Happy Holidays Mates!

Hey all!

Doing the Midnight Madness 3 mile tomorrow night. Missed last year due to injury but not this year mateys! Most likely I will walk it. Whatever.

30lbs.

Whatever.

Fitness, general

Well, the Luminaria Run was postponed to January 12 because of the storm that dumped 3 inches of rain on the Phoenix area in 24 hours. Even though it had stopped raining, the washes that traverse the course were running and the crews couldn't even get out to set up the luminaria! I can't participate in the event because I will be in Philadelphia, unfortunately.

This has been a good week, fitness wise. Here's an update:

Monday, 12/3: 1 hour yoga
Tuesday, 12/4: 3 mile walk
Wednesday, 12/5: hiked shaw butte, 1 hour yoga

I ran.

Can you believe it?

So I did a turkey trot on Thursday, the 1st Annual Laveen Turkey Trot and Dairy Air Dash 5k, with my husband. He bailed on it about 2k into the race with instructions to pick him up on the corner after I was done. So I ran the rest of the way.

I was slow as hell, but I ran.

And tonight, I ran again. 1.5 miles on the bridle path.

Now when, I say "ran", I use the term loosely. I am pathetically slow and could probably walk faster than I run, but picking up one foot after another and getting the heart pumping, feels damn good!

Next up, Cave Creek Luminaria Run on December 1.

I Ran!

Kitten update

Hairy and Sox were adopted together on Sunday! I'm so glad that they will stay together. My heart is a little broken with them leaving but such is the nature of foster kittens. I know that they will live happy and healthy lives.

Pics of the kittens

progress

October 15-28

10/16: 1 hour community yoga class
10/22: 1 hour community yoga class
10/27: 1 hour yoga class, 3 miles walking, moderate pace
10/28: 3 miles walking, moderate pace

I went to a yoga studio this weekend and took a class because I have moved beyond the classes I am taking at the community centers. They help me to relax but I am more advanced than what they can offer. However, they end in November and since I already paid for them I want to finish them.

So I bought a 10 class pass from the yoga studio and then I will be finishing out the community classes on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Walking is ongoing, although I am not getting out as much as I would like to.

weekly update

10/9: 1 hour community yoga class
10/13: 30 min yoga
10/14: 51 min walking, 3 miles (16:30 mi/min pace)

Update

Training for the week:

9/30 25 min yoga
10/2 1 hour community yoga class
10/3 30 min yoga
10/4 2 mile walk, 16:30 mi/min pace
10/7 .5 mile warmup, 3.1 mile walk, 15:52 mi/min pace

salads: at least 5. No cheese on salads, minimal dressing. Junk meals this week: 3. Sonic, Fazoli's, Taco Bell. I need to work on that. But it is much better from the 5-8 a week I was doing. I'm getting better!

I didn't do the 5k race this morning because I snoozed one too many times this morning. It was probably a good thing thought, because my foot is a little tender and probably benefitted from the workout on the soft path instead of the harder asphalt. I still did the same distance and pushed myself a little harder to simulate a race!

I didn't weigh last week but I did notice that my favorite dress pants that were getting tight in the waist and thighs were considerably more comfortable. I'll probably weigh tomorrow morning.

Other than that, energy is up, I am feeling less tension in my neck and shoulders and enjoying the cooler weather!

Progress

Since my new healthy lifestyle changes implemented one week ago today, I have lost 2.4 lbs, and I feel so much better. It is amazing how good food and exercise can make you feel.

I'm glad I finally got out of this 9 month down cycle that the herniated disk in my neck caused. I've never been in so much pain where I had to take valium and vicodin on a regular basis. It has been really tough.

I feel like I am out of the woods and back on the upswing. I hope that by taking it slow and concentrating on the stretching and strengthening I will protect my neck injury and still be able to be active and have a good time walking 5ks and 10ks. If I can jog or run in the future, fine, but I am satisfied with walking. I can walk really fast and get a good aerobic response. Right now I can do 2 miles in 34 minutes. That includes a warmup walk for 5 minutes. I want to see if I can do 2 miles in 30 minutes.

I can't compare my old running self to my new walking self because my body is different now after the injury. However, I do like to have goals. It keeps me focused.

Doing well

I did well today. I feel like I am back in the swing of things, both fitness and eating wise. I did my 25 minute yoga this morning and walked a brisk 2 miles this evening. I also signed up for a yoga class at the community center - starts tomorrow. Hopefully this will help me with flexibility and staying injury free.

Food today was good. I had a GenSoy bar for breakfast, a salad with chicken breast for lunch, an apple as a snack, and some bowtie pasta with vodka sauce ffor dinner.

Restart # 54,546

So I'm back on the proverbial horse. I started again on Thursday with a 2 mile walk. It felt good. I also did yoga on Saturday and today and did another 2 mile brisk walk again today. I don't want to take valium for my stupid neck anymore. And I don't want to gain any more weight.

Goal: do yoga every morning (I use FitTV's Namaste Yoga. it's about 25 minutes) and walk every other day. Do ARR South Mountain Classic 5k on October 7 and New Times 10K on November 11. Brisk walking only. No running.

Kitten update: Sox and Hairy are being listed with an adoption agency pending their feline HIV and LV test outcome tomorrow. They will show at a PetsMart on Saturday and Sunday and hopefully be adopted! They were spayed 2 weeks ago and doing well. They are 4 months old now.

Three kittens need home in Phoenix Area!

I have three kittens that need loving homes in the Phoenix area. There is no fee. The only thing I ask is that they be spayed or neutered (more on that later). Introducing...



Regis Jr.! Regis Jr. is a mackerel tabby boy who is also a polydactyl (he has six toes) on all four feet. He is the largest of the litter and is going to be a big boy! He is a hunter and very active but also sweet and loves to sleep on your chest.

UPDATE: Regis Jr. has been adopted!



Hairy! Hairy is a grey medium-hair dilute tortie girl with quite the personality! She loves to talk and sleep on your chest.





Sox! Sox is a cute little tabby girl with calico elements and white socks and a white belly. She is very smart. The smallest of the litter, she was weaned first and also learned to climb first.

If you are interested in adopting one or more of these kittens or know someone who would like to adopt one please email me at adutton1(AT)cox(DOT)net.


I have been fostering these kittens since I participated in a trap-neuter-return (TNR) project in my neighborhood. My neighbor had been taking care of an old tom, Regis, who had been left by the previous tenant at her home. A year later, there were ten cats and kittens. I told her about TNR and we agreed to work on the project together and continue to take care of the cat colony after they had been returned to our neighborhood. We knew that one of the cats was pregnant, and the standard practice in TNR is to spay even if the cats are pregnant (there are just too many kittens that need homes). But she had the kittens one week before we trapped. We still spayed the mother cat, and I bottle fed the kittens for four days while momma recovered and her milk supply came back. She was a wonderful mother to the kittens for the past seven weeks, but as an outdoor colony cat, she was never meant to be a house cat, so she is now back outside and living with her colony where she will live out her remaining years.

Here are some pictures of the TNR project. If you have stray or feral colonies in your area I highly recommend that you consider a project such as this to end the breeding cycle for these cats. It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.



One cat in a humane trap.



The mother cat was one of the last ones to be trapped.



The cats recovering after being spayed and neutered. They were released the next morning. All ten cats in the colony were spayed and neutered.

For more information about TNR nationwide visit Alley Cat Allies and in the Phoenix area AZCats.

Plodding along

I just returned from a 12 day trip to Washington DC and Richmond, VA. 7 days of the trip was the annual ALA conference and then the last 5 was vacation to visit my parents.

I've been getting out there, but my training has been sporadic. I've had stops and starts where I've done well some weeks and then dropped off others. I had one nice jog in Richmond while I was out there but other than that just a lot of running around from meeting to meeting.

If I don't have a goal, I don't seem to do well with the training! Marathons gave me a long term goal and focus. I ran 3 in 6 months because I wanted to keep that feeling of focus. It's such an intense goal. I think I still need to keep my eyes on the marathon but just not train at such a breakneck speed.

I had a nice 1.3 mile tonight. I walked 2/3 mile, jogged 1/3 mile, then walked 1/3 mile afterward to cool down.

If I get my butt out of bed tomorrow I'll do the 4th of July 5k! 6:30 is so early and you know I'm not a morning person. At least it's on my side of town! The west side!

Take care and enjoy your holiday!

New Blog!

I decided to switch blogs because I was having a heck of a time fixing the feed on my old blog. So here is my new blog.

In running terms, I have been getting out there, but not running. Just fast walking. That's plenty for now. As long as I can get the heart pumping for 45 minutes, good enough.

I've had some recurrence of my neuroma pain, pretty bad. I suspect that my weight is to blame. I see much cross-training in my future...