chasing the kenyans

run like a diva 5k

2012-05-22T09:30:00.000-04:00

after a week in the bahamas and a short week of work, i dashed off for a long weekend in myrtle beach. (i know, my life is rough). i'm sure i've mentioned it 120 times before, but i love the beach. i must figure out how to get relocated to a beach town...

i was there with a few friends to celebrate a bachelorette weekend, and the bachelorette wanted us to plan her weekend around a race! she ultimately picked the run like a diva event in north myrtle beach, sc. the bride-to-be and one bridesmaid ran the half marathon while the other two of us ran the 5k. we booked a suite at the ocean drive beach and golf resort which was perfectly located right in front of the start and finish lines.

my regular runs have been so-so lately. i still feel slow and take walk breaks sometimes, so i wasn't really looking forward to this 5k. i mostly run 3 miles, but have done 4 or 5 a few times. i'm still only running about 4 days a week with an average pace of 10:13/mile (for may). i know i should be building back up a little more aggressively, but i've been slack.

half-marathon divas ready to run!

on race morning, emily and i discussed our survival strategy for the 5k. obviously i've been rebuilding and she hasn't ran in two+ months so our goal was to not take walk breaks. we lined up in the 10:00/mile corral and ran together for the first mile, which did not take 10:00. at the one mile marker i tapped into my former cross country mindset* and decided to push it a little in mile 2. i pulled away from em and passed a bunch of divas. i was surprised by the crowd support and hoped that the half-marathoners had a good turnout of spectators too. i've only been running easy lately so i had no idea what type of pace to expect from myself. mile two was under 9:00.

i was now in the third mile and a little tired, but not as bad as previous 5k's where i was (truly) racing. i turned a corner behind two other girls and quickly passed them; 5 blocks to go. i was gaining on a guy (there were a few who were brave enough to run this diva-licious event) and overtook him just past the tiara and boa station. honestly, i think he let me pass him since this was a women's event, but who knows. mile three took less than 8:00. i rounded the last corner and cruised into the finish (i didn't super sprint in like i normally do); emily finished shortly after me.

the clock time was 25:xx and there weren't many finishers standing around, so i checked the results. turns out emily and i both took 2nd in our respective age groups! not too shabby considering our current ~~lack of~~ training. it was a nice surprise and confidence booster - now i know i can handle more running and start adding back in some workouts.

race swag: tiara, boa, rose, and a medal from hot shirtless firemen

not pictured: champagne

note: i ran a 33:26 in my return 5k i did a month ago and a 25:13 in this 5k, so if i use jill's math i will be running 17:xx 5k by mid-june.

*coach always said to pick up the pace in mile 2 and hang on in mile 3 (or something like that).

vacation

2012-05-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

went on vacation last week and i think my brain is still there. before that we went to philly/nj for a wedding, and before that we went to the lake and another wedding. i realized i've been going non-stop for a few months now. busy work weeks followed by busy weekends - working, traveling somewhere, hosting guests... while the travels have mostly been for fun things, it still wears me down sometimes when combined with busy week days. and let's not even discuss the last time the bathroom was cleaned.

most natural running pose ever

got to meet the lovely jill of one little tri girl while in nj!

taking the plunge

2012-05-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

you guys have been amazing with all the postcard offers! there's no deadline (well at least not anytime soon) due to the rate at which i (don't) get things done ha. if you say you'll send one and end up forgetting that's ok too, i won't hold it against you.

anyway, as i mentioned in my april recap post, i took my first venture into clothing-crafts. no, i don't own a sewing machine, it's not like i even know how to turn one on, however i do own a stove.

awhile back, gracie had shared a little how-to/success story about dyeing some (cotton) pants. it inspired me to attempt to dye a dress of mine but i procrastinated. a year later, i finally worked up the courage and got on it.

first, i purchased some iDye poly (because my dress is 100% polyester) from here*. it's cheap. i wanted navy blue, but they don't sell that shade so i purchased blue and black and figured i could mix them.

i also purchased a large (but should have gone larger) pot from walmart because somewhere online i read that you shouldn't use a pot you also cook with. turns out this was good advice because the inside of the pot now has a blue tint to it.

i hemmed and hawed over doing a test run with a pair of white 100% polyester gym shorts but decided i didn't want to waste time. i was nervous about ruining my dress but i told myself i wasn't going to ever wear it as-is anyway**.

you see, the company that makes iDye poly heavily disclaims dyeing 100% polyester clothing - "not all polyesters will take dye", "do not even think about dyeing your clothes if it says 'dry clean only'", etc. other websites also supported these statements, especially stressing "dry clean only" tags. as you may have assumed, my dress did say "dry clean only". i got it dry cleaned right before dyeing it, since i never had it done after i wore it two years ago (i am really good at doing laundry).

ok. back to the process.

i set up my work area, covering as much of the stovetop, countertops, cabinets and floor as possible. newspapers would work (that's what grace used i think) but i didn't have one so i just used trash bags.

following the directions on the inside of the iDye packet, i put my dress in the pot and filled it with water. once the dress was thoroughly soaked, i added a little more water and removed the dress (laying it on plastic on the floor). i put the pot on the stove on high heat and added the blue dye packet and intensifier (comes with it). once that dissolved, i opened the black dye packet and threw some in willy nilly. i was hoping to achieve a navy blue color but there were no guidelines as to how to mix the iDye poly colors. i would guess i put in about 1/3 of the black dye and intensifier. i'd rather err on the side of too blue than end up with yet another lbd (little black dress).

once the dye was dissolved, it was time to make the plunge. i nervously lowered my dress into the pot. i forgot to buy a spoon/stirring device at the goodwill or even walmart so i had to use one of our wedding-gift calphalon ones.

then i had the pleasure of standing over the stove and constantly agitating the dress in the pot. for an hour! it was hot standing over the stove and my feet hurt (is this what cooking is like? no thanks!). the dye also has some fumes to it so i am sure that was good to inhale. i should note that i wore yellow rubber gloves while doing this to keep my hands from being dyed.

had i bought a bigger pot, i may have been able to get away with not standing over it the whole time but the dress barely fit in the pot and i wanted to try to ensure an even coverage of color. josh was watching a riveting documentary*** on netflix in the living room while i was 'cooking' so i listened to that for entertainment.

finally, the timer buzzed and i emptied as much water as i could down the sink. once the dress had cooled enough for me to grab it, i pulled it out and laid it back on the same plastic on the floor. per the directions, you have to let the garment cool before washing it. after it had cooled off some more, i put it in the washing machine on a short, cold, "hand-wash" cycle with a little bit of 'all free & clear' detergent (the directions recommend a mild detergent, i assumed mine is mild). i then hung it up to dry overnight (with a trash bag underneath just in case there were any blue drips).

if you've been my friend for the past 2+ years, you may be thinking "where have i seen this dress before"? well let me tell you where...

i dyed my wedding dress! and while i loved it white (erm ivory), i know i will get so much more use out of it now that it's dyed. in fact i've already worn it once...

did anyone recognize it here? :)

unfortunately it didn't come out perfect - there is one spot on the bottom in the front that turned out darker for some reason - so i might attempt to dye it again to 'cover up' that spot. i could also get it altered into a knee length dress, but i love it as a 'maxi' dress. it was also super wrinkly after all the soaking and i don't own a steamer. i attempted to iron it on medium-low heat but after 30 minutes it was still just as wrinkly so i decided to just go with it because they looked fairly uniform. they also helped conceal the dark area too.

morals of the story - "dry clean only" is probably a lie. 100% polyester may not always dye successfully, but it's probably worth a shot.

oh, and the dry cleaner only charged me $32 for my dress. they called it a "formal" and i wasn't going to correct them (it would have been $150-200 for a wedding dress). i win.

*this is not a product review (i paid for everything). i'm just sharing my experience because i want to, and there weren't many good "stories" out on the google about dyeing 100% polyester (mostly just people trying to scare you from doing it).

**unless i were to get invited to p.diddy's white party.

***the kellogg brothers: corn flake kings. you're intrigued i know it.

april 2012

2012-05-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

miles run: 59.45 woo hoo!

other workouts: stationary bike (2x), nike training club/body weight type workouts (4x) maybe 5?

days off: 12

netflix obsession(s)/fail: didn't netflix this month. i did watch shark tank and touch on hulu though.

artistic/creative outlet: attempted another watercolor. it's better... but i still don't know if i like it enough to actually hang it up (not to mention i still haven't finished it, go figure). i also dabbled in clothing alterations, which is a tale for another post.

new food i tried: hmm, nothing. and i was very bad and 'cheated' on my elimination diet so basically i have to start that all over again if i want to finish the food-challenges. i know, you're shaking your heads at me. sorry, but rice and veggies gets old.

book(s) read:
hunger games (suzanne collins) - yes, i finally hopped on this bandwagon, though i haven't read the other books in the series yet. i read this book in a mere 3 hours or so.

no way out: a story of valor in the mountains of afghanistan (mitch weiss and kevin maurer) - apparently i like reading books about the middle east. this was a good read about a mission our special forces went on, even though every bone in their bodies told them it was not well planned out. easy read; good pacing. this was supposed to be "the book i read when at the gym on the stationary bike" to force me to go do cardio on my non-running days but i only went once and ended up finishing it on the couch.

forbidden lessons in a kabul guesthouse (suraya sadeed) - the "new books" section at my library had a few middle eastern books on display, can you tell? another good read about an afghan-american woman who, after a life-changing event, turned her life around and started a non-profit (before 9/11) to provide aid to her war-ridden home-country of afghanistan. also an easy read, i think i read it all in one day.

number of blog visitors: 862 (thank you!)

number of doctor visits: 8

april kicked off a busy 2012 wedding season

with a college teammate's nuptials

i dug out my postcard collection

i've been 'collecting' postcards since i was a kid though not avidly as some have probably been thrown out over the years, but i do have a hoarder-ish sized pile of them. i want to make two big collage frames for the living room, but i don't quite have enough for that. not without repeating a bunch from the same destination at least (i have so many from california i could make a collage of just them).

you can tell we took a family vacation

touring the midwest back in the day

(ia, in, il, mn, mi, wi)

i'm mentioning this because in the event you want to mail me a postcard from your town/state/travels, i would love to include it in my collage(s)! as you can see i'm going to do one collage of map-style postcards and one of anything-goes postcards. my only rule is no guys-in-speedos or women-in-thongs type postcards, sorry.

so please! send me an email anytime if you remember to grab a postcard and want to mail it my way (lindsay at chasingthekenyans dot com). i'll even reimburse you the $1.50 or however much it costs for a postcard + stamp these days.

ali asname

2012-04-23T09:30:00.000-04:00

i, erm, ali ran a 5k on saturday.

i was first female in this particular race a few years ago so i babied my ego and registered under an alias name, ali asname. ba dum chhh! (i'm not even linking to that race recap because i was a whiny brat about it).

there was also a half-marathon and 10k held in conjunction with the 5k. both the half and 10k start times were delayed 20-minutes for reasons i don't remember, but the 5k started at the scheduled time. clearly the race directors need to rethink the start time(s) or the course because 1-mile into the 5k i, along with hundreds of others, had to stop and wait on a freight train...

from the race results it looks like 5 people made it across the tracks before the train came through (there's a gap in results from 19:00 to 21:00, and i have to assume there were people who could have finished in those two minutes). it wasn't a big deal to me (or ali) since i was just running for fun, but i am sure it annoyed some of the other runners. it does allow me to subtract at least 5 minutes off my time though, right?

overall the race went well. i ran with a friend at her pace, and while i probably could have gone a little faster, it was good that i didn't overdo it. i know i get carried away in races and sometimes run harder than i'm ought to be (am in shape for), and i'm certainly not in any condition to race a 5k again.

two of my sisters ran the 10k (for one it was her first!) and josh ran the half. even though josh hadn't run in like two weeks and his last long run was 9-miles over a month ago, he still managed to run a sub-2:00 half.

here's one sister finishing.

as you can see i'm an excellent photographer,

and yes i am available for weddings.

ps: if anyone has better suggestions for alias names please share! the only ones i've thought of are male names (ie: "miles long"). oh but just as i typed that i remembered "mary thoner". i should have used that one, dang it!

from boston to bagram

2012-04-20T09:30:00.000-04:00

did you know that the boston athletic association helps provide a "shadow" event for our troops in afghanistan (and formerly iraq)?

hosted and coordinated by the u.s. army's 10th sustainment brigade, the b.a.a. generously provides official finishers medals and t-shirts for participants and volunteers free of charge. runners ran almost three laps on the roads around bagram airfield to log the 26.2 miles, and volunteers set up aid stations every mile (my employer hosted one of the aid stations).

the marathon was open to anyone military or civilian serving in the afghan area of operations. most of the participants were already on the bagram base, but some traveled from as far away as kandahar (340 miles away).

is it just me or does anyone else want to go afghanistan to run the "boston" marathon now? bagram 2013, who's in?

ps: capt. anthony calingo, interviewed in the video, ran a 2:55 but as you heard him say he's "not really competitive". what?!

video from defense video & imagery distribution system (dvids) an operation that provides a connection between the media around the world and the military serving in iraq, afghanistan, kuwait, qatar and bahrain.

there's a reason they call him coach

2012-04-13T09:30:00.000-04:00

because believe it or not, he knows what he's talking about! (at least some of the time)

i'm not following a plan to get back in shape, i just head out and try to make the run-intervals a little longer than they were the day before. thursday evening, after another long (11hr) day of work, i ventured out for an 8pm run/walk.

i did my usual 1/4-mile warmup walk and started running, aiming for a 1.5-mi run interval. i reached 1.5 mi and felt good, so i kept going.

a little shy of 2-miles i felt a little tired, but i knew i could push to round out the mileage so i kept going. i reached 2 miles and felt better, so i kept going.

around 2.5-miles there were some people standing around a sketchy van, no way was i stopping. in fact i sped up a little here, just to be safe (it was dusky and i always let scary thoughts take over when i see sketchy strangers on a run). this made me more tired, but i kept going.

once i got to 3 miles (of non-stop running!) i was tired, but i wanted to see how long it took me to run a 5k and surely i could handle another 0.1. the 5k mark was in the middle of a short hill and i wouldn't allow myself to stop in the middle of it, so i kept going.

at this point i figured it wasn't much further to my 1/4-mile cooldown walk, so i kept going. the run finished on a hill that i normally dread, but on this day i enjoyed it. i had just run 3.85 miles without needing or wanting a walk break! as jon would say, it was epic.

surely that is how the 10% rule works, right? from 1.5-mile run intervals to 3.85-miles straight? don't worry running-moms, i will make sure my next run is a run/walk so that i don't overdo it.

you are eliminated

2012-04-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

typical breakfast

a few days ago i mentioned that i'm doing an elimination diet (/experiment) and many of you expressed an interest in hearing more about it.

so what is an elimination diet? basically you limit your diet to "safe" foods (ones you know you're not allergic or intolerant to) for a minimum of two weeks, or as long as it takes for your symptoms to subside. then you test one food - eating a little of it for breakfast, lunch and dinner on one day only. the next two days you go back to your limited diet before repeating the cycle with another test food. even if you did not have any problems or symptoms with a test food, you still have to keep it out of your diet throughout the challenge phase. it is important to keep a detailed journal each day regarding what you ate, how you felt, any symptoms you noticed, etc.

"they" say elimination diets can be helpful for autoimmune conditions, ibs, arthritis, skin rashes, and migraines, among other conditions.

disclaimer: i should mention that i did not consult a medical professional before beginning the "diet" (i don't really want to refer to it as a diet because i am not doing it with the intent of losing weight). i am also not certified at, well, anything. i googled it and sort of came up with my own procedure for doing it as there aren't any direct instructions on how to do an elimination diet. i'm sure i could have researched a few books and read up on it more, but i figured it's not rocket science.

with that said... here's how my elimination diet has been going:

my safe foods: rice (mostly brown), vegetables (no beans, tomatoes, potatoes), fruits (no citrus)

i've been eating these foods for over three weeks (with the exception of challenge days). rice or coconut milk is also allowed. so far, i've tested tomatoes, dairy and wheat/gluten. tomatoes tested ok, dairy failed (i'm heartbroken), and wheat/gluten i just tested yesterday so i still have to wait it out. i love dairy (cheese!) so i might re-test it again later, just to be sure of course.

lunch or dinner - rice, squash, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower

snack - salted plantains

another lunch - asparagus stir fry, kiwi, rice

i've felt pretty good on the limited diet. though i imagine eating so many wholesome foods and drinking more water (can't have juice unless you jiy) will do that regardless. i realized how few greens/veggies i was eating prior to the diet; i had been in denial. i do want to add in quinoa in place of rice everyday, but i keep forgetting to buy some. obviously the cyclosporine is covering up my symptoms a good bit, but i was itchy on the day i ate dairy which leads me to think dairy failed.

the amazing mac and cheese i got to eat on dairy test day (rice noodles)

breakfast - banana/strawberry smoothie with rice milk

lunch or dinner - veggie soup
(organic veg broth, carrots, rice, collards, broccoli, etc)

the 'diet' and food challenges are far from over; i'll be doing this for a few more weeks as i continue to test and try to find foods my body doesn't agree with. it's a lot more inconvenient to eat such a restricted and clean diet, but i feel good in general from eating so clean.

elimination diets aren't for everyone, but i do think they could help some people and some symptoms because i believe that a number of health issues stem from all the crap that is in our food today. i hope i will find some results from this experiment without too much interference from the cyclosporine.

if you have any questions, leave them below and i will be happy to answer them!

just an fyi, some of the links i read about elimination diets:
the elimination and detoxification diet
whole life nutrition: elimination diet
elimination diet to detect and relieve hidden food allergies and to reduce stress on the immune system
allergy avoidance diet

running is hard

2012-04-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

(duh)

i just didn't think it would still be this hard five weeks into the 'swing of things'.

i still can't run two miles without needing a walk break. well, i could go further if i slowed down (apparently my run pace is about a 9:30) but i have a hard time making myself do that. i ran a slower pace once with friends and it wasn't as uncomfortable (and i didn't have to stop to walk).

it still burns in my lungs (i've been blaming it on the pollen), and hills, ohhh hills. don't even think about making me run up the slightest incline.

maybe it just takes longer than five weeks to get back in shape (does it?). afterall, i did sit on the couch for 6+ months.

i have to remind myself that i've gone from a 0.25mi walk/0.75mi run interval to a 0.25mi walk/1.5mi run. i go out for 4+ miles now instead of 2.5. my average run/walk pace has gone from a 11:59 (first three weeks) to an 10:56 (past two weeks). i'm sure that's plenty of progress in just five weeks.

i know i've been overly conservative with this "run/walk every other day" plan - i need to be doing something on those other days, yoga/strength training/cardio. i certainly want to work out while i can (i am concerned about what will happen when i have to go off this medicine in august -- things could switch right back to how they were and i don't know if i could handle that again).

i'd also like to get back to the gym, since we've been generously funding them for the past few months (yes, i became one of "those" people), but look at all this fancy new cardio equipment i paid for!

a tv on every machine...

how did people ever find the

motivation to workout before?

oh, and forgive me for taking forever to random.org a winner for the zhip. the winner is tri runner! george, email me your address and i'll drop it in the mail to you.

march 2012

2012-04-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

miles run: 30.15 (from 0 to 30! woop woop!)

miles walked: 0.0 (although technically some of the running miles are walking ones)

other workouts: yoga (1x), nike training club (2x)

days off: 18

netflix obsession(s): it's a boy/girl thing. a movie, but i continue to put it on at night to "fall asleep to". it has a super original story line -- a boy and a girl grow up next door to each other and are mortal enemies, then a magical spell happens and they switch bodies, but eventually they fall in love with each other and get their real bodies back. props to the hollywood writers for their creativity in writing this plot.

netflix fail: dance academy. (tv show) boring.

artistic/creative outlet: attempted a watercolor. fail. played lots of drawsomething. fairly good at it if i do say so myself. start a game with me - chasingkenyans!

i drew this

new food i tried: this isn't new food, but i'm wrapping up a hardcore elimination diet. i'd been thinking about doing one for quite some time, but was always intimidated by the idea of such a limited diet for such a long period of time (erm, 2+ weeks). i finally put mind over matter, cooked up enough brown rice to feed all of asia, and started the diet. i am doing it to see if there are any improvements to my skin, and i've been planning on doing a post about it for the past week, so more to come...

not part of my elimination diet

book(s) read:
room (emma donoghue) - read it in one sitting on a sunday afternoon (it wasn't that long of a book, but it was good).

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

the american wife (curtis sittenfeld) - couldn't get into it. i realized after this and a couple other reading fails that i need reasonable-lengthed chapters in order to make it through a book.

number of blog visitors: 890 (you guys rock!)

number of doctor visits: 8 (i think anyway)

as my first month of feeling "normal" in a long time (6-7 months), i tried to take advantage of that both by wearing nicer clothes (vs baggy ones that could get "messed up" if i had an itch attack) and by "living a normal life" - doing workouts, things around the house, running errands, and of course working 24/7.

we had a pipe leak resulting in a water bill 3x the norm

josh built a raised garden bed

i worked 3 weeks straight

and therefore had the dirtiest car in the parking lot

since i didn't have time to take it to the car wash

(thank you tree sperm)

ended the month with a weekend in beaufort with friends

shake it like a salt shaker

2012-03-26T10:20:00.000-04:00

week in review (3/19-3/25):

total miles: 5.7 (i missed a run. i worked over 90 hours. that's my excuse)

time spent running: ~ 1 hrs 6 min

avg pace: 11:33

off days: 4

mon: nike training club (iphone app) work out; 30 minutes
tue: off
wed: 0.25mi walk/0.75mi run, repeat; 3.2mi total
thu: off
fri: off
sat: 0.25mi walk/0.50mi run, repeat; 3.2mi total
sun: off

i didn't summarize it, but last week i ran 3 times for a total of 8.2 miles (12:05 avg pace). my average pace appears to be improving, but i'm also increasing the run interval and decreasing the walk portion so obviously that has an effect too.

this week was just nuts with a crazy amount of work. i could have gotten a third run in on sunday afternoon but i decided to stick to my no-two-days-in-a-row rule for now.

on monday i did a workout from the nike training club app - "slim chance". it's a "beginner" level workout (for those who workout 4-5 times per month). ummm, 9 minutes into this thing (5 of which was the warmup) i was thinking i should have done a 15 minute workout instead of 30. luckily, the last 10 minutes were abs and stretching so i survived. barely. and then walked around funny for the next three days.

lately i've been trying the new "all-in-one" nutritional shakes from vega one*. they come in four flavors - berry, chocolate, natural and vanilla chai. i haven't tried vanilla chai yet, but the other three were fine. i was leary of the "natural" flavor, i mean, what kind of flavor is that? (for this same reason i've never tried the "plain" gu flavor either) it didn't have a flavor i could describe, but it didn't taste bad either. none of them are strong-flavored, chocolate is not quite the same as a chocolate milkshake, but they're definitely drinkable.

these shakes are touted to provide protein, fiber, omega-3, antioxidants, probiotics and daily vitamins/minerals/greens. as with vega's other products, the ingredients are organic and wholesome. they didn't have any weird or chalky aftertaste and the powder mixed into water easily unlike some protein powders i've tried in the past.

unfortunately it appears to be extremely pricey. sequel lists a large (30oz) container at $69.99 and the product description says "20 servings per container". if the servings number is correct, that's $3.50 per use and frankly too pricey for me. i have a 16oz container of hemp protein powder from trader joe's that has 15-servings, and probably only cost $8-15.

*i received four single-serve packs of vega one nutritional shakes in exchange for my honest review.

product review + giveaway: zhip a dee doo dah

2012-03-22T10:00:00.000-04:00

awhile back i received a zhip (pronounced "zip"), a stand for small electronics (ipod, smart phone, etc) for use, well, anywhere.

to secure your phone or ipod to cardio equipment at the gym
to entertain young passengers on car trips (hangs on the back of a headrest)
as a countertop stand to display a recipe while cooking

i think it's a nifty invention and so far seems to have decent quality. there are two padded "handles" that hold your phone in place, a 3-ft retractable zip cord that holds your phone and the stand to whatever you want to hang it on, and a built-in desktop stand.

while the padded handles held my phone in place in the stand, i could still slide it a little if i tugged on it. i am not concerned about my phone slipping out of the stand because i had to use some effort, but i did notice that it slid a little.

the zhip is claimed to be 100% unbreakable. i haven't tried running over it with the car or dropping it from a skyscraper, but it is still in one piece (and you know how my iphones fare). perhaps apple should make their products from polycarbonate too. i was nervous when trying to unhook the blue clip from some of the positions because it was pretty securely stuck in there and i was afraid it might break off, but so far so good.

overall, the zhip is a good, versatile product if you're looking for an easy and inexpensive way to turn your smart phone or portable music player into a mini-entertainment system.

it's reasonably priced at $14.95 and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee (i receive no kickback, aka $0.00, on any sales generated).

but you can win one here!

just leave a comment telling me where you could use a little zhip in your life. simple.

* giveaway open until tuesday, march 27th at midnight, eastern time.

* one winner will be chosen at random.

* i received a zhip from the brand company in exchange for sharing my thoughts on the product.

* i receive no compensation for this review, giveaway, or from any sales generated.
* the giveaway is done at my own expense because i love you guys.

pomp and circumstance

2012-03-20T09:30:00.000-04:00

my fellow running bloggers,

yesterday, one of our own achieved a new level of greatness. one who had been dredging the trenches for months on end, but who had not let crutch nor boot slow her down. after a number of disappointing trips to various doctors, she finally found one who could help, only to be slowed down by health insurance denying her coverage to an expensive bone stimulating treatment. as all runners do, she persevered and not only won the battle with her health insurance, but also against her stress fracture.

ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor and privilege to bestow this diploma upon morgan of caution redhead running.

congratulations on your r2r graduation!

you are invited to attend the post-graduation party over at caution: redhead running.

new pr's

2012-03-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

last night i slept about 10:40pm-12:10am and i've been up ever since, ugh. to top it off, i had to be at work at 7:30am today as we try to meet some deadlines for a project that we technically haven't even been awarded yet...

when the clock rolled around to 5am, i got up and went for my run/walk. i had planned to do a "long" run, so i set out on my old 3+ mile loop. now, i know i have only been running again for two weeks, but it is still way hard. i definitely still need my 1/4-mile walk breaks.

i got home from the run and synced garmin so i could enter my stats in my spreadsheet. yes, i'm still keeping a "training log" although it's a lot simpler this year (date / mileage / time / pace / total mileage for year). in the past i noted where/what route, what shoes i wore, what kind of workout i did, non-running workouts, hr data, weight, hours slept, temperature... i'm a bit of a numbers geek, but i told myself i never look back at all that stuff anyway and simplified the process.

rabbit trail aside, i typed today's run data in and my yearly mileage is 26.2! new marathon pr of 6:09:33! of course, today was also my longest run/walk at 3.20 miles and my overall pace (from the past two weeks) improved from 12:16/mile to 11:56/mile. pr's all around! it's especially nice to see the average pace improving a little because i feel like i'm barely moving out there.

now to make some progress on this buddha belly...

because i can

2012-03-13T09:30:00.000-04:00

week in review (3/5-3/11):
total miles: 7.50
time spent running: ~ 1 hrs 32 min
avg pace: 12:20
off days: 4

mon: off
tue: 1mi run, 3' walk/2' run; 2.5mi total
wed: off (sore!)
thu: off
fri: 3' walk/2' run; 2.5mi total
sat: off (left shin sore - soo nervous for a shin splint or stress fracture)
sun: 0.25mi walk/0.5mi run, repeat; 2.5mi total (fastest "run" of the week!) + 45min of yoga.

easing back into it. the plan is to not run (err, run/walk) two consecutive days for a while. i don't know how long, but i still get out of breath running a half-mile so i know i have a ways to go. of course, i'm just glad to be out there period! i was even excited to do chores around the house over the weekend like cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming under the couch. after months of sitting around in pain/discomfort, doing chores is a treat! (don't worry josh i'm sure that won't last long).

just spicing things up with a photo.

my sister taunted me into doing the broom trick. ~~josh~~ i had to explain to her that it had nothing to do with the planets. when i showed my standing broom skills to josh he said "it would be more impressive if you were actually using it".

britney spears and the medical tent

2012-03-12T10:00:00.000-04:00

last week, the redhead brought an important issue to light: women's race shirt sizes. to think, this whole time much of the population was unaware of this heinous act committed by race committees all across the globe! it's time to bring this injustice to an end. join the redhead's facebook petition to runner's world here.

she prompted female runner-bloggers everywhere to post their best and worst race shirts. i have already donated my worst race shirt (it was that bad) but i did create a rendition. i call this the britney spears:

the britney spears

toted as a "women's small", this particular shirt stopped about halfway between my boobs and my belly button. not attractive.

the medical tent

this wasn't the race organizers fault technically... i registered for this race on race-day, so i had slim pickin's for my shirt. i would just like to ask race organizers what kind of half-marathon-trail-runners need a tent for a shirt. i like the logo, too bad i couldn't get a smaller size.

perfection

here's my "best" - the baltimore marathon, 2006. i signed up for this race because you got a "free" under armor tech tee (aka race shirt). it fits well (even though it looks a little awkward in this photo) and the logo on the back is not dorky.

good and bad

2012-03-09T10:05:00.000-05:00

as i mentioned in my last post, i'm medicated.

the biopsy that the dermatologist took confirmed that i do have eczema (atopic dermatitis), which is good in that it's not anything life-threatening, but bad in that eczema cannot be cured. i've been told my whole life that i have it, but this dermatologist was the first to suggest a biopsy. i've spent thousands of dollars over the past few years at various doctors trying to find something that is triggering the eczema with no luck so far. typically, most people find that eczema is triggered by an allergy to something - food, detergent, pollens, etc. while i do have a number of allergies, avoiding them has not made a difference. i am still currently thinking that i could have something else going wrong internally (hormone levels, adrenal function) and because something is out of whack, it is irritating my skin.

horse pills

the dermatologist said i was a severe case (go figure) and recommended i go on cyclosporine. the good news is, it's working. things aren't perfect, but they are noticeably better. prior to starting the medicine, i was never comfortable, i was always itchy, and i was usually in pain (from the itching mostly). i couldn't concentrate at work, i haven't slept through the night in over two years, and i was very irritable. i spent the weekends sitting on the couch because i was so uncomfortable. now, my skin is almost totally clear, the itching has subsided (but isn't fully gone), and i'm a more productive employee. i'm still not quite sleeping great yet, and josh would quickly admit that i am still irritable, but at least i'm comfortable.

the bad news is, it's working. cyclosporine is an immunosuppressant. obviously, suppressing your immune system is not exactly a good thing. it was originally used in kidney transplant patients so that their body wouldn't reject the new organ, but has been adapted for use in other conditions such as eczema. unfortunately, it's not going to solve the problem - it will only provide temporary relief while i am on the drug, and i can only be on it for 6 months to a year. any longer than that will lead to very bad long-term side effects like liver failure. cyclosporine can affect your electrolytes and triglycerides, so i have to go in every two weeks for blood testing to make sure my levels are still normal.

while i'm glad it's working, i can barely stomach the expense. one month of medicine costs $254. let's hope i don't have to be on it very long! part of this is because i am on the hsa plan which (i thought) doesn't include prescription coverage. i tried using a 75%-off any prescription coupon (found online) but the walmart employee told me that my insurance discount was greater than the coupon (making the starting price of this medicine $1000?!?!?). i tried to explain that my plan does not have prescription coverage and then remembered i was talking to a walmart employee, so i just gave up. (i am hoping my pharm friend gracie can help explain??) i had this filled at walmart because i figured it'd be cheaper there than other pharmacies, but i may call around to the walgreen's and cvs's to see if they'll tell me how much it would cost me there.

so, no real progress has been made just yet, but i am comfortable and hopefully can find a doctor who will do some more tests soon. in the meantime, at least i can workout a little - when the soreness from tuesday's run goes away.

guess what.......?!?

2012-03-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

this attractive outfit can only mean one thing...

i ran!!!

but not like this

josh wouldn't even come with me because he was embarrassed of my "new" nike capris (purchased in december, never worn due to lack of exercise).

unlike the last time i "ran" (a whopping half-mile in january), i didn't over think it before hand. in fact, i forgot to warm up and just took off (well, relatively speaking). i set off on a 2.5-mile loop and decided to do a 1-mile "time trial" and run/walk the rest of the way (2 minutes run/3 minutes walk). the 1-mile time trial was hard. then again, i haven't ran a full mile since october so it was to be expected.

by the numbers:

0 - horn honks at my hot pink pants

2.5 - miles run/walked total

10:29 - mile time trial

30:33 - total time to complete 2.5 miles

infinite - people rubber necking at my hot pink pants

ps: still sugar-free. i didn't give in on national m&m day. as much as i wanted to, i also didn't want to break my streak.

pps: i'm still not better. i'm just medicated. but, it enables me to run. and function in life in general.

national m&m day

2012-03-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

happy ~~national~~ worldwide m&m day everyone!! (even though maurlene didn't mail me m's this year)

i am still on the fence as to whether or not i will celebrate with an m&m or 463.

should i break the no-sugar streak (almost 6 months now) or celebrate in spirit?

february 2012

2012-02-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

miles run: 0.0

miles walked: 0.0

other workouts: do potato chip arm curls count?

days off: 29

netflix obsessions: toddlers and tiaras, the secret life of the american teenager

netflix fail: the winning season (it was just super cheesy and predictable, but then again aren't all movies predictable?)

artistic/creative outlet: finishing up nicki minaj on ms paint. didn't do well in this realm.

new food i tried: kiwi. alright, i've had it before so it wasn't totally new. but this was the first time i had to pick it out and peel/cut it. produce selection and preparation scares me.

i just wish they yielded more slices!

and yes i had my kiwi with a side of rice

book(s) read:
the brief wondrous life of oscar wao (junot diaz) - i read about 80 pages of this one. i tried, but i just couldn't get into it.

the passage (justin cronin) - checked this one out after a preview by andrea @agegroupsrock. it was interesting, then started getting weird, but i stuck with it. read all 700-800 pages in 3 days.

number of blog visitors: 771 (not sure what attracted you since i posted a whopping 3 times, but i will continue to say thanks for sticking by me!) i will be back in action one day... hopefully sooner rather than later.

number of doctor visits: 11 (includes 2 trips to chiropractor)

i had a thermal scan done of my spine.

the left is normal, the right is my severely not-normal.

i went to the worst-ever rheumatologist who basically told me i don't have arthritis. pretty sure i already knew that, thanks. i was referred to a rheumatologist because they cover auto-immune conditions in addition to arthritis. i would like to see a endocrinologist (still working on that) but it was suggested that a rheumatologist would be more thorough. perhaps some endocrinologists are thorough / actually consider the auto-immune side of their practice, but the particular one i saw was moronic and narrow-mindedly focused on arthritis. i was upset and irritated after that appointment and really wanted to treat myself to something delicious like a milkshake, but i resisted. instead i went shopping at old time pottery and got two wire baskets for the pantry, an hour glass with hot pink sand for my desk, and a ceramic horse head for the living room.

if you are ever needing a rheumatologist in the south carolina area please contact me and i will tell you which one to not go to.

in good-doctor news, i think i've found a worthwhile dermatologist. he claimed he was going to do some outside research / thinking / checking for atypical explanations. i had to fight to keep my jaw up off the floor. a doctor who isn't narrow-minded to their specialty? who realizes that the body has many functions that all interact and one thing could be causing another? i've been keeping a timeline/list of everything that has happened to me health-wise since 2004-ish and giving a copy to every doctor i see. he was the first one who actually read it (well, that i know of, but based on interactions with all the others i'm positive they didn't bother to read over it). he has renewed my hope that i might, in fact, get better one day.

five for friday

2012-02-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

hello world! just checking in with a few random things on this fine friday.

i am still alive. i'm still reading all your blogs in my google reader, but lately i've been feeling a little down, athletically-speaking. it's disheartening to read about all the great workouts / races / pr's you are all achieving and in my funk i've slacked on commenting. i'm sulking in the corner.

i've really been missing running lately. i look longingly at the sidewalk while driving on the roads i used to run. i do still make fun of people for being way overdressed though. it'll be 50+ degrees out and runners are dressed like it's 20.

a couple weekends ago we went to look at old stuff. we're cultured like that. specifically, it was an exhibit of old biblical artifacts that belong to the green family (who founded hobby lobby). it was interesting to see the really old stuff, paper made from calf skin, and to read about some of the history and travels behind some of the pieces (surviving the nazi's and what not).

photos weren't allowed, so here's a rendition.

i had a skin biopsy done yesterday and received my first stitch. they're expediting the testing/results instead of making me wait the standard "2 weeks". should have some answers on monday.

when it rains, it pours. this past monday i had an allergic reaction to something in my lunch. i think it was the mustard. everything on my sandwich was exactly the same as one i ate last week except it had mustard this time. i used to tolerate mustard just fine, but i guess something changed. my lips swelled up and i rushed over to walgreen's for some benadryl (took two). about two hours later the swelling finally started to go down just as the drowsiness hit full force. i groggily drove myself home from work early and passed out on the couch around 4pm.

i was sporting a pretty attractive look for a few hours at work. duck lips are cool these days right? everyone is making them in their facebook photos...

boom

2012-02-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

i (still) haven't been running or selling coke in the yard, but i have been ms painting. and dj-ing.

hope you all enjoy dj ctk's latest: (jon feel free to add this to my resume portfolio)

january 2012

2012-02-01T13:30:00.000-05:00

miles run: 1.0

miles walked: 9.5

other workouts: none

days off: 28

netflix obsessions: gossip girl, cake boss

netflix fail: the way back (siberian gulag escapees walk 4000 miles overland to freedom in india). i just couldn't get into it - too slow, kinda boring.

artistic/creative outlet: a project that is taking me a lot longer to do than i thought, but i think it will be awesome.

i never said it was a high-dollar art project

new food i tried: collard greens

number of blog visitors: 992 (thank you for not abandoning me!)

number of doctor visits: 3

i'm going with a modified version of caution redhead running's month-in-reviews since i don't exactly have a lot of running/workouts to recap.

walk this way

2012-01-31T10:30:00.000-05:00

my grand return to running experienced a quick hiccup. after two successful (exhilarating) 1/2-mile runs, i missed the next 3 scheduled runs and 1 walk due to my skin acting up (even) more.

saturday though, was an amazing day. i had no pain, no irritations, and could actually move normally (instead of like a stiff robot) so i took advantage of finally having a good day by going for a walk with kathrin.

a 2.5 hour, 8.5 mile walk.

it was a gorgeous, sunny day in the low 60's. i am thankful this winter has been so mild. i could feel some areas starting to ache - feet, left shin, hip flexors - about an hour and a half into the walk, but that was to be expected. afterall, i probably haven't done 8 miles in a month (let alone a day) since october. pretty pathetic.

even more pathetic? my sore back on sunday.

unfortunately my skin (/whatever the underlying issue is that is causing my skin to be pissed off) went right back to the business of irritation and discomfort on sunday. not fun.

a quick(-ish) review of what's going on: for the past 4 years, my skin had been progressively getting worse. i went to an allergist, 2 dermatologists, my general practitioner -- all with no luck of finding the cause or a solution. i'm currently seeing a different allergist (better 'bedside manner', willing to think outside the box) and a nutritional response doctor. recently, i started to think that it's not my skin that is the problem and there is something going wrong internally and the symptom of it is coming out through my skin. i am hoping to see an endocrinologist soon (waiting on a referral) and am also getting on a long waiting list to see an immuno-dermatologist (she is booked for six-months).

i can and i will

2012-01-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

saw this on facebook over the weekend and thought it was share-worthy.