hard to stay standing up. My back feels very weak as if it is going to crumble. My knees are a little bit soar as they were right after the run yesterday. I also have muscle pain on both of my sides. It's amazing how many muscles you use when running long distance. I wish I could work from home laying down on the couch. It's just exhuasting trying to stay sitting in the upright position for eight hours. But....I still feel great! I'm so happy I finished the race yesterday. I'm glad that this is the longest race we will have until the actual marathon. I now know I need to work on strengthening my muscles so that maybe they will be stronger for the marathon. Weight: 119.5 pounds Breakfast: cereal, orange juice, yogurt Lunch: 2 vegetable soy patties, potatoe soup, Hershey kisses (too many to count *whoops*) Dinner: lemon pepper chicken, brown rice, apple sauce, yogurt

Hydration

Today was a rest day for obvious reasons. Tomorrow is the 18.6 mile race. I'm getting very nervous. It seems like so far to run. I hope I don't have any major issues. Today, I've concentrated on drinking lots and lots of water and fluids. I want to make extra sure that I am well hydrated for tomorrow. I even took a bath to help relax my muscles. I almost don't feel prepared for tomorrow. It could be because I had a little bit of a rough time at last weeks practice. Breakfast: cereal, yogurt Lunch: roasted chicken sandwich, 2 chocolate chip cookies Dinner: Ooooodles of pasta and garlic bread

4 Miles, again

Today was 4 miles of running again. I didn't want to push or over exert my muscles too much as the 18.6 mile run is this Sunday. I did just enough to get my heart racing and muscles working, but I didn't want to strain anything. I'm getting really nervous about Sunday. It just seems so far. At least I know the course well, that will mentally help me out. My anxiety is building, I don't know if it's nervousness or excitement. Breakfast: cereal, yogurt, milk Lunch: 2 soy vegetable patties Dinner: Ooooodles of pasta.

4 Miles of Fun in the Sun

This morning was our 4 mile run. I felt great throughout the entire jog and was even able to keep at a good pace up the hill on the way home. 4 miles brought us into Waikiki beach. It was so beautiful to see the ocean this morning. I love hearing the gentle Hawaiian music piped throughout the open air store fronts. The smell of suntan lotion and ocean is wondeful. (I could really do without the nasty smell of cigarette smoke).
My back sort of was aching in the morning. It was soar but not nearly as bad as last week. I will try to do some AB/Back pilates tonight to work on my upper body strength.
Weight: 118.5 pounds
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1/2 bagel with cream cheese, yogurt, 1 glass of skim milk Lunch: 2 vegetable soy patties, a few cookies Dinner: Salmon and brown rice

What the Deuce?

Today during our run, we played a game of poker. At each aide station we would receive 1 playing card. At the end of our run, we would then get the 5th card and try to make the best poker hand out of our cards. I made it to the first aide station with not much trouble. I was tired for sure, but not fatigued. I drank some gatorade and debated about ingesting a gel. I decided against it because it was the chocolate flavor.
It was the first time I had made it to the highway. It was kind of nerve wracking to be running along the speeding vehicles. Made it about a mile down the highway before I had to head back. I was drained of most of my energy. I didn't even know if I could make it back to the start. It seemed so far away. By the time I made it back to the first aide station I grabbed a few more cards and the chocolate gel. I needed the replenishment.
As we started heading back down Kahala Ave. my right sholder/back started to scream in pain again. My neck was weakening as well. This drained all my energy. I was able to make it to Triangle park, but I then had to walk for 500 meters or so just to ease the pain. I felt a little better and actually made it up the hill. I was surprised I made it completely to the top and bottom. After the decline, I needed another walking break. My back was just so tensed up with pain.
When we made it back to the start, I was exhuasted. I gulped down two glasses of gatorade and headed home. Trying to stretch and move helped a little, but as I tried to stand up, my back wanted to collapse. I just couldn't stand up straight. My legs were strong, but my back wouldn't allow a standing position. I had to lay down and rest/sleep for the next two hours. I felt better after that and was actually able to sit and stand upright.
It was the worst feeling not to be able to stand upright. I must strengthen my back. I'm very nervous about the 30K race next weekend. How will I be able to complete it?
Weight: 118 pounds
Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1 sports gel, 2 eggs, bagel w/ cream cheese Lunch: grilled chicken sandwich, 2 chocolate chip cookies Dinner: roasted chicken, brown rice, apple sauce Snack: 2 sugar cookies, 2 wine coolers

T.G.I.F.

No workout scheduled for today. It felt good to sleep in. My back is still in lots of pain. I forgot to take pain killers this morning. It does feel better, but still not even close to feeling good. I bought some Bengay sticky pads. I don't know if it's working, the pain is still pretty bad, so I gues not. Tomorrow should be really challenging. 2 hours and 45 min. That's almost as long at the 13 mile race a few months ago. I hope the extra carbo load will help me out. Carbs, really do add to the weight. Of course it doesn't help that I ate a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. A friend from work gave it to me. It's a new formula, extra creamy. It's very very good. *drool* Weight: 120 pounds Breakfast: cereal, yogurt Lunch: 2 garden vegge patties, Reese Peanut Butter Cups (Extra Creamy), apple sauce Dinner: Lots of Ziti, lime flavored tortilla chips

When Will the Pain Go Away

When Will the Pain Go Away
I woke up feeling pretty good this morning. The interval training was still challenging but I felt great after completing it. My back felt great throughout the entire exercise. I almost thought it had gone away. I was happy and feeling great! My right quad muscle was achy and my right hip tried to pop around in the socket a little, but other than that, I felt strong. As for my back/sholder blade pain, I took more pain killers, tried massaging it, put some more Icy/Hot on it....nothing seems to help even a little bit. I definitely think I need to try working the muscles around it. Weight: 119 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, cereal, yogurt Lunch: 2 garden vegge patties, oatmeal, apple sauce Dinner: Lots of Ziti

Owe, Owe, Owe

I wanted to get up yesterday and do some upper body strengthening work, but when I woke, my back was still killing. It was brutal having to sit through work yesterday and yet again today. The pain has not subsided. This morning during the 3 1/2 mile run, I didn't feel the pain in my back, but of course when I sit down, it flares up. Pain medicine, heat, Icy/Hot, massage, stretching - Nothing seems to help it out. It's so uncomfortable so I'm a bit irritated today. The run itself went fairly well. I was hesitant to run faster in fear that I would burn out too soon. My right leg was a little achy, I'm trying to ignore it. Not that I want to ignore pain, but that I'm just going to live up to the fact that my right leg is weaker than the left leg and it naturally should be more fatigued, soar etc. I'm seriously thinking about doing an upper body workout tonight. It's so hard to wake up early on the mornings that I am not required to run. I figure if I can fit in a workout for my upper body at night, it can help out my fatigued, weakened muscles in my upper body. I feel so weak and like I can't even sit up straight in my chair. I just wish I could find something to help it. It obviously isn't getting better doing nothing, so I figure working the muscles around it will help ease the pain. Heck, it worked on my left arm pain months ago. Weight: 119.5 (I haven't been eating very healthy these past few weeks) Breakfast: cereal, 1/2 power bar Snack: 8 Hershey kisses Lunch: 2 veggie garden soy patties, red bean mini pancake Dinner: Lemon pepper chicken, rice, apple sauce Snack: 10 mini chocolate chip cookies

Yay, Another Different Exercise

I was still a little tired yesterday from Saturday's run. I took some time and cleaned around the condo yesterday and did lots of ironing. I must of been too vigorous and that with the fact that I haven't done much upper body work in the last few months, created a severe pain in my back. Today's run was great, I had to do 5 threshold runs in the middle of the exercise. I felt wonderful running fast. It was such a rush! I didn't feel too tired doing the threshold runs, however when I was doing the 10 minute run sequences with 5 minute walks in between, I felt the fatigue start to set in. I liked the challenge and I liked the fact that it was something different to do. Weight: 119 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, cereal Lunch: Leftover Salmon ravioli Snack: a few Hershey's kisses, 10 cream puffs Dinner: Salmon, rice

Slow and Steady

Today went just as I had hoped. I woke up late this morning (didn't even remember the alarm going off). I awoke at 5:30 am which is the time that we are supposed to be at the practice. Within 20 minutes, I was dressed and energized and ready to go. Being a little late didn't seem to have much effect. I started out at a nice slow and steady pace and was able to make it up and down the hills without much trouble. It started to rain about 1/3 of the way through the run. It felt so refreshing. It was so beautiful to see the rain pass through the valley. Except for the aide station in the middle of the run. I did not need to take any rest stops. I felt great at the finish. I can't believe that I was barely able to make it up the first hill at the very first Kapiolani practice. I feel like I've made such a great improvement.
Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, vegetable omlet, potatoe casserole, biscuit Lunch: I slept 2 hours through lunch Dinner: Salmon, rice
Weight: 119 pounds

A New Rythm

Today was not too bad at all. It was a slightly different workout which made it more interesting. I didn't feel pain or extreme fatigue, just good and strong. I'm excited about tomorrow's run. 2 hours at Kapiolani park would be the entire loop up and down Diamondhead Rd. I know I can do it. Weight: 119 pounds