If you know me well, you know that I rarely complain about my life being boring. In fact, last night I was thinking about writing my autobiography and realised I'd have to publish it in volumes. Today, I decided that I would go for a jog before going over to belly dance with a 6 year old (her chosen activity, not mine). I was gonna do a simple 3.5 K in the snow. I did about 2 K before my body refused to let me do anything more. I had to stop, it wasn't the normal metaphorical "wall". I can push through it typically, but not today. I thought perhaps it was the extra layers I was wearing, that I was carrying supplies (ie scarves and a dvd...hey every gram counts) for belly dancing and the fact that my food consumption for the day was minimal.
One of my many medical conditions that leave physicians scratching their head and saying you're so young is my hypertension aka high blood pressure. I know I don't lead the healthiest lifestyle but I still confound drs. I've had it for 9 years now. Easily controlled by meds. This past week my doc tried me on a different med in the same family as the one I was previously on, just cheaper. And evidently, MORE EFFECTIVE.
After the initial 2 K I finished walking over to my best friend's (hi, I know you're reading). I felt kinda off, a little fuzzy in the head. I stood up and everything went black and there was kind of a whooshing sound. My God, I thought I was going to pass out. Throughout the variety show that is my medical history I have NEVER felt like that before. First time for everything eh? So after terrifying my best friend, her fiance and their children by looking near death (sorry about that!), I had to call my dad to come get me. Made a quick trip to Shoppers Drugmart to check my BP and found that the machine could not detect anything (twice) I used an at home machine, which just kept coming up with an Error message. Thinking the machine could be broken I got my dad to give er a test. Just fine. Damn (I mean, good for him. Bad for me). I also ruled out that it was my blood sugar. another first was calling my GP at home to see what to do. Stop taking the meds. Check back in a couple days. Got it.
For now, I shall lay in bed and elevate my legs.
I think, including the jog where I sprained my ankle terribly, that was the worst run I've ever had. The ankle sucked but until I actually injured myself it was a great run. This wasn't even that good of a run.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
This URL Should be Changed
28 mins at a pace of 8’15
“Wind chill is the cooling our body feels when the impact of temperature and wind are combined. Normally, on a relatively calm day our body is able to provide some protection from the outside temperature by heating up a thin layer of air that lies close to the skin. This added insulation is known as a boundary layer. On windy days, however, this insulating layer gets taken away, leaving our skin more exposed to the outside temperature. It takes time and energy for our body to warm up another layer of air, and if this layer continually gets blown away, eventually our skin's temperature will fall and our body will feel colder.
The wind can also make our body feel colder through the evaporation of any existing moisture from our skin. Through this process more heat is drawn from our body.”
“…The first wind chill formula was based on experiments conducted in 1939 by two Antarctic explorers. Over time this formula was modified, but stayed based on the original experiments. In the year 2000, Canada decided to head a committee to develop a New Wind Chill formula. Spear headed by the Environment Canada branch of the federal government, more than 35 countries participated. It was agreed by all parties involved that the new formula and reporting methods for wind chill would be more accurate, easier to understand, and incorporate new scientific knowledge.
The new wind chill index is based on the loss of heat from the face only - the area of the body that is most exposed to severe winter weather conditions. After conducting some additional research it was decided that wind chill readings would be expressed in temperature like units so that it would be easier to comprehend.”
Listened to my genius mix of adult alternative.
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| Run Route |
My URL should be MorganRunsOnceAMonth.blogspot.com. Hopefully I will change needing to re-name it. My relationship with exercise waxes and wanes. Currently it is waxing. Just not with regards to running. I did a sun salutation challenge for two weeks. Simply adding a sun salutation a day successfully was quite motivating. I got the idea from Esther Ekhart over at Yogatic on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/yogatic. I did 15 instead of 10 repetitions. I initially found her looking for a yoga warm up and she won me over with her peculiar accent. I may expand the scope of the blog into my endeavours with fitness in general as yoga has snuck its way into my erractic exercise schedule.
But for today I shall discuss running. Since I did that this evening. When I head out for a jog I typically develop a mental outline of what I’d like to blog about. Today I had a million and one trains of thought. I settled on the fact that I was cold. Before I go out I typically check the temperature on my weathereye in my tray from http://www.theweathernetwork.com/ which I love, to almost an alarming degree. I really had to force myself to head out today and just checked the temperature on the icon in the try without opening the program. It was 0. When I run I typically wear one layer less than I would if I were heading out without any accessories other than my Lulu headband. I am not typically a hot person. I love running in the winter. I donned my long sleeve lulu tee, under a shortsleeve lulu tee and a pair of UnderArmor pants, my headband (which I like cuz it holds my earbuds in my ears nicely) ankle socks, sports bra and runners. That’s everything. Normally after about 3 minutes I warm up. This time I was COLD. My hands were freezing and I damned myself for not checking the windchill. Admittedly, when I did get home and see that it felt like -6 I would have only put on a hoodie to go out there as I never run in gloves because before today, my hands have never been cold on a run. I did find it rather distracting though, and when I wasn’t thinking about what I wanted to blog about I was thinking about my hands. I’m sure if I was a real runner not focussing on my run would have affected my pace or technique or whatnot. It took half my run for me to be comfortable.
HOLD ON! I just checked my Nike+ site to compare if my uncomfortable state had anything to do with my pace time (which if you look back, you will notice has significantly slowed). They have a new feature. It shows your pace time at each kilometre! I sure do like that!! Even if I was momentarily distracted and annoyed by the fact kilometre was spelled kilometer. Anyways, the sad truth is that my cold hands had no impact on my pace time.
Regardless, the (oh so obvious) lesson learned today is to check the windchill, not just the air temperature.
And now for a little weather lesson thanks to The Weather Network (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/glossary/windchill).
“Wind chill is the cooling our body feels when the impact of temperature and wind are combined. Normally, on a relatively calm day our body is able to provide some protection from the outside temperature by heating up a thin layer of air that lies close to the skin. This added insulation is known as a boundary layer. On windy days, however, this insulating layer gets taken away, leaving our skin more exposed to the outside temperature. It takes time and energy for our body to warm up another layer of air, and if this layer continually gets blown away, eventually our skin's temperature will fall and our body will feel colder.
The wind can also make our body feel colder through the evaporation of any existing moisture from our skin. Through this process more heat is drawn from our body.”
“…The first wind chill formula was based on experiments conducted in 1939 by two Antarctic explorers. Over time this formula was modified, but stayed based on the original experiments. In the year 2000, Canada decided to head a committee to develop a New Wind Chill formula. Spear headed by the Environment Canada branch of the federal government, more than 35 countries participated. It was agreed by all parties involved that the new formula and reporting methods for wind chill would be more accurate, easier to understand, and incorporate new scientific knowledge.
The new wind chill index is based on the loss of heat from the face only - the area of the body that is most exposed to severe winter weather conditions. After conducting some additional research it was decided that wind chill readings would be expressed in temperature like units so that it would be easier to comprehend.”
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
On the Road Again
Actually, I mostly run on the sidewalk (as previously discussed).
Sometimes something comes along and kicks your butt. That thing for me this time around was Crystal. Her friend wasn't able to make it to the Toronto Marathon 5K which she had registered for and Coco (Crystal, same person) asked me if I would be her companion on the race. I replied to the text in a very sleepy state that I would. When I awoke and was rational, I realized that I hadn't run in 5.5 months. NO PROOOOOBLEM (!). So I had to start running again then and there. Well not then and there, that day though.
It was interesting starting over. I've gained a substantial amount of weight. So it takes more effort and I am significantly slower. I did have a lot of moments where I was reminded of why I enjoyed running. The first run I literally kept begging my body to remember what running 5 Km felt like. I ran a lot in the 10 days leading up to the race to just get my body used to running the distance. It took its toll and I was sore but it was just a short term solution for the quickly impending race. My goal for the race was 40 minutes and to run the whole thing. Run, using the term loosely.
That's another thing, although I was reminded of how much I LOVE running (I have a growing affection for my 5AM sunrise run) it was frustrating. I am slower, MUCH slower, a whole minute slower in my pace time. In addition I've got my injury to consider. My body moves differently to compensate for my ankle and my hip has become an issue, especially on uphills (which again, I enjoy, or I should say enjoyed...). It gets really sore. It prolly doesn't help that I'm lugging around more weight either.
One thing that has not changed is my distaste for running in the rain and my fellow Ontarians will attest- It's been hella rainy of late. So, it was on race day too. the race was pretty terrible. I was slower than my last race and I didn't do it in 40. The 2nd half was uphill and it really affected my hip. I did it though. I now have a benchmark again. In November I am aiming to do a 10K.
Thanks Coco for getting me started again.
Sometimes something comes along and kicks your butt. That thing for me this time around was Crystal. Her friend wasn't able to make it to the Toronto Marathon 5K which she had registered for and Coco (Crystal, same person) asked me if I would be her companion on the race. I replied to the text in a very sleepy state that I would. When I awoke and was rational, I realized that I hadn't run in 5.5 months. NO PROOOOOBLEM (!). So I had to start running again then and there. Well not then and there, that day though.
It was interesting starting over. I've gained a substantial amount of weight. So it takes more effort and I am significantly slower. I did have a lot of moments where I was reminded of why I enjoyed running. The first run I literally kept begging my body to remember what running 5 Km felt like. I ran a lot in the 10 days leading up to the race to just get my body used to running the distance. It took its toll and I was sore but it was just a short term solution for the quickly impending race. My goal for the race was 40 minutes and to run the whole thing. Run, using the term loosely.
That's another thing, although I was reminded of how much I LOVE running (I have a growing affection for my 5AM sunrise run) it was frustrating. I am slower, MUCH slower, a whole minute slower in my pace time. In addition I've got my injury to consider. My body moves differently to compensate for my ankle and my hip has become an issue, especially on uphills (which again, I enjoy, or I should say enjoyed...). It gets really sore. It prolly doesn't help that I'm lugging around more weight either.
One thing that has not changed is my distaste for running in the rain and my fellow Ontarians will attest- It's been hella rainy of late. So, it was on race day too. the race was pretty terrible. I was slower than my last race and I didn't do it in 40. The 2nd half was uphill and it really affected my hip. I did it though. I now have a benchmark again. In November I am aiming to do a 10K.
Why I enjoy getting up at 5AM
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Walk to Run
As a result of insomnia I was fortunate to experience a 5 AM outing. It made me realize I've really missed out this winter. It was -11 (-18 with the windchill) and it was a delight to be out there. So lovely and fresh. As long as you have the proper gear it's great. I looked like a marshmallow but it was worth it to be outside (seeing as I hate treadmills ever so much). I had on (from bottom to top) my Saucony runners (of course), sport socks, lululemon shorts, sweat pants, underarmor pants, lululemon short sleeved tee, cotton long sleeve tee, underarmor hoodie, cotton hoodie, scarf & to top it off my lululemon headband earmuffs. I was quite toasty. As for my lungs they held up decently well but I was not running for a sustained period of time. I won't know how that goes until next winter I guess cuz I certainly won't be running for any stretches before winter's end.
As for a bit of an update last week. I made it through week one of the walk to run. I dropped my phone TWICE while I was out. It's never tried to run away from home before, it must know that I am considering purchasing a new phone.
My doctor told me to get an air brace or summat for my ankle and to avoid road running. The brace I can do, the not road running I cannot. I feel it's an acceptable compromise.
As for a bit of an update last week. I made it through week one of the walk to run. I dropped my phone TWICE while I was out. It's never tried to run away from home before, it must know that I am considering purchasing a new phone.
My doctor told me to get an air brace or summat for my ankle and to avoid road running. The brace I can do, the not road running I cannot. I feel it's an acceptable compromise.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Updateroo
As you may, but probably have not noticed. I haven't blogged about a run for a while. So, I shall update you.
December 12 I had a great run, my first real run in the snow this year. With lovely large fluffy flakes falling from the sky. Every time my foot fell there were puffs of the magical white stuff lifting up. Ideal running conditions for this gal.
December 13, OH December 13, this day is historically TERRIBLE for me. True story. Head out for a jog and I am killing it. KILLING IT. For me. I ran 1.5 k in a 6 and a half pace time I believe, so 45 seconds under my pace. It's cold, the air is fresh, there's a couple of inches of snow but I'm running on the road so it's all good. Then, I am on the freakin' ground. Go to get up, can't walk. Nope not happening. Again, because I am not always the safest runner I normally don't bring a phone with me, I did this time though. Thank goodness as it was 11pm and needed a ride home. The thing swelled up immediately but I could wiggle my toes. I googled sprain vs break and it seemed that it was just a sprain. I "R-I-C-E"'d it that evening and did not at all sleep well and decided at 5AM that I should prolly head to the hospital. X-rays were done on my ankle, just a sprain. JUST A SPRAIN. It killed (and not in the way that I killed it running earlier). I couldn't weight bare (bear?). It was upsetting. I also was not impressed that the intern that saw me also googled sprains and gave me medical advice from the same site that I had earlier reference myself. She informed me all would be well in 3 days. Fast forward 3 relatively painful days (keep in mind I endure the pain of pancreatitus, often unmedicated) and my ankle is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. Swollen and an unnatural purple. I can no longer move my toes and I still cannot walk unassisted. Off to the fracture clinic I go to see if my FOOT is broken cuz they only x-rayed my ankle. All is well though, no broken bones and I am sent on my way am told that unfortunately all I can do is suck it up, by a very kindly (although it doesn't seem it) x-ray tech.
Throughout these various hospital visits and over the week I was repeatedly informed that a sprain is worse than a break because there is nothing that they can do. This is the gospel truth (sing it with me!). It's TERRIBLE. Thank goodness it was winter so I could get away with jamming my over-inflated foot into a pair of cute winter boots.
So 3 weeks later and I head to a walk in so I can get medical clearance to work at my SOCIAL WORKER JOB where I largely sit at a desk and the doctor informs me that I have an unusual sprain in that I have, in fact, sprained 2 ligaments and I am not do do anything to it until the beginning of February. No running, no yoga. AWESOME (!). This means no race, no skiing. He did prescribe me some anti-inflammatories and some cream that contains chili peppers that MUST be washed off your hands before coming in contact with parts of your body, like your eye. I found this one out the hard way.
I've managed to keep myself lazy (not a difficult feat, some pun intended) but I miss it. I miss running. I miss running with my whole heart! My ankle is still wonky so I'm going to see my GP this week to discuss some physio. The ankle's still a bit swollen but as my 8 weeks have elapsed I have recently started my Nike+ walk to run program. It's depressing me. It is simple, but challenging at the same time (which it should not be). I miss running for a consecutive half hour. I run for one minute on this program. ONE. The distance is only one Kilometre. ONE. I realize that I have to work my way up again but it sucks. It effing sucks. Also, having completed the Running Room walk to run program twice, I think that I prefer that one. Because this Nike one is easier though, I am doing it because although when I walk my ankle is fine, it gets sore when I pick up the pace.
I am torn on the issue of sharing this walk to run program with you cuz I literally and metaphorically feel lame doing so. Hopefully it is a quick process though, I am doubling up right now and doing 2 sessions a day. Perhaps I will fill you in occasionally.
December 12 I had a great run, my first real run in the snow this year. With lovely large fluffy flakes falling from the sky. Every time my foot fell there were puffs of the magical white stuff lifting up. Ideal running conditions for this gal.
December 13, OH December 13, this day is historically TERRIBLE for me. True story. Head out for a jog and I am killing it. KILLING IT. For me. I ran 1.5 k in a 6 and a half pace time I believe, so 45 seconds under my pace. It's cold, the air is fresh, there's a couple of inches of snow but I'm running on the road so it's all good. Then, I am on the freakin' ground. Go to get up, can't walk. Nope not happening. Again, because I am not always the safest runner I normally don't bring a phone with me, I did this time though. Thank goodness as it was 11pm and needed a ride home. The thing swelled up immediately but I could wiggle my toes. I googled sprain vs break and it seemed that it was just a sprain. I "R-I-C-E"'d it that evening and did not at all sleep well and decided at 5AM that I should prolly head to the hospital. X-rays were done on my ankle, just a sprain. JUST A SPRAIN. It killed (and not in the way that I killed it running earlier). I couldn't weight bare (bear?). It was upsetting. I also was not impressed that the intern that saw me also googled sprains and gave me medical advice from the same site that I had earlier reference myself. She informed me all would be well in 3 days. Fast forward 3 relatively painful days (keep in mind I endure the pain of pancreatitus, often unmedicated) and my ankle is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. Swollen and an unnatural purple. I can no longer move my toes and I still cannot walk unassisted. Off to the fracture clinic I go to see if my FOOT is broken cuz they only x-rayed my ankle. All is well though, no broken bones and I am sent on my way am told that unfortunately all I can do is suck it up, by a very kindly (although it doesn't seem it) x-ray tech.
Throughout these various hospital visits and over the week I was repeatedly informed that a sprain is worse than a break because there is nothing that they can do. This is the gospel truth (sing it with me!). It's TERRIBLE. Thank goodness it was winter so I could get away with jamming my over-inflated foot into a pair of cute winter boots.
So 3 weeks later and I head to a walk in so I can get medical clearance to work at my SOCIAL WORKER JOB where I largely sit at a desk and the doctor informs me that I have an unusual sprain in that I have, in fact, sprained 2 ligaments and I am not do do anything to it until the beginning of February. No running, no yoga. AWESOME (!). This means no race, no skiing. He did prescribe me some anti-inflammatories and some cream that contains chili peppers that MUST be washed off your hands before coming in contact with parts of your body, like your eye. I found this one out the hard way.
I've managed to keep myself lazy (not a difficult feat, some pun intended) but I miss it. I miss running. I miss running with my whole heart! My ankle is still wonky so I'm going to see my GP this week to discuss some physio. The ankle's still a bit swollen but as my 8 weeks have elapsed I have recently started my Nike+ walk to run program. It's depressing me. It is simple, but challenging at the same time (which it should not be). I miss running for a consecutive half hour. I run for one minute on this program. ONE. The distance is only one Kilometre. ONE. I realize that I have to work my way up again but it sucks. It effing sucks. Also, having completed the Running Room walk to run program twice, I think that I prefer that one. Because this Nike one is easier though, I am doing it because although when I walk my ankle is fine, it gets sore when I pick up the pace.
I am torn on the issue of sharing this walk to run program with you cuz I literally and metaphorically feel lame doing so. Hopefully it is a quick process though, I am doubling up right now and doing 2 sessions a day. Perhaps I will fill you in occasionally.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Playing Catch Up
I ran 8.25 Km at a pace of 7'22.
Playlist: iPod Shuffle- Orlando's first song was Let's Get it Started (so fitting).
Today I fit in an 8+ Km run after a job interview and before yoga (mostly, I had to do another K after the class). It was NOT a good run. I was in a neighbourhood that I was familiar with but someone told me that there was a track not too far from where I was. So I ran over to the track and did some laps. Then ran to the gym to do yoga.
There was another women running, mush faster than I was. I do not find other runners going past me discouraging. It makes me wonder when I will ever be that person. I know if I keep going that it will happen. I think that's the great thing about having done a race, I now have that as my reference point and I AM improving.
I am trying to get back on track with my training schedule having missed last week so I've done 3 days in a row now. It's difficult. I'm tired and sore. However, if I do two days on one day off as I was planning, it will take me 3 weeks to catch up. I want to get caught up as quickly as possible at the same time my pace time today was pretty slow, I spent a significant amount of time with a pace time of 8. I think I'll take tomorrow off (if there's no snow, there were a few flurries tonight). I know my body needs recovery time but I also have committed to following a training schedule in order to get some results before my next race.
I just ran spellcheck on this thing and there were no errors! Everything's coming up Morgan today.
Playlist: iPod Shuffle- Orlando's first song was Let's Get it Started (so fitting).
Today I fit in an 8+ Km run after a job interview and before yoga (mostly, I had to do another K after the class). It was NOT a good run. I was in a neighbourhood that I was familiar with but someone told me that there was a track not too far from where I was. So I ran over to the track and did some laps. Then ran to the gym to do yoga.
There was another women running, mush faster than I was. I do not find other runners going past me discouraging. It makes me wonder when I will ever be that person. I know if I keep going that it will happen. I think that's the great thing about having done a race, I now have that as my reference point and I AM improving.
I am trying to get back on track with my training schedule having missed last week so I've done 3 days in a row now. It's difficult. I'm tired and sore. However, if I do two days on one day off as I was planning, it will take me 3 weeks to catch up. I want to get caught up as quickly as possible at the same time my pace time today was pretty slow, I spent a significant amount of time with a pace time of 8. I think I'll take tomorrow off (if there's no snow, there were a few flurries tonight). I know my body needs recovery time but I also have committed to following a training schedule in order to get some results before my next race.
I just ran spellcheck on this thing and there were no errors! Everything's coming up Morgan today.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Oh, Technology
I ran about 6.5 Km with a pace of about 7'16 at around 11 AM this morning with a temperature that felt like -13.
Playlist- Whatever I felt like
Route: I ran up and down the overpass on the Linc (I am not drawing a map of zig zags).
Today was a 6 & a halfer hill route. My run today was pretty good. I do actually feel myself getting stronger and am often surprised by my pace times. I find that I am at opposite ends of the spectrum though, I am either going 15 seconds faster than I am or 30 seconds slower than I think I am.
It was another chilly day and running over the bridge I knew it would be windy. I wore a scarf this time and knew I could put my hood up if I needed to (see last blog post for further understanding). The scarf really provided added warmth. I was quite surprised at the difference. I decided for my hill run to go up and down the only true hill I know so I ran up and down the overpass about a kilometre from where I live. It was effective and a much better hill run experience than my last one.
I think it was a little chilly for Orlando, my iPod. I think at about 3 k he shut down. I was distraught knowing that I could continue running but I wouldn't know my pace times and the entire run wouldn't be logged. I am ashamed to say it, in that instant, I started to walk home. I didn't want to run if I wasn't going to know my results. However; Orlando resurrected himself (I suspect it may have been a little too cold for him so I popped him into my pocket). I finished off my run and feel like I did pretty well. And that is that.
With this run I have now logged over 400 K on my Nike+! I probably shouldn't rely on technology so much but I do. I am a very results driven person (it seems). Especially after knocking off so much time in my last run.
Playlist- Whatever I felt like
Route: I ran up and down the overpass on the Linc (I am not drawing a map of zig zags).
Today was a 6 & a halfer hill route. My run today was pretty good. I do actually feel myself getting stronger and am often surprised by my pace times. I find that I am at opposite ends of the spectrum though, I am either going 15 seconds faster than I am or 30 seconds slower than I think I am.
It was another chilly day and running over the bridge I knew it would be windy. I wore a scarf this time and knew I could put my hood up if I needed to (see last blog post for further understanding). The scarf really provided added warmth. I was quite surprised at the difference. I decided for my hill run to go up and down the only true hill I know so I ran up and down the overpass about a kilometre from where I live. It was effective and a much better hill run experience than my last one.
I think it was a little chilly for Orlando, my iPod. I think at about 3 k he shut down. I was distraught knowing that I could continue running but I wouldn't know my pace times and the entire run wouldn't be logged. I am ashamed to say it, in that instant, I started to walk home. I didn't want to run if I wasn't going to know my results. However; Orlando resurrected himself (I suspect it may have been a little too cold for him so I popped him into my pocket). I finished off my run and feel like I did pretty well. And that is that.
With this run I have now logged over 400 K on my Nike+! I probably shouldn't rely on technology so much but I do. I am a very results driven person (it seems). Especially after knocking off so much time in my last run.
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