Log Jammed

1.0 and supposedly 69 degrees but really hot in the sun. Didn't wear a hat so it was super bright, my eyes were squinty, and it made my eyes tired. walked to try to work out some kinks in my neck/shoulder, but it didn't appear to help.

In the evening I planned on running, and to warm up and wait for Ryan I went out and started cutting the grass. There were dandelions everywhere and I got caught up in wanting to annihilate them so I went over the ones in the garden bed. And soon I heard a clunk and the lawn mower stopped working. Turns out I went over a 4 inch wide log and it was half-split between the blades. At this point Ryan was home so he helped with a mallet and a hatchet to dislodge it; and it half-worked. Then our smart neighbor Dave said we should just remove the bolts that held the blade on. Ryan said, "Well Dave, that would require using your brain." Turns out just removing the blade worked much better than trying to mallet and hatchet the wood. It was a good day for brains over brawn. After that Ryan finished cutting the grass, and by then both of us lost the steam on running. Plus my tummy was hurting and I just envisioned the baby just telling me it didn't want to run today.

And so eventually we went out on a 1.0 mile walk in 17:52 around the neighborhood. It felt good to do something, and my tummy cooperated. So I take that as feedback that the baby likes walking much more than running.

New Miles: 1.0 + 1.0 = 2.0
Total Miles: 1463.0
Miles Remaining: 37.0
Weight: 129.6

It All Works Out

After coaching soccer and definitely getting some sort of workout between laying out the cones then half-collecting them and kicking the ball and running for one drill I got home and drank some water and talked with Ryan. I was about to head upstairs and change when I remembered I should (and needed to) walk. So I put on my good running shoes and I grabbed the Kindle and cued up Pandora and I walked. I sang country songs while walking and it was actually taxing. I tool a quick pause at 1.25 for a few gulps of water and then walked again. Total Workout: 2.25 miles in 32:58 369cals 1%

New Miles: 2.25
Total Miles: 1461.0
Miles Remaining: 39.00
Weight: 129.6 (when I woke up) / 131.4 (evening post-dinner)

Making the Mow-st of It

Ryan left me dark and early for the Half Marathon (which he ended up running in a personal best 1:42:27!) and then came back for a few minutes before heading out to a co-ed flag football game. Given my free morning I ended up decided on mowing the grass with the new lawn mower. The mower is self-propelled which means it is so easy to cut the grass now as all I have to do is keep up with it rather than forcing it up hills. It took only 40 minutes to cut the front and back yards.

I wished I had had a step counter as I know the steps would have added up to perhaps 1.0 miles. But alas since I couldn't readily measure the distance I walked I can't count it. After that I went to my soccer game where we won but I got a tad sunburned, so I kind of lost. I wore my Gabriella maternity belt for back support which I think helped during the 2 hours of standing.

In the evening I had felt like I had worked out a lot during the day, and was sad I couldn't track anything about it. So I decided to walk to the store - where I coincidentally bought some candy - and then walked home. Total Workout: 1.0 in the delightful and warm evening.


New Miles: 1.0
Total Miles: 1458.75
Miles Remaining: 41.25
Weight: 129.6

Inconvenient Convention Center

After a day of running around errand-wise Ryan and I wrapped up our final errand in downtown Pittsburgh at the Convention Center getting Ryan registered for the Half Marathon. It tool a while to drive around the convention center and park, with the 1,000s of other participants all ambling for their packets as well. Once we parked we had to walk .25 miles from our car to the registration station. We had been standing in line for about 15 minutes when Ryan checked for his wallet. He didn't have it. Fortunately I was with him so I could easily walk back to the car and grab it (since we knew for sure it was there as I made him make sure he had his ID before we left home). This meant he didn't have to get out of line which was fortunate since the line was rather long and slow.

After grabbing his wallet I brought it back to him then walked around the Expo half-heartedly looking at the gear. The one thing of interest was that they finally took my suggestion and made Half Marathon gear. I complained the last few times that they only had Marathon gear and so I was pleasantly surprised to see some Half gear. The downside was I wasn't participating so buying 2013 Half gear would be silly. The other downside was that they had cool black-and-gold shirts, but in the women's gear they made it black-and-pink. I hate that they pinkify everything when they make it for women! I spent most of my life despising pink, and now I don't mind it and even like it. But for Pittsburgh-themed gear it is unacceptable to change it to black-and-pink. Or you can but also give me the option of black-and-gold.

After that mini-feud, which I did share with Ryan, and about 30 more minutes of waiting to complete the process we left - thus walking back to the car and giving me a 1.0 mile workout. The upside of all the walking was I got a measurable walk in and didn't waste a day not working out. I got home and used USATF to map my walk and confirmed I did at least 1.0 miles.

Total Workout: 1.0

New Miles: 1.0
Total Miles: 1457.75
Miles Remaining: 42.25
Weight: 129.6

Pregnant with No Energy

On Tuesday night Ryan told me that if I planned to run on Thursday he would run with me. I told him I did plan on running. On Wednesday afternoon he emailed me "RUN!" asking if I still planned on running. I said that I had been working on psyching myself up for it. Because my body feels so exhausted like I've been running and working out extensively, but all I've really done is sit still for long periods of time.

11:00 first mile, 1 min walk; just over 2.0 walked a minute up hill - saw a local cop who is our friend's dad. felt very drained. actually looked pregnant between my pregnantness and the horizontal tight striped shirt i was wearing.


Total Workout: 3.0 in 30:11

New Miles: 3.0
Total Miles: 1456.75
Miles Remaining: 43.25
Weight: 129.2

Like Water I'm Drained

I spent a number of minutes trying to convince Ryan to come running with me. I told him the baby wanted him to join us. Still he said no as he had run during lunch. I told him most of my motivation comes from him saying he'll run with me. He said he noticed my lack of motivation, and that is particularly bad right now. I told him I wasn't sure why -- I know I want to be healthy in general but especially now -- but I can't seem to get myself to do what I know I should do and what I want to do (at least on an intellectual level if not a physical one).

I eventually plodded my way up the hill and moved my body into a run. I 100 yards later I said "Hi!" to a neighbor who has been working on his driveway and mailbox. Then we chatted for 1 minute. Then I kept going on my run and half way down the hill another neighbor was out and I said "Hi!" to him too. He said "Hi!". I also said "Hi puppies!" to two dogs that were barking at me even though I run by them all the time.

I didn't even make it half a mile before I realized I really had to pee. The good thing is the track is close so I swung by there for a pit stop. I contemplated just running at the track or just heading home. And I told myself "No. You have to do this 3 mile loop." And so I said "Ugh." to myself and my decision and moved along. It took me over 1 minute to cross the main road, and I was happy for the break. It really refreshed my already tired legs. I moved along and felt so tired and slow but kept running.

I got to say "Hi!" to a handful of walkers and yardworkers - for a total of 6 - and they all said "Hi!" back. Then a couple in their mid-30s were walking and I took a stab at saying "Hi!" to them even though I knew the odds were low I'd get a return greeting. They pretended I didn't exist even though we were only 20 feet from each other.

I then finished mile 2 and walked for 1 minute. Then drew a deep breath and got back up to speed. During my run my main thoughts were: "I've underestimated how much running while pregnant is going to make me feel like peeing." and "My recent goal of staying fit enough to do 3.0 miles during pregnancy is not going so well.".

For the final hill it usually takes 2 minutes to get from the bottom to my driveway so I told myself I needed to go that pace and push this out. I got to my driveway 1:59 later and felt like I had accomplished something. Then I left my driveway and walked around for 4-5 few minutes, tacking on an extra .25 miles for good measure. Total Workout: 3.0 miles in 30:30 + .25 cool down = 3.25 total.

I also decided today that I would like to finish up my Journey of 1500 miles during my Memorial Day weekend vacation to the lake. It would be a nice place to accomplish my final milestone - it is beautiful, a place full of amazing memories, and most of my friends will be there and maybe could even join me for my last mile. I have my work cut out for me to keep plugging away at these final miles in time to make my goal come true, but it is definitely feasible provided I find some motivation and stop feeling so phyically exhausted by the littlest of things.

New Miles: 3.25
Total Miles: 1453.75
Miles Remaining: 46.25
Weight: 129.0

The Final Fifty

Instead of just saying "I should walk." I actually got up, put on my tennis shoes, and went walking. I didn't change into workout clothes as I knew I just wouldn't. The most important step was to put on my walking shoes and just do it. What excited me was the fact that by doing a mile I would be into my final 50 miles of this journey. I need to finish this strong and do what I need to do. I won't stop when I reach 1500.0 miles but I want to get to that milestone ASAP. Total Workout: 1.0 miles in 14:20.

It is also very important for me to keep active since I can't stop myself from eating candy and cookies. (Oops! Guess the baby loves sugar!)

New Miles: 1.0
Total Miles: 1450.5
Miles Remaining: 49.5
Weight: 130.6

Signals Uncrossed

A nice long day of shop vacuuming my car, cleaning up, supervising Ryan cutting down tree branches, holding the rope as he killed a few tiny trees, two naps, and 2 hours of making chocolate chip cookies and Russian tea cakes. I finally got a healthy dose of energy while singing and making cookies, so come the Saturday night radio program of hits from the 1920s -40s I went out on a run. I made it two minutes before I finally listened to all signals from my body stopped running, turned around and walked home. I went and told Ryan I was walking instead and then I went out on a half hour walk. I walked around the neighborhood, entertained by the radio and enjoying the 70 degree evening. Total Workout: 2.0 miles in 34:45.


New Miles: 2.0
Total Miles: 1449.5
Miles Remaining: 50.5
Weight: 129.0

A little lazy fair

I feel like I have been lazy recently as my mileage in this home stretch is painfully slow goings. But I can take solace in that on Mondays and Wednesdays I run around for 1.5 hours coaching soccer. On Tuesdays I could do something, but usually those days I am tired and happy to sit and relax. Which leaves me with Thursdays as the day to take action and run.

Thursday was sunny and warm-ish, though a few extra degrees of warmth would have been nice. I went on a 3.0 mile run in the 56 degree evening and felt chilly at the beginning, but as I went along I happily warmed up enough. My mind floated to many things, here and there, its usually ramble of randomness - which I find relaxing. I often think to think of important things but don't. But it is still a refreshing time to myself. Total Workout: 3.0 miles in 28:48.

New Miles: 3.0
Total Miles: 1447.5
Miles Remaining: 52.5
Weight: 129.0

A Run with a View

Today was race day for Ryan - a 25K that he's trained for for so long. I walked with him to the start, back to the car so I could get up to the top of the mountain and get pics of him, and then drove on to other locales. Eventually I went back to the starting area, parked, and walked to the finish line area. Between the walking and long periods standing with my snack filled back pack I felt like I had gotten a ridiculous workout too. Standing in the freezing cold and snowflakes shivering a bit probably also had something to do with it. When I added it all up I had walked (or jogged (due to me trying to "run" up a hill to the finish)) 2.25 miles.

New Miles: 2.25
Total Miles: 1444.5
Miles Remaining: 55.5
Weight: 129.2