Waist Belts II
Yeah?
Yeah?
No.
Can’t say I didn’t try.
Don’t worry Christina, I didn’t stretch your belt out!
Can you tell I just got done working out and still have a sports bra on? Ha! Note: those are NOT leggings I wear as clothes. They are leggings I wear as WORKOUT clothes!
Back story: I drew my sister’s name for holiday gifts this year. She selected some clothes for me to give her, and this belt was one of the things she selected. It’s still at my house, so… fair game for a quick try?
Oh duh, she had this sweater open when she modeled it. D’oh.
Uh… me not so good at following by example.
Who is the fashionista in your family? Can you guess who it is in mine…?
Waist Belts
What do you think of waist belts? Have you been wearing them?
My sister scored a ton of them when she was visiting a week ago. I asked her to send me some pictures of her with them on. Isn’t she cute? They look good on her!
I noticed Erin was wearing one when I saw her on Friday and she looked really cute too.
I wonder if they would look good on me? Hmm…
Training Week 57
My next race is the Rotary Santa 5K Run on December 4th. This is the week of the Clear Water Outdoor’s 6th Annual Turkey Trot: 10K.
Day 393 | November 15, 2010: yoga
Steven and I did the YogaWorks Beginners DVD. I forgot how much I laugh when I do yoga with Steven… because we are screwing around. Yoga isn’t supposed to be funny, is it? Are you able to focus when you do yoga at home with someone else?
Day 394 | November 16, 2010: strength + stretch
| 1 Rope Pushdowns: 3 x 15 @ 30 lb | 6 Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb |
| 2 Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb | 7 Arm Curl: 3 x 15 @ 25 lb |
| 3 Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 110 lb | 8 Pectoral Fly: 2 x 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 60 lb |
| 4 Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb | 9 Shoulder Press 3 x 15 @ 20 lb |
| 5 Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb |
Day 395 | November 17, 2010: 3.2 m run
After a week of FOUR runs in the daylight, running in the dark was a bit of a downer. BUT – I got to run with Steven! We ran 2 miles, then walked for three minutes, then he ran to 2.75 miles and I ran to 3.2 miles.
I didn’t mind stopping to walk, but I was wearing an Under Armour ColdGear top, and when you stop for too long in those, your sweat gets REALLY cold. I found out that three minutes might be too long to stop (and it was 42° – pretty warm!).
Distance: 3.23 | Start Temp: 43° | End Temp: 42° | Time: 33:52 | Avg Pace: 10:29 | 1: 10:15 | 2: 10:44 | 3: 10:57 | 4: 1:55
Day 396 | November 18, 2010: 4.3 m tempo run
I ran 3 fast miles and a 1.3 mile cool-down, in this ridiculous outfit:
The last time I ran in the low 30s/high 20s, I was too cold in an Under Armour ColdGear top and a tee over, so I added a sweatshirt this time. But it was just a bit too much. I actually bought it to be my throwaway sweater for the Chicago Marathon. Yeah. Didn’t need that!
Distance: 4.30 | Start Temp: 28° | End Temp: 28° | Time: 40:18 | Avg Pace: 9:22 | 1: 9:07 | 2: 9:02 | 3: 8:55 | 4: 10:16 | 5: 2:56
Day 397 | November 19, 2010: rest
Day 398 | November 20, 2010: yoga + 10K walk + cross
I did 25 minutes of yoga in the morning, to warm up for the 10k walk. Wow. My muscles felt so tight. It was like I had lost all of my flexibility. My neck was sore and tight like it used to get. Weird.
The 10K walk with Bobbi and Tori in Lake Geneva, WI was a lot of fun! Walking and chatting with friends is so relaxing.
Late in the afternoon, I went roller skating with Erin and Kate! So. Much. Fun! I think the skates were a bit too big though… I might be getting a blister on the bottom of my foot. Ha ha.
I will definitely be going back. Definitely!
Day 399 | November 21, 2010: 13 m run
I went to the trail head of the Des Plaines River Trail to do a long-ish run.
If you click on the picture, you can see that it says “0” for the trail marker.
The trail starts on the Wisconsin border, about 30 minutes from our house. I hadn’t run that part of the trail yet and was excited to see new scenery… but it was foggy and the trees are all bare. Oh well.
I did get to run by some moving trains and that was kind of exhilirating. It made me want to speed up.
This run went really well until mile 9. At that point, I started to see a blurry and shaky, kind of “electric” line in the far outside of my right eye. It made me feel disoriented and dizzy. I sat down at a bench in the 10th mile to try to make it go away. But I could only sit for a few minutes until my tech tee started to get too cold. It eventually went away, but felt sick and dizzy – like how you feel when you take too hot of a bath. I had to stop the run short at 13 miles and walk the last mile to the car.
I’m confused by this. I drank enough water, ate two servings of malt-o-meal (+ a banana!) at breakfast, and also had two snacks on the run. Maybe the headband was making me too hot? Whatever. I felt better after an hour or so.
Run stats: I wore the Asics Cumulus 12s. I drank 32 ounces of water during the run (most of the water was in the last few miles when I felt so awful). I ate a pack of Sharkies (first time – yum!) at mile 4 and a Mint Chocolate GU at mile 8. I walked 1-minute at miles 4, 8 and 12. I stopped to take a few photos, to rest on a bench around 10.5, then use the bathroom right after. I wore bermudas, a long sleeved tech tee, gloves and a headband. I took the gloves on and off a few times. This outfit felt just right. I listened to a rock station for the first 7 miles, and pop music on my MP3 for the last 7 miles.
Distance: 13.0 | Start Temp: 45° | End Temp: 48° | Time: 2:12:13 | Avg Pace: 10:10 | 1: 10:19 | 2: 10:26 | 3: 10:23 | 4: 9:50 | 5: 10:20 | 6: 10:02 | 7: 10:11 | 8: 9:58 | 9: 10:15 | 10: 9:45 | 11: 9:39 | 12: 9:59 | 10:57
Week Summary: 20.5 miles
This week I tried to write out my work outs in advance so I could fit everything in, and it would be more “balanced.” That didn’t exactly work. Maybe next week? (Riiiiiiiiiight, the week with the holiday in it… if I work out at all while traveling, I consider that a BIG accomplishment).
Shoe update:
During Thursday’s run, I felt like the padding was wearing down in the Asics Gel Cumulus 12s. It may be because I was wearing a pair of socks I don’t normally wear though! They felt fine on Sunday’s run.
I decided with these shoes (and all others moving forward) I will keep track of the mileage I put on them on my blog sidebar (on the right). At this point I am just tracking miles run, not walked.
Clear Water Outdoor 10K Turkey Trot Walk Race Report
This morning I walked the Clear Water Outdoor 6th Annual Turkey Trot 10K (what a title!) in Lake Geneva, WI, with Bobbi and Tori. Maybe we should just call it the Turkey Trot Gabfest 10K, because that’s basically what it was! When else* do I get almost 4.5 uninterrupted hours (includes the drive) to chat with my girlfriends?
Do you ever walk races with your friends? I have done quite a few this year. It’s fun!
Me, Turkey Tom, Tori and Bobbi
Oops. Maybe we were chatting a bit too much! We walked for about an hour and 40 minutes and missed the cut-off for official finish times! Ha! That doesn’t bother me. I was having too much fun, and I always have Garmin proof that I was there.
And honestly, there were some big hills. I would rather be chatting with my girlfriends that almost tripping down steep hills while running them!
Hills never look as big in the pictures.
It was pretty chilly this morning (in the low 30s) but I never felt too cold. Probably because I was talking so much! And taking in all of the beautiful landscape. The 10K was in Big Foot Beach State Park, right next to the lake.
We even walked by the lake at one point.
Maybe I can go to the beach there next year!
We received a little tree to plant at the end – I thought that was a neat touch.
And we had some special surprise visitors… but I am sure Tori will want to mention that!
Overall, this was a very fun race. Maybe I will do it again next year! And it was only $10! And the tech tee was an additional $10. I don’t have many long-sleeved ones, so I got one. I really like it!
*Actually, earlier this evening with Erin and Kate too! Yay! But you will see that in tomorrow’s post.
Facebook Auto-tag
Facebook just auto-tagged some* photos for me. How. Awesome. Is. That?!
Click to see larger.
Finally, Facebook! A useful feature.
I also noticed there is an option to upload higher-res photos now, but that it takes “10x” longer. Hmm.
What do you guys think about sharing photos on Facebook? Creepy or cool?
I don’t mind sharing them, since I put them on the internet anyway…
*not all
Friday Question #138
What fashion fads from the past would you like to ban from ever making a comeback?
- Shoulder Pads
- Leggings with Stirrups
- Skorts
Ha ha, okay, not EXACTLY like that, but this picture is funny. I was thinking more along these lines.
Oh wait, I just bought the equivalent of a running skort last weekend. And I am doing almost the same pose in it! At least it’s a “skirt” in the back too!
I know it’s too late – these things are already back in style – the images I found were from current fashion.
It’s funny that I can remember hating wearing shoulder pads and leggings with stirrups when I was a young girl. You would think I wouldn’t have an answer to this question since I am kind of young (now) and not in to fashion… but there you go!
Exercising instead of commuting
The company I work for is really big on allowing employees to telework (work from home). In my particular group, most employees work from home at least one day a week. I will be eligible to participate in that program in the end of December! YAY!
This morning, I learned about a teleworking pilot program where an entire division (about 40 people) of an orgranization worked from home for 3 months, every day of the week. The pilot was a huge success, and my company’s leader wants to push for people to work from home more than one day a week.
Here is what I thought was really interesting about the pilot program – the employees were required to spend the time they weren’t commuting on a wellness initiative. That could be walking, yoga, biking, running… you get the idea – some sort of physical activity.
When I heard that, I thought “holy crap – that would be a lot of exercise for me!” My door-to-door one-way commute is an hour and 45 minutes. That is three and a half hours of commuting in a day! Imagine how much I could work out. Ha.
Metra, I love you and all, but we spend TOO much time together!
I think that is a really cool idea, to encourage wellness in employees. After I heard it though, it just reminded me how depressing it is that I spend that much time a day commuting. Blah.
How long is your commute (to school/work/wherever you go)? What would you do with that time if you didn’t have to spend it commuting?
UnderArmour ColdGear Top Giveaway Winner
The winner of the Under Armour ColdGear top is Molly. Molly, please email me your mailing address and I will send the top your way!
Thanks to everyone who entered! Hopefully I will be able to host another giveaway in the future.
And thank you for your well wishes on my presentation yesterday! It went well and I am happy it’s over! Now I am just waiting for the week to be over so I can catch up on some much needed rest.
Presentation skillz
Thank you for your interesting feedback on yesterday’s post! It seems most people don’t care what other people spend their money on… until they are bragging about it or complaining about how “poor” they are.
At work, I’m in a trainee program which requires periodic presentations of my work/progress for a two year period. Today is the end of that two-year period and my final presentation. If all goes well, I will be on my way to ending the trainee program and receiving a raise.
For each presentation (this is the last of 6), I’ve had to write a report detailing my projects and progress over the previous period of work. Theoretically, your audience reviews your report prior to the presentation, and you spend the presentation talking about the report and answering any questions they have.
You don’t need all of that detail. All I have wanted to say is that I am so happy the presentation is today. It’s been looming on the back of my mind, causing me to feel anxious and restless. I just want to get it over with.
I don’t get really nervous about presentations – but I don’t look forward to them. Does that make sense? My strategy for these has been to create a powerpoint with snippets from my report then expand on the snippets during my presentation. I rehearse a bit in my head, before the presentation, but kind of wing it.
How do you prepare for presentations? Do you like to present?
At least I have a cute outfit to wear!
My mom bought me this sweater ($11!) and scarf ($6!) she said, as a “repayment for the gas money for driving her around all weekend.” Thanks mom!
I realized something about myself this weekend, while shopping with my mom and sister – I am a bit of a clothing tomboy. My outfit is more likely to be like the one below than the one above:
Me and Mom at Red Robin… ymmmmmmmmmm!!!
While shopping this weekend, I only seemed to be interested in workout clothing. My mom and sister were the ones who wanted to look at pants, tops, sweaters, etc. We went in to the store where my mom picked out this sweater, and I just sat on a bench in the shoe section of the store, while my sister tried on a bunch of cute outfits. I didn’t look at the clothing for myself – my mom brought me this sweater to try on. And then she had to convince me it looked nice. It’s like I have to be prompted to look at “nice” (or work-appropriate) clothing. Anyway.
My sister ended up buying quite a few camisoles (“camis”) at that store for $4 each. She said she likes to wear them under most of her shirts. I was reading Stephany’s blog yesterday, and she said the same thing! Her favorite clothing accessory is undershirts (camis) because she doesn’t like to wear shirts with nothing else next to her skin – it makes her uncomfortable.
I usually don’t wear a cami, unless it’s necessary under a sweater or something sheer but I know Steven wears an undershirt under EVERYTHING except his pajamas and workout clothes. So maybe this is more common than I think?
Do you wear an undershirt/cami under most of your tops? If not, when do you wear them?
Oops. This got a bit long and side-tracked. Wish me luck on my presentation. It’s at 10:00!
Does habitual spending hurt your reputation?
I was getting ready to recycle some old magazines when I ran across this quote I had dog-eared from the August issue of SELF:
I remember reading that quote in August, and thinking, “I totally agree with that.” Earlier in the year, someone I knew (not a blogger or family member) had purchased a Nikon DSLR camera, a Macintosh laptop and an iPhone – all within the span of a month or so. To me, her purchases seemed frivolous. Why did she buy all of those fancy things? She didn’t need them.
And the funny thing is, I know this person loves to spend time with her family and friends, take photos, travel, and have fun. She is not someone who is emotionally invested in things. But her purchasing all those “big ticket” items one after another made me feel weird. It made me think she was shallow, even though I know she is not. It was just a gut reaction.
Of course, Steven and I were on a pretty tight budget during that time – and still are. So any time someone makes a “big” purchase, it stands out to me. And not as jealously or judgment – just as me thinking about how people handle their money. Some are more careful, and some are more carefree.
The person who bought the camera, laptop and iPhone didn’t receive some money they were expecting, so they were not able to take a photography class they planned on, and have been on a super tight budget since making those purchases. I feel bad for her.
Do you like someone less if they habitually shell out for “fancy” brands? Do you notice when people make a bunch of “big ticket” purchases? What does it make you think about them?
This post makes me sound really rotten, but I want to stress that I felt that way about that person because they bought all of that stuff within a short time frame, and to me, that seemed irresponsible. In the begining, when she had just bought the camera, I was super excited for her and kept asking her to show me her photos (I still do). But when she bought everything else, I had the “Oh, really?” reaction. It just seemed like SO MUCH. Does that make sense? It is the “habitual” part of the equation, even though it wasn’t even really habitual for her!
And yes, I know, her finances are NONE of my business. NONE whatsoever.
NOTE: This has nothing to do with going shopping with my mom and sister this weekend. Holiday shopping at the outlet malls is a bit different than purchasing expensive items for yourself.
Hi! I’m Kim, a 40-something-year-old living in northeastern Illinois with my husband Steven, and our cats, Khaleesi, Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard aka Ned. My current main hobbies are running, painting rocks, flying, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and work in an account management role. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂
