Bad Kali

I've been bad. 

A bad blogger. 

A bad runner. 

A bad lifestyle changer.

Bad all around.  But.  But!  I am overcoming my bad self by getting back into the swing of things.  I wish I had an excuse for the running hiatus I have taken since the 5K.  I only have me and my laziness to blame.

Weigh day is tomorrow.  I'm not looking forward to it, not going to lie.  I have a feeling it's not going to be good.

Now, the good news.  Today we got our yearly bonuses from work.  I spent a part of mine (okay a very good part of mine) on a new bicycle.  As Sean pointed out when I was hesitant about the cost, I'm making a purchase on a 15 year investment.  I won't need a new bike for a long time.

Isn't it a beauty?  Do you want to see the best part?  I'm really excited about it...

I have a lovely pink bell!  That way instead of feeling awkward when I have to say, "On your left," when I'm passing someone I can just give my bell a little ring-ring.  I've already rang it so many times.

Before taking off and heading for Sleepy Eye, Sean and I are going to go for a little ride around Como Lake.  It will be wonderful.

I have been riding one of Sean's bikes to work and back, but his bike seat was really uncomfortable on my lady parts.  This seat doesn't hurt at all.  Oh, I'm super excited to ride it to work!

Completely unrelated to fitness, Boots went to the vet to get her nails trimmed today.  Sean and I being new kitty parents were unfamiliar with the cat nail clipping technique.  So, we wanted to be shown how.  Getting Boots into the pet carrier was a challenge.  We've learned that we need to shut both bedroom and bath room doors before trying to get her into the pet carrier.  She knows that when she goes in there, it usually doesn't end up very well for her.  Cat treats work wonderfully when trying to lure her out from under the bed.

Once at the vet, Boots was terrified and didn't move very much during the nail trimming.  Overall, I think it was a successful time.  Below is a picture taken of her a few days ago.  It's adorable, like usual.

She fell asleep with her yellow toy on top of her.  She must have been tuckered out from playing.  She was kind of waking up when I took this picture.  Her one eye is creepily open a little bit.

Anyway, Sean and I are going to do a little Mario Kart Wii racing.  Have a great night and an even better weekend!

Maple Syrup

Two (maybe more) random things.

I made whole wheat pancakes for dinner tonight.  Pretty much the best fall/cooler weather food.  Wait, I take that back.  Pretty much any season kind of food, mainly because that means maple syrup is involved.  It's always a good day when maple syrup is involved.  I'm like my father in the sense that I LOVE maple syrup. 

Picked up Bridesmaids on DVD.  A night of laughing is about to ensue at the Lingen-Collins household.

And to answer your burning question, no I have no ran since the 5K.  Don't worry, I will start again. 

Bootsy Cuteness

I have a cute kitty.  She likes laying on the cat stand my dad built.  She's a pretty kitty.

Boots like to lay in between me and my laptop.  I love it.  She's so freaking adorable.

This was the second try to capture this picture.  First, when I got home tonight, Sean told me to go look in the guest room at the cat.  I saw her and then immediately went to get my camera.  Then, like normal, she follows me and stops doing the really cute thing.

Sean then saw her again laying on the pillows after Sean and I cleaned the kitchen up from dinner.  He told me to grab my camera, which I did.  

I love our Bootsy Pootsy Poo.

5K, done!

The 5K is over.  And it was harder/easier that I thought it would be.

I know you're wondering how a race can be harder and easier at the same time.  Well, I'll tell you.  First, here's what the route looked like.

It was cold this morning.  Sean, Katie, her husband Lee, and her brother Jason and I lined up at the front of the start line.  It was intimidating looking back and seeing nothing but people.  Once the air horn sounded all you could hear was feet striking the cobblestones.  It sounded kind of cool.  Jason, Katie, and Sean took off in front of Lee and I.  Lee and I had planned on running slow together.  We were okay with walking during the 5K.

Lee ended up running ahead about half a mile into it.  I was alright with it because for some reason, I really enjoy running alone.  Finally all of the faster runners passed me.  I was within a group of people who would run for a while, walk, and then run.  I was basically playing leap frog with some other girl because she would pass me and start walking and I would run past her and start walking.  It was entertaining.

I really liked the random people that would be cheering on the 5K participants -- the ladies and dog on a balcony, the police officers that were blocking off roads, and the other walkers and runners in the parks on the course.

I finally got to the Stone Arch Bridge and ran most of it.  Nearing the end of the bridge, I saw Sean.  Everyone else was already done and it was great to have Sean and Katie run to the finish line with me, even if Katie was cracking jokes.  Once I crossed the finish line, my lungs felt like they were going to die.  Katie then proceeded to tell me a funny story about what happened to her when she crossed the finish line.  I'll let her explain that one on her blog.  It's too personal for me to say it.

I finished the 5K in a little less than 46 minutes.  That is a rough estimation.  I should have been running the stopwatch on my iPod for a more exact time.  Oh well, next 5K I will.  

I am really appreciative of all of the support I've been given by the other four 5Kers, as well as everyone who gave me well wishes.  

I never thought I would finish a 5K.  I did and I'm super proud of myself. 

A long time coming

This 5K has been a year in the making.  I've been wanting to run this particular 5K for over a year. 

The 2010 Dave Ryan 5K for Special Olympics was advertised on KDWB last year when I first started working my first out-of-college "real" job.  I would be driving to work and would hear about the 5K on the radio.  Every time I heard about it I would think, "I could probably never be able to run a 5K, but I think it would be cool to do."

Then, I completely forgot about the 5K, or so I thought.  Sometime this spring I casually mentioned to a lady in my office that we should run the KDWB 5K in September.  Katie was training to run a 5K over Mother's Day 2011.  Then, I got lazy and decided in June that I probably wasn't going to be running the Dave Ryan 5K. 

Enter, lifestyle change. 

I'm incredibly nervous and at the same time excited about tomorrow's 5K.  Right now, more on the nervous side of things.  Mostly, I'm afraid I'm not going to be running all of it.  It's all a mental battle for me.

I'll do a recap sometime tomorrow after the race.

Weigh day

It's the first of the month.  You know what that means.  The dreaded weigh day.  Well, not really dreaded but I was more excited about it before I weighed myself.  No beating around the bush here.

Down three pounds.  Not as great as I had hoped, but it's weigh loss still the same.

I need to keep better track of what I'm eating.  Weight loss is a simple equation.  Calories in have to be less than calories expended.  I need to work on that. 

I'm almost finished with a book about overeating.  I will discuss it more when I'm finished with the book, which should be in a few days.

Total weight loss over the past 15 days: 3 pounds
Total lifestyle change weight loss: 16 pounds

Only one more run until the 5K, eek!

I ran tonight, woo!

Two things.

iPod not syncing music when I connected it to my iTunes library on Sunday.  (I was being a dumb-dumb and forgot to plug in my hard drive -- which stores the music -- when I was syncing my iPod.)  Therefore, tonight's run was sans music.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed it.

Number two.  I need to start running before 7 p.m.  I run around Como Lake and it was pretty dark when I was heading back home.  Sean even got worried (how cute/good boyfriend) and met up with me on the trail.  Also, I feel like I've ran faster tonight that I ever have.

I do this little counting trick to help pass the time of running and not focus on how badly my lungs want me to stop running. As I'm running, every time my right foot strikes the ground I count 1, 2, 3, etc., to 10.  Then once I get to 10, I start over at 1.  When I find myself getting tired I think, "Okay, one more set of 10."  Then, I usually do a couple more sets of 10.  I enjoy it.  It passes the time and set tiny little goals.

Well, 5K is on Saturday, who's excited?!

Sean running update: he went for a run today and running the 5K is a possibility (I really hope so). 

I ran!

Want to hear the good news?  I ran yesterday morning. 

Want to hear even better news?  The 5K is on Saturday.  Okay... maybe not the greatest news, but the sooner it is here to sooner it is over.  I know, I shouldn't be wishing it was over.  But it's stressing me out.  And we all know what happens when stress starts piling up.  Shingles.  (Let's hope I never get that again.)

This week's running plan:

• run Tuesday night
• maybe run Wednesday night
• run Thursday night (also weigh day!)
• take Friday off
• 5K on Saturday

Also good news, Sean is thinking about running it on Saturday.  Don't you think he should?  I do.

I know.

I haven't blogged.  I haven't ran (except for the pathetic attempt with on Tuesday night with Sean). 

The 5K is a week from tomorrow.  Yes, I said a week from tomorrow.  I'm so not prepared.  And you know what?  I'm oddly okay with that. 

I know during the race I am going to try my hardest.  I'm not going to say I'm not going to walk at all during the whole thing because I know I am going to probably walk a little bit.  I don't want to set myself up for failure straight off. 

I'm going on a run tonight.  It shall be grand. 

Got shingles? Make cake!

Shingles have ruined my Labor Day weekend.  I was planning on going to Sleepy Eye this morning with Sean to visit the family, but last night I ended up going to urgent care. 

On Thursday morning at work, my left bicep started itching like crazy.  I had two welts there I then discovered.  I assumed I got bit by a mosquito on my walk to work, so I didn't think much of it.  Thursday night, I took an allergy pill and put some prescription itch cream on the welts and I assumed it would be taken care of when I woke up Friday morning. 

Alas, I was wrong.  The welts that had a distinction between the two no longer had a distinction.  In addition to itching, the big red spot on my arm a couple inches in diameter began to hurt with a stinging pain.  After spending all day at the Minnesota State Fair on Friday, when I got home I Googled spider bites.  I thought maybe that was it.  The stuff I was finding about spider and bug bites said if it worsens after 24 hours to seek medical attention. 

Hence, the urgent care visit.  As soon as the doctor looked at my arm he asked, "Have you ever had shingles before?"  Then he went on to explain that it is caused by the varicella (chicken pox) virus.  The virus can lay dormant for years or decades and then flare up when immunity is low.  He asked if I've been stressed lately.  Sean pointed out later that I've been extremely stressed out from work lately. 

After being given an anti-viral prescription, the doctor said I should try to find a 24 hour pharmacy to start the medication as soon as possible.  Sean and I found a 24 hour Walgreens and finally got the medication at 11 p.m. last night.

The doctor said the shingles aren't contagious, but I can give chicken pox to someone who hasn't had it.  I immediately thought about how I was going to be seeing Travis, Becky, and Charlie the next day (today, Saturday) and I definitely don't want to give little Charles chicken pox.  So, long story short, Sean and I stayed home today.  I'm supposed to be babysitting Charlie on Labor Day, but I don't want to risk getting him sick.

Instead of going to Sleepy Eye, I decided to make strawberry cake with creamy, fluffy strawberry frosting.  It turned out great.  Tasty and pink.

Fluffy, strawberry frosting

The cake got a little overcooked on the edges, but overall turned out good

And now, I'm going to attempt to get the kitty to play with me.  I hope your Labor Day weekend is lovely!

First of the month...

...and you know what that means!  It's weigh day!  Well, it's more like it's weigh day... ho hum.

I've lost two pounds since the August 15th weigh in.  Kind of disappointing, but I guess it's better than gaining two pounds.  Let's look on the bright side!

I know I have no one to blame but myself and I'm not going to beat myself up about this.  There's more time to be running and eating well.  Time to re-motivate. 

Have a happy and healthy day!

Down 13 pounds since beginning the lifestyle change.  Check the pages near the top of the blog for bi-monthly weigh in totals.