Random Update

 Just a quick update for the past couple of weeks.

I "volunteered" to do some on-site support for another team at my company during the first 2 weeks of August.

When I volunteered, I expected to be working normal workdays, and working over the weekend. The schedule that was sent to me showed me working 6:30am-6:30pm Eastern, in Pennsylvania. Starting on a Monday morning.

So, I made the trip on Sunday, July 31, traveled on a Sunday which I hate.

Instead of staying over the weekend like I originally planned, I decided to change my flight and go home in the middle.

This was a mistake. I was EXHAUSTED from the 12 hour days. I got home on Friday night, 8/5 around 8pm and slept in on Saturday. Got up and did all my laundry and packed again for a flight early afternoon Sunday, 8/7. There really was no benefit to going home, and I had registered for a 5K in PA over the weekend that I wound up skipping.

That first week, I did ZERO workouts of any kind.

The second week, I decided that there was no point in staying past 4:30pm when consultants showed up to provide support. We also had a consultant that worked overnight until 8:30am. So, why was I showing up at 6:30am?  I changed my hours to 7:30am-4:30pm and worked out every evening after work. It was perfect.

This week, I'm back in Atlanta for a regular work trip. My flight was supposed to arrive Monday night at 9:30pm but was delayed 2.5 hours - so my sleep was AWFUL that night. I've spent the rest of the week so far catching up on rest. I fly back on Thursday (tomorrow) early afternoon. Instead of rushing around in the morning, I'm going to work out and work from the hotel before driving to the airport. I have to prioritize and get back on track with running and working out more regularly.

Next race: Run for the Roses 5K on Saturday, 8/20

Skipping Races

 OK, full disclosure. 

I was registered to run a local 5K on Saturday morning, and I opted to skip it.  

Was it early? Nope. Start time was 9am.

Wasn't that pretty late for a summer race? Maybe, but it wasn't all that hot (highs have been hovering around 80F).

I've been completely unmotivated to do ANYTHING lately. I also accomplished pretty much zilch on Friday for work.  

So, it's Sunday now, and I volunteered to go to a site in PA for a cutover to our software. My company acquired another company, and getting their factories / warehouses on the same system we use. 

I volunteered thinking that I would be working a factory / warehouse shift. No, it's 6:30am-6:30pm Eastern time Monday - Friday.  This is going to KILL me.  UGH.  So, I've been pretty de=motivated ever since I found that out. I'll do my best, but I'm flying home Friday before 6:30pm.

Anyway, I was at the dentist on Wednesday, and she took my blood pressure after the cleaning / before the dentist came in.  It was 140 / 87.  This is ridiculously high for me.

Even though high blood pressure and heart disease runs in my family, I have NEVER had anything approaching high blood pressure.  Perhaps all of the cardio? So, I am going to start tracking it at home and trying to get my act together and not eating all the things while doing zero movement.

Tap Yard Beer Garden 5K plus I'm Silly

 I'm back up to my shenanigans. 

Last week, I was in Florida Monday-Tuesday for a tour for a project I'm working. I arrived before my colleagues on Monday evening, and I completely skipped out when they arrived at 9pm and wanted me to meet up in the hotel bar.  These two, they will close the hotel bar every night - and I needed a break from that. I've been traveling with them a LOT lately.

I had packed running clothes, but guess what? Yeah, you know.  I didn't get up and run anyway.  It was Florida. In July.  And, I hate treadmill running.

G and I did have a 5K on Thursday night - Tap Yard Beer Garden 5K. It's part of the summer series, and we missed the last one because of Covid. It was HOT, but not Florida hot. 

This race series is usually filled with super fast runners.  The last time I ran it, I was verrry close to being DFL. I am running less consistently now, so I was worried I would be last.  Not that it matters, not that being last is a big deal, but I didn't want to be last anyway.  Fortunately for me, there were a handful of walkers! Woohoo! It was hot, but there were popsickles, followed by beer.

Tap Yard Beer Garden 5K Official results:

44:43 / 14:26/mile

8 / 15 Age Group

142 / 164 Overall Place

Picture from race organizer. I'm on the far right. Plain gray tank.

Also, on Thursday, I discovered that we were registered for the Madison Mini Marathon. I haven't been running enough to complete a half marathon, but the cutoff was 3:45, and I knew I could finish one in that time.  We had also registered for a 5K locally, so there was a decision to make.

I put the decision on G.  He decided we should shoot for the Half.

I actually felt pretty good during the 5k on Thursday night, so I felt positive about that decision.

I booked a hotel (points), packed my bag, and we headed to Madison on Friday (A little over 2 hours from home). The race start was 7am, and I was NOT about to get up and drive that on race morning.

We picked up our packets and checked into the hotel. I laughed because of the size shirt I had selected. We were registered for this race from 2020. The race was cancelled for 2 years, and we were automatically deferred - which is why I didn't realize we were registered until the last minute. I've gained approximately 60 lbs since I registered for this race - Covid stress? Drinking with coworkers too much? Idk, but the shirt did not fit. Not even close. lol

We walk over to a really cute Italian restaurant. It was a beautiful evening, so we ate outside. Then, we walked over to a little ice cream shop for dessert.  I mean, we had to load up for the half marathon the next day, amirite? We got back to the hotel, and went straight to bed. I wanted to be rested up because my daughter and I had tickets to "The Devil Wears Prada" in Chicago Saturday night, so it was going to be a long day for me.

The next morning, we are getting ready for the race. Get up at 5:30am, start prepping everything. WHERE ARE MY SHORTS!?  I mean, I NEVER forget stuff when I pack. My job has me on the road more often than not, so I'm an expert at packing for a trip.  But, Uhhhhh.  Even though I was very specific about which shorts I would bring because of the pockets and such, somehow they didn't make it into my bag.  And I had brought a dress to wear home.  So, I had NOTHING to wear for the race.  Ba-dum-dum. UGH. We didn't pull everything out the night before like usual, so I didn't know early enough to try to find something local. So, G ran and I lounged in the hotel. 

Oh well. Next time. 

Wine Run recap + Covid

 Let's go back.

The weekend after Father's Day, we had 2 back-to-back 5K races.

I skipped race #1 because of insomnia.

Second race that weekend was DC Estate Wine Run 5k.

The race was ALL on grass. Most of the race wound up and down the rows of vines.  This was NOT a good time for me. Then, at the finish, there was a HUGE line for the "free" glass of wine. I've done these wine runs before, and never waited in a line like this. Anyway, we got the wine (maybe our choices, but both were too sweet for me). I was glad I went, even with all of my whining. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, I felt great, I got some steps. I was disappointed that I had to walk most of it, but I can't risk running on grass. I think I've mentioned before, I'm not a trail runner, lol. I keep my feet too close to the ground for that nonsense.

DC Estate Wine Run

53:44 / 17:20 per mile

15 / 29 Age Group

191 / 315 Gender place

I was pretty excited because we had another 5K on the plan for Wednesday evening, then 16.5 miles of races planned over the Holiday weekend (4th of July). I was going to get back on track with more consistent running, and get some miles in over the long weekend. My daughter and I had also planned to see "My Fair Lady" over the weekend, part of the Broadway in Chicago subscription.

Monday, 6/27, G woke up having coughed all night and with a sore throat and headache. He went to work, but then came home and took a Covid test. It was negative, WHEW!

Tuesday, he went back to work. Monday and Tuesday, I ran both days during the day and was looking forward to running the 5K on Wednesday night (6/29).

Tuesday night, I coughed all night and had a slightly scratchy throat. I assumed it was a cold, since Glen had tested negative. 

On a call with the engineers on my team, the engineer in CA told me that her mother had tested positive for Covid. Her symptoms? Sore throat and a headache. 

When G got home, I figured we had better be safe than sorry.  I asked him to take another Covid test, just in case, before we went out in public around a crowd of people. This one was positive. We skipped the race, and he went to the clinic instead and confirmed the positive result.

The next day, I took a home test and got a positive result. I then proceeded to feel worse and worse the next few days.  I barely got out of bed the weekend of the 4th. I'm feeling a bit better now, but I'm far from 100%. 

My daughter was positive as well. This narrows it down to G being the spreader. I hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks, but G took her some packages that had been delivered and spent some time helping her at her apartment the previous week. My son is the only one who has managed to not get it.  This is fabulous news. We've been wearing masks at home around him, and avoiding contact. In October 2019, he had a cold and wound up in the hospital for a week.  He does NOT need to catch Covid. 

This weekend, we still have the tickets for the final week of "My Fair Lady", but it isn't looking like we will go. It's a late night, and I'm not really up for it. I have a 5K on the plan Saturday morning that I may or may not feel up to going and walking. The one thing I want to make sure we do is tickets for a White Sox game (freebies from a work vendor) on Saturday afternoon. We will all be testing before tomorrow afternoon just to make sure.

Father's Day 2022

 This Father's Day weekend had a late start.

I live about a 5 hour drive from where the rest of my family lives (parents, brother, sister, nieces and nephews). My daughter had to work over the weekend, so she wasn't joining on the trip.

She was planning to come by on Friday evening, so we decided not to drive down until Saturday. 

(She didn't show up on Friday, oh well).

Since we weren't going to leave until Saturday, I decided to sign up for a 10k on Saturday morning. The race on Saturday was one of my favorite race organizers' races, so it was a no-brainer.  It was the Kenosha Lakefront Run 5k/10k and ended at a pop-up Biergarten

The weather was perfect - 55-60 degrees and breezy right along the lake.  We ran a 9-1 run/walk interval. Since there was a 5K and a 10K, I was at the back of the pack. That was fine, I know that these guys wait until the last finisher. They did wait until the last finisher, plenty of medals, plenty of beer, plenty of water and snacks. But, it's Monday now and the results are on the website.  No results for me. Oh well. I wasn't running a blistering pace, but I was apparently the only person in my age group - I should be awarded 1st place! 

Kenosha Lakefront 10K

6.24 miles

Unofficial time: 1:29:17

Unofficial pace (Strava): 14:18/mile

I hadn't run a step since I ran a 5K last week, so I was perfectly happy with this pace. My goal was to be under 90 minutes, and I made it!

After getting back home, I showered quick and drove to my parents' house.

Father's Day 2022 was the usual - burgers, brats and dogs. Great day with family. 

I drove home last night and off to Atlanta for work tomorrow.  

I’m Counting Calories Comebacks

 I am a 48 year old woman with a history of eating disorders going back 30-35 years. It is HARD for me to give up “dieting”. I feel like I’ve been on a diet my whole entire life. 

When I made the decision to give myself some time to figure out what not dieting looks like, I still went back and counted. For months. I counted calories. I counted “points”. I counted carbs. I counted protein and fiber. It doesn’t matter what the metric is, it causes a problem if I try to “not diet” diet. 

So. I’ve been noticing on trips with my coworkers, they are dieters too. The women are not, but the men are. Maybe it’s that the women are younger? I’m not sure, but it’s so refreshing to be around women who don’t talk about calories or carbs constantly. 

This week, I went on a 1 day trip with some of the guys on my team. We went to dinner at Ruth’s Chris. The topic of “I’m counting calories” came up. I ignored it. Nobody ordered dessert, so I didn’t. One of the women on my team who wasn’t there is always the instigator to order dessert. 

The next day, the vendor brought in lunch, including desserts. I had my tiny half sandwich and salad, and went and grabbed a brownie. Nobody was eating these amazing brownies. I made the comment that they were really good. 

Guy next to me says nah, but is clearly low carb (he pulled the bread off his sandwich). 

Guy across the table: oh I can’t eat that, I don’t have enough calories.

AAAARRRGGGHHH!! 

This time, I can’t help it. I have to say something. 

Me: “If I could get back the time I thought about calories or carbs or dieting, I could have conquered the world”

Sad, but true. 

Pre-Travel Run

 I traveled to Chattanooga yesterday afternoon. I was planning to get up early, run, work half a day and then head to the airport. 

I overslept. 

I woke up at 5am and decided to rest until 6am. I woke up at 8. 

Instead of bagging the run, I bagged a couple of hours of work. 

Distance: 3.11 miles
Time: 43:17
Pace: 13:53/mile

Does Anybody Blog Anymore?

 I had completely forgotten that I had a blog back in the day.

I was reading a book this week where the main character was blogging about everything that happened to her, and it triggered my memory. I decided to see if I could remember the login information for my old, abandoned blog here.  Lucky for me, it's all Google now. Google knows all. Easy peasy, I know how to log into Google.

Anyhow. 

I have no clue if anybody still reads blogs, which is fine. I'm putting this out into the great void mostly for myself.

Just to fast forward for anybody who is actually reading this...  I'm living in the northern 'burbs of Chicago. I'm working a role where I am remote 100% of the time, with travel most weeks (my preference). My daughter (28) has moved out but is still very close (see her at least a couple of times per week). My son (27) is still at home. My son has epilepsy, oddly didn't have any seizures until he was 21 but haven't gone more than a couple of months in a row seizure-free since then. The seizures have made it impossible for him to hold a long-term job. 

I know that motivation comes and goes, but lately I have zero motivation and zero give-a-damn about it.  I *want* to run, in theory, but I ebb and flow.  I *want* to workout, but I ebb and flow. My eating is ridiculous.  I just cannot diet.  I really can't.  All the eating disorder history - it has finally dawned on me that dieting is at the root.  

Since I've been trying to get back to eating when I'm hungry, not excluding any foods, etc - I've found myself eating way too much of the stuff that I had previously denied myself.  

It's a whole thing.  

And, even though we all know that the number on the scale doesn't determine anything about you - my history causes me to freak out about the way my clothes fit and the number on the scale when I'm dumb enough to check it. 

SO, I shall be talking about all of that here.  

The last race I ran was on vacation in Florida in February - Ave Maria Half Marathon.

I ran 4:1 run/walk intervals until the last 3 miles when I went to 3:1. I hadn't trained enough (at all), but I felt great throughout the entire race. That week, I thought I was going to make a comeback.  I did, for a little while, but then I got weighed down by the cold weather that keeps lingering around here.  

So, I'm planning to run tonight after work - I'll report back here either way.

Ave Maria Half Marathon

2/12/22

Official Chip Time:  3:17:01

Official Pace: 15:03