Larissa: It's our last post!

Paula: YAY!

Larissa: You don't mean that.

Paula: No, of course I didn't. I've loved posting on this site (grin).

Larissa: So full of lies. But given that I was the one that abandoned the posting during my Stats course I'm hardly one to point fingers...although I am Pointy McFingerson.

But can you believe it's our last post? So, was it worth it?

Paula: It was definintely worth it. It was extremely motivating knowing that people were watching our progress and making donations.

Larissa: Just re-reading our first post, I'm so struck by your story of not running more than 5 steps, and now you've run a whole 5 km. It really is amazing. You really did great!

I wish I had done better, but I did what I could and it could have been worse. At least I didn't do a faceplant, nor was I attacked by my running bra. So it's all bright side, silver lining, yeah?

Paula: We both did a great job. We've both come so far since we decided to do this race and we should be very proud of ourselves.

I keep thinking I haven't come very far, but then reading our first post really shows me that I've done a lot since then. The support of Volunteer Ottawa staff and volunteers, friends and family, has been amazing and is the one thing that helped us reach this goal.

Larissa: Very true, this is a great organization with awesome people in it. And, we were also hoping to raise $2,000 towards Volunteer Ottawa's community programs. How did we do, final count?

Paula: We reached our goal. We raised $2,110! Thank you to everyone for supporting Volunteer Ottawa and for cheering us along!

Larissa: No kidding. A big thank you to all of those wonderful people. Congratulations to Paula for an amazing job, and maybe we'll see you here again next year!

Paula: Congratulations to you too, Larissa. I'm looking forward to the 10km next year.

Larissa: Shut up! That would be amazing. Hey, why don't you go for the marathon? You've got a year, lazy bones.

Paula: Yeah, not likely, those marathoners are insane. But 10 km? Stay tuned.....

Paula:
Well, it's done! I ran the 5K, the only place I walked was the 10 steps at the water station while I drank. I've learned in the past that I can't run and drink, so I decided not to make a fool of myself trying ;-) I finished the race in under 39 minutes (OMG, there were so many people there! Over 6300 runners). Although I would have preferred a better finish time, I'm happy with what I did considering I was still sick and have been for almost a week now.

My son ran the race with me too (for school) and about 100 meters to the finish line, he passed me at a sprint, smiling back at me as if to say... "I'm gonna beat you!" and I did try to sprint too, but it only lasted a few steps before I had to cut it down to a jog or potentially pass out. I'm OK with him beating me... I mean, he's 17 years old, he should be beating me, right ;-).

Everyone at work has been so supportive of me over the past few months while I was training. You guys are amazing! Your praise and encouragement really helped and kept me going! Thank you!

I feel like the luckiest woman in the world, having the support of my friends and family. My parents, my sons, and my boyfriend Kerry were there that day. Kerry stayed by my side right up until they counted down to 5:00pm. You know, I have to admit that the happiness I feel right now isn't because I finished the race, but it's because of everyone around me that helped me through the whole process! It's a feeling that will I will never forget, thank you for that.

Larissa

Well, we're all proud of you, Paula! I was there and gamely gave it my best but knees...no. However, it was worth it to see you do it! We'll have to do a summary tomorrow. Congratulations and way to go!

Paula:
Ok, so I lied... I totally let the sickies get to me! I've been exhausted each evening, which seems to be when my cold gets worse too. I haven't done any sort of exercising since Tuesday. I'm still ready and anxious to get on with the run tomorrow, I just hope that I don't pass out halfway through it. OMG, it's tomorrow! Even though I feel horrible, I'm still very much looking forward to the race! Well, I've off to bed now. I've taken my nyquil and it's starting to work. I'll post my results here tomorrow or the following day!

Paula:
OK, so I'm sick. I knew this would come, but I'm surprised that it came this early... usually it would happen just before my big day (whatever that might be), or during whatever event it was that was making me nervous or stressed (nothing like expecting it huh...). Maybe this is a good thing, I'll get the sickies over with before the run so that I'll be perfectly healthy that day. I managed to bike to and from work today. I'm hoping to have a short run tomorrow, or even a quick walk, depending on how I'm feeling ;-) I will NOT give in to the sickies!

Paula:
I ran my last 5K before the big race! I took a new route, I like it much better. I think I'll use that one from now on (much more neighbourhoody, than big roads). I also got my confirmation e-mail with my bib# which will get me my run package for the day of the event. The countdown begins... I have some very exciting news! I have now reached my 60lb goal! I've lost over 60lbs, OMG... I'm certain that I'll fluctuate and may gain a pound or two, but I've finally reached it! Gee, it's only taken me... hmmmm.... let's see... almost 9 months... well, I didn't go very quickly, but I did it! YAY!

Paula:
Kerry and I went for a nice long bike ride today! Next time we will have to bring a picnic ;-) It was such a beautiful day. I didn't do any running today though. Tomorrow is my run day, so I'll do my 5K then, it will be the last 5K that I run before the race... I'll be picking up my race kit this week, I can't wait to do that!

Paula:
I did a bit of running and a bit of biking today (before the rain, thank goodness). It is 5:27pm, as I write this, so in one week exactly I will be running my first ever 5K race. Yippee! I am very excited. We are going to watch the first Indiana Jones movie tonight...

Paula:
I biked to and from work today, it's getting easier and easier, it took an hour each way. I spent the morning in a charity law workshop and the afternoon watching part of Sound of Music. I thought I would be bored with the movie, but I have to admit that the movie is very interesting if you are watching it with the Volunteer Ottawa staff group. You guys are crazy!

Paula:
Just got back from my run. I only did 3K tonight, since I walked over 3K with the boys after work. Tomorrow we are watching "Sound of Music" at work. Opinions on this movie go in such different directions... 1/2 of the people I've asked about the movie say that it's the best movie ever and the other 1/2 of the people say... well...

I'm sure I'll enjoy every minute of it! I just have to get through the Charity Tax Return workshop in the morning first. Dear God, this movie better be as good as people say ;-) because after the morning session, I'll be on my way to a nap!

Paula:
It was a busy day today, so I didn't run. I went for a walk with my dad tonight though, our regular 5K. It was the second 5K walk he did today! Good for you! There is only another 1 and 1/2 weeks to the race... it's crunch time ;-).

Paula:
I biked to work today. Boy, it feels good when I get to work or when I get home, after I've biked. On the way home I ran across a woman who seemed to be having no trouble biking up the hills or into the wind, and I thought wow! she must be in shape! Well, I found out that she had a motorized bike. I never really cared one way or the other about those bikes before, but god I hated that bike today.

Paula:
I ran my 5K this evening. Then I went to Canadian tire and picked up a bike "seat" rack and bag... now I won't have to carry a backpack all the way to work! YAY! I'm looking forward to trying them out tomorrow.

Paula:
We actually didn't do very much today, we went for a nice bicycle ride this morning and then relaxed on Kerry's new patio swing... very calming, I think I want one of those for my living room!

I'm not going for a run today, my jogging clothes were in the wash this morning (every womans excuse huh?), they are now clean, but the moment for exercise has passed ;-).

Paula:
I rode my bike to work yesterday. If felt good to be able to ride again, it's the second time I've ridden to work so far this year. I want to try to ride twice a week (at least). There are so many reasons to ride a bike to work: exercise, environment, money. It doesn't get much better than that.

Today I didn't do any "training", but I did spend a few hours outside working, so I figure that I got my exercise in today. I'm hoping to go for a run tomorrow morning too. We'll see, being mothers day and all, maybe I'll just stick around the house and try to relax. HA! HA! Did I actually say relax??? HA! HA!

Paula:
I went for my run tonight after work. I've beaten my best time, so that is exciting. My first goal was to be able to run the 5K, and I really didn't think I could do it, but I did. Once I did that, my next goal was to be able to run it in under 40 mins and I'm able to do that now! YAY! I have to admit that I was surprised I made it back home without falling down and passing out. I was completely exhausted!

Paula:
I didn't have a chance to exercise today. It was just too busy. We went to mom and dads tonight to celebrate mothers day and dads birthday. I'll definitely be running tomorrow after work though... rain or shine! I have to work on improving me time.

Paula:
I had great intentions when I woke up this morning. I was totally going to bike in to work and I did get about a kilometer into the 17 km trip when I came across this rusty old nail sitting in the middle of my path, which my skinny little bike tire, just happened to roll directly over (I couldn't do that again if I tried).

I then had to turn around and walk my bike home (how embarrassing). After work, I was able to figure out how to take my back wheel off my bike, so I went to get a new tube and tire and replaced the ruined one... yay for me!

I did get my exercise in for the day, I ended up running this evening, it was a short run (just under 3K), since I did a big one last night.

Paula:
I ran my 5K today, I'm not going ANY faster than I was... I hope to improve my time during the race... we'll see. I plan on riding my bike to work tomorrow, but I'm going to keep an eye on the weather, then I'll make up my mind ;-)

I had an ultrasound appointment this morning. Who ever thought up the ultrasound (I shouldn't complain, because it's a great way to look inside and find problems)??? But come on... they make you drink all this water an hour before the ultrasound and then when you get there, they push on your bladder with a machine thingy and do this for about 10 mins... meanwhile, you are trying everything you can NOT to pee... I was a little worried a few times... That is one job I would hate... I can't imagine how many people can't do it... I bet they have a chart where they keep track of how many lose the battle. It's a good thing I don't take these tests regularly, otherwise, I would very possibly add to that count. This time I was lucky, but next time... I'm not sure...

Larissa

Thanks for carrying the blog while I've been in class, Paula!

Yeah, you know, I haven't taken statistics since undergrad psychology and that was long enough ago that I'd rather not get into it. So taking a full length stats course in 7 days is painful and...no, just painful. I have a study group now, and we've chipped in to "buy" a tutor for our next session...and did I mention this class is happening over SEVEN DAYS?!?! I'm going crazy.

However, at one point we learned about a type of probability (yes, I know it's not really a "type" of probability but I'm not in the mood so keep it to yourself). What was my point now?....Yes, probability. Well, this is represented by a symbol called, seriously, P hat. It's the letter 'p' with a little open bottomed triangle on top, the hat.

I hear this, and I'm thinking, "Now this I can get behind." So I'm imagining these stats symbols with funky little clothes. Lepard print when the probability is so out there, it's WILD! WILD! And then maybe we can have Z value wide leg cropped chinos. And t distribution low heeled sling back sandals. So many possibilities......but it still sucks. Which I accidentally said out loud. in class. LOUDLY. Luckily the prof is a good guy, and of course I apologised profusely. However, he had the last laugh when I asked him if, while marking assignments, he would consider giving marks for creativity. Apparently not so much with the creativity support in stats. Go figure (ha ha haa, you see what I did there?)

This poor prof, though, I'm sure he's going home every night and crying himself to sleep. On Monday he was trying to give an example of something (I have no idea what, it's not like I'm actually retaining anything) and he was saying, "Okay, let's apply this to something..." and I, of course, pipe up with, "Unicorn dung and the exploitation of fairy dust! I don't think you heard me! I SAID UNICORN DUNG AND THE....oh, the distribution of tree heights? That's almost the same thing, sure. Perhaps then we can apply the most boring thing in the world, stats, to yet ANOTHER boring thing! I'm sure there's something even more boring than trees! What's that? The relative tensile strength of fencing jackets? Seriously, this guy is trying to kill me."

The thing is, my friends, he ain't kidding. We spent a fairly long time working out problems using fencing jackets as the example. Unicorn dung? No, too "out there". Too P hat in lepard print. I did enjoy, however, the mental image of grabbing a fairy and shaking fairy dust out of it like it's a little winged salt shaker. Then someone (won't name names...JANE) suggested a pepper mill and...well...

Paula:
I didn't run today or do any exercise for that matter. Well, it's the first day in over 6 days, so I'm not too upset. I really don't have too much to say today... except that there are only a few weeks to go before the run.

Paula:

The ride home last night wasn't nearly so bad as the ride into work. I was about 10 mins from home when it started to sprinkle rain... I got a bit worried, but in the end, I didn't get really wet.

I'll be going for my run soon, it's a short one today, then I have a few errands to run. Alex had a friend sleep over last night (my youngest son - 13)... we'll he's very much into wrestling and he's already broken one sofa... at about 11:00pm I hear a big bang, and guess what! There goes another sofa (well, not the whole sofa, but the leg is destroyed, so now I have to find another leg)! OMG! God help me, but this wrestling stuff is just too much for me!

Paula:
Oops, I missed yesterday! Well, I ran my 5K last night after work... I ran just about the whole thing, but met up with an old friend that I hadn't seen for a while, so stopped just around the corner from my place... it was so close, I consider it a full run ;-)

Today was the first day that I biked into work this year. My god it was windy (and cold)! I almost turned around about 15 mins from home, but decided to trudge on, and every 15 mins or so I would curse my decision, loudly (luckily there was no one around to hear me). The wind was so bad that it was really hard to bike... there is this one hill and it's about .5k long, last year, I would coast down it and actually have to use my breaks since I'd be going so fast, but that's not what happened today... I actually had to peddle the whole way down since the wind was blowing so hard it was slowing me down... I'm expecting the wind direction to change sometime during the day so that when I go home it will be still blowing at me.

Paula:

Well, there is just 3 1/2 weeks before the race. I'm anxious. I went to mom and dads tonight. Dad and I walked 5K, nice and quick.

I've finally gotten Thomas, my oldest son, to add me to his facebook list of friends... boy, I can definitely have fun with this. Well, I could if I spent more than 5 mins a week on facebook, it doesn't take too long for me to get bored with it ;-) OK, it's bed time... night night.

Paula:
Today we had our website launch at Billings, during the volunteer expo! It went great! Everything was organized, members were happy, media was there, and they showed our new website on channel 7 tonight! Very exciting! Great job! Lots of exposure!

Ok, back the the reason for our blog ;-) I ran this afternoon, a short run at work. Tomorrow night I'll likely go for a nice long walk with dad. Now that I've run the 5K, I'm anxious to see if I can do it again... but my next run won't be until Thursday night... we'll see.

Paula:
YAY! YAY! YAY!!! I ran all 5K! I was trying to save the full 5K run for the event, but I had my doubts that I would be able to do it, since in the past I've had to stop to walk around the halfway mark and then again close to the end. I needed to know if I could do it, and I can!

You have no idea how excited I am right now! I AM SO EXCITED! And it was even raining! Well, maybe not raining, but sprinkling at least lol.

My poor kids had to wait for their supper tonight, I had better go and check the chicken to see if it's ready!

YAY!!!

Paula:
I woke up this morning and almost didn't go for my run, but I went after all. All I could think of was the food that I ate at my parents dinner, I'm certain that it was not very healthy... How can something that tastes so good be healthy?

We went for a long ride on Kerry's motorcycle, drove all the way to St. Albert... even though my butt was horribly sore during the ride, I still enjoyed it... it makes you feel so free! Hmm, Paula the biker chick!

Larissa

After four years, a squirrel has finally managed to get to our bird feeder. I'm so annoyed! But now the question is, is this a squirrel that's been spending winters with physics textbooks and working out how to get to the feeder, or is this is a new and super intelligent squirrel that's recently moved into the neighbourhood?

Either way, I'm somewhat disturbed. With option 1, there are so many unanswered questions. Like, for example, how is the squirrel buying the physics textbooks? Has it been running some kind of nut factory somewhere for extra book cash? Is it using the squirrel internet to have them delivered? And if so, you do realize this means there's a whole squirrel banking system out there as it has to have a credit card to order the books. Does the squirrel have better credit than me? Is the squirrel planning on forcing me out of the house and then buying it in foreclosure? Or, perhaps, it is planning on that but it thinks the bird feeder, which is shaped like a little house, is actually the house in question - after all, physics degree or no, squirrels don't really have the attention span necessary to carry out TWO long term nefarious plans.

If it is option 2, where some Super Squirrel has moved into the neighbourhood, how will this upset the natural balance of the wildlife in the backyard? There are the sparrows that nest above our backdoor every year - will their little ones be shamed by the squirrel's vastly superior intellect and therefore have their emotional growth stunted? Will the bunnies have to battle Super Squirrel for garden destroying priviledges? I can just see the bunnies with the shivs taped to their little paws and then Super Squirrel pulling out some kind of McGyver-like weapon fashioned from an old Nerf football and an orange peel. How will the raccoons stay focused on maximum garbage/yard coverage with Super Squirrel always forcing them to line up in order of the square root of their height/weight ratios?

The bottom line is, squirrels are spooky.

Paula:
Wow! You can come up with the most interesting topics, can't you!

We celebrated my parents 40th anniversary last night, it was a lot of fun, we went to a great restaurant and then to a comedy club, it's been a long time since I've been out to a club. I didn't get any excercise in yesterday, but spent some time working outside today, so that will have to count as my exercise for today, since I'm not likely to go for a run tonight ;-). I will, however, go for a run in the morning... boy, it's going to be nice when this 5K is over...

Paula:
I did my run tonight... 5K, I'm exhausted and ready for bed! Tomorrow is Friday, thank goodness, I'm looking forward to a restful weekend... yeah right lol (do I ever get a restful weekend? Even if I did start with a restful weekend, I would be bored within a couple of hours - there is no helping it, I need something to occupy me).

Larissa
Busy...busy....can't talk....EXCEPT:

I was watching a very high brow and intelligent show. Very very. Very. Sigh. Battlestar Gallactica, alright? Get your laughs in now....are we ready to move on? Yes? Good.

So I'm watching this and all of the fighter pilots have their call names, like Helo, Racetrack, Apollo. I realized that if I were a fighter pilot, my call name would totally be Hamsterwheel.

"Where's Hamsterwheel?"

"Over there munching on cardboard!"

And then at night I'd chew my way out of the barracks and get stuck under the refridgerator and stuff. And I'd never be able to go on patrol because I'd always be having tons of babies and every time it would be a surprise - "I couldn't even tell she was pregnant!" "I thought she was a boy, how can you even tell the difference?" Totally. Hamsterwheel.

Paula:
I'm really trying to eat healthy, but I'll tell you, it's hard when you go to my parents place for dinner... Mom makes the most delicious meals and deserts too! Well, at least my portions were smallish. Dad and I went for a 5K walk - he's definitely a fast walker, so it's a great exercise!

It's a crazy busy time at work lately. Everyone is working so hard to get things done in time for National Volunteer Week or the website launch. It's just hopping, at any point, you can find one of the staff/volunteers running up or down the hall... it's all so exciting, you gotta love it!


Larissa
As Paula says, crazy busy. So busy can't really talk right now. Shins...meh. Really, it's the knees. Am physically breaking down (mentally I went a long time ago). Still looking forward to the 5k tho, because clearly I can't get enough!

Larissa
I managed to get a non-impact workout in but my calves are seriously tight - no surprise to you runners out there who have had shin issues in the past!

But more importantly, I have something weird on my face. It's like a little itchy spot. There isn't a pimple there, or a mole, just a slight sort of bump and a bit of itching. Usually only the itching when touched.

This can only be the start of a bubonic plague pustule. I mean, what else is even remotely possible? Exactly. Therefore, I believe the next step after the slight discomfort is the massive swelling of the pus filled pustules, and fever, and I believe some other kind of horrific...ah yes, the skin goes all rotten fruit-y. This is not going to go well for me, is it?

I suppose this could also be a reaction to the new skin toner I used the other day. But how likely is that? Very UN-likely, if you ask me. I just wish the cat would stop judging me.

Paula:
That's it, we are going to have to decontaminate the office now... I don't want to get the plague!

Having shin issues is definitely NOT pleasant! I feel for you!

I did my run at lunch today and went for a bike ride tonight... all in all, a bit over an hour of workout today... I'd better drop some pounds this week! No matter what I do, I just can't seem lose any more weight! ARGH! I don't think I'm eating too badly, I'm making healthy choices, maybe eating a bit too much though... I'm so hungry all of the time lately (I just assumed that it was the exercise making me hungry ;-), well maybe it is, but I'm just taking advantage of the "excuse" a bit too much...

Paula:
I just got back from my run... I am exhausted... it's way too hot out (I can't believe that I just said that). I've improved on my time quite a bit, so I'm happy about that, but I'm walking more than I was before (figure that one out).

I have to go shopping tonight. Along with a whole new summer wardrobe (none of my summer clothes fit me anymore), I have to pick up a blouse too. Mom and dad are celebrating their 40th anniversary this weekend and Anita and I are taking them for a special night out (Dad, if I haven't given up the location by now, you aren't going to get it out of me ;-).

Larissa

Still sick. But worse, my brave talk about the ending of the shin pain was so not true. I went out last night and am in agony still today. I'm feeling so frustrated right now!

Larissa
Yeah, you know that brave little, "Tomorrow I'm out running, sick or not" statement from yesterday? Clearly the sick cells (bacteria? Virus? What?) heard me and picked up the challenge. I was up half the night last night coughing and I am not going to be running today.

But in good news, my shins are much better and while my doctor is all caution-y about running for a variety of reasons, at the very, very least I can walk-run this 5km. Because no lie, a couple of weeks ago I was thinking this might not be happening. And I'm not happy about losing essentially 3 weeks training, because in my shape you can't just miss that time and then pick it up again like it doesn't matter, but I know I can do this.

But in even more exciting news, a friend of mine (shout out Jane) might be moving into my neighbourhood! That is so awesome! Right now we have about 10 neighbours we hang out with and another 20 or so we meet at Dog Park or invite to parties, but I'm always on the look out for more neighbours. Which is so funny, because I understand that not everyone has this relationship with their neighbourhoods. Come on, people, stop to chat! Borrow some sugar! Chris, continuing his streak as the guy every elderly woman adores, has been taking out two neighbours' garbages - elderly women should not have to navigate slippery ice covered driveways and shame on anyone who lets their elderly neighbours fend for themselves - but this has also meant he's getting his jeans mended and fresh bakery items are sent to us almost every week. Not purchased, no no, the women are baking and then calling him up to come and pick it up. Seriously. So knowing your neighbours can have side benefits too!

Unfortunately, some of those side benefits are NOT good for those of us who are in training!

Paula:
I didn't go running today. My legs are still protesting from the past week. I did get out on my bike though! We went for a nice long bike ride. God it felt good! It's been way too long. Who knows, maybe I'll start biking to work this week. I will likely wait another week though, just to make sure that all the paths I take to get there will be clear.

What a beautiful day today! I actually got a sunburn while I was out riding. I definitely didn't expect that ;-) We went shopping this morning. I picked up some frozen yogurt! Why didn't I know about this before... it's great for a diet "snack", there is almost no fat and very few calories, and it's delicious! Well, I've found my new dessert. YUMMM!

Paula:
Got up early this morning and went for my run, it was much cooler, therefore less sweating. This I can handle...

We are getting the bikes out today, I'm looking forward to this, I can't wait until I can ride to work again... I'm not sure when the bike paths will be cleared, but I'm hoping they are already. I guess I'll find out later.

Larissa
As I sit here stewing about being sick and fretting about missing work and missing work outs and the rest, I'm also wondering why dog toys are so disturbing. They look like cute little squirrels and raccoons and piggies that then get their heads torn off and their insides ripped out. For the longest time Lola would carry around this raccoon head, and sleep with it and stuff. On one hand, awwwww. On the other, ewwwwwww! Sometimes when I looked at the racoon head lying on the floor staring up at me it sort of looked like it had its head poking out of a big hole. Which made me want to rescue it, which made it worse the next time I saw Lola happily tossing its body around and ripping off its limbs.

I've also had to come to accept that Lola is not going through a disembowelling phase but instead just likes ripping out guts. The other day I found a toy that was basically just a skin with a head and tail - again, disturbing as it came in raccoon, squirrel and what looked like fox. She dragged it around halfheartedly but was really all, "Nice try. Yeah yeah, drag a skin. Wheee. Now give me innards! INNARDS!"

The worst was a toy squirrel that looked exactly like a squirrel, but it had this weird sound thing inside. Most of the dog toys just squeak, but this one kind of moaned. And Lola loved it. She'd pick it up and whip her head around while the squirrel, I swear, was groaning out, "Oh god, oh god, oh god" which actually got so bad I had to take it away from her.

And that concludes Larissa is Sick and Can't Run Story Time. I'm going to head out running again tomorrow, sick or no.

Larissa

I'm sick. I've been sick since yesterday. Felt it coming on after my run on Wednesday but thought I could ride it out. Then it smacked me down on Thursday and today, while I'm better, I have the worst sinus headache and my throat is still pretty ravaged.

The worst out of all of this is the lack of things to do. My head hurts so much I can't really read, and without cable I can only watch movies, and all of the movies I have are not sick afternoon appopriate. Sick afternoon movies are things like "Pretty Woman" and "The Matrix" and "Star Wars" (original). Right now we have either thinky movies or Chris' Deadwood episodes. I just don't think I'm up for looking at people who look like they smell really, really badly.

Then I tried to clean out my purse, but when I surveyed the contents I am also not up for the level of psychological frankness necessary for that task. Why am I carrying around a tea candle, a stone, a dog clicker, a combination lock and a shot glass? Who carries GLASS? It looks like I'm ready for a gang fight. "I'll cutcha! With my lock...no, wait, I've got some glass in here somewhere..."

I miss work. I like work.

Paula:
I'm sorry you are so sick Larissa! What a crummy time to be sick. Not working, miss workaholic, must be driving you nuts ;-) Hopefully you will bounce back quickly.

I went for my run today. OMG it was hot out. I went at lunch time and I could feel the sweat pouring off me... very feminine huh?

Paula:
I went 5K tonight, I improved my time by 5 mins, but not without repercussions! I could barely breath when I got home... I have to remember to take my puffer before I start the run. It really sucks when you can't catch your breath. I am exhausted.

My son has his first "gig" tomorrow night, I can't wait! He is so crazy into music and he's been looking forward to this for a long time. I have to get going so that I can find my old recorder. I want to get some good video of him.

Larissa
That's awesome about Thomas' gig. While I know his music will likely cause me to spontaneously combust due to my lack of death metal appreciation, anyone's first gig is a rite of passage. We should all go, because nothing says cool band guy like his Mom's friends and co-workers all lined up at the back with their hands over their ears.

Paula, you have officially impressed the heck out of me. I'm still doing my little intervals, run/walking and still only for about 30 minutes. It's still much, much better than I ever thought I'd do, honestly, but you are doing so well. You have to make sure someone has a picnic lunch for you to eat while I finish - at this rate I'll only be 40 minutes behind you!

My coffee tastes like soap.

Larissa
I am becoming seriously concerned about wardrobe for the race. I bought the most hilarious T-shirts of hilariousness the other day, one for me and one for Chris. I had this thought that I might wear it during the race. However, I totally forgot about the trend for tight T's on women, and let's just leave it at that. It's such an awesome shirt, though.

Maybe now you'll understand my commitment to the Ministry of Fabulousness. I could just have called this Ministry up and told them the situation and I'd get a small grant for a fashion consult. You might not think this is a good use of tax dollars, but I say a) would you rather those dollars go to something lame like food regulation; and b) the sight of me running in horrible clothes could result in lasting psychological and emotional scarring of hundreds of people, which will then cost lots of healthcare dollars. Really, it would save us all money in the long run.

The Poofycat remains determined to get outside and there have been loud arguments throughout the day and into the evening on the relative readyness of the yards for cat enjoyment. The dog isn't helping as she whispers how dry and wonderful the outside is, freaking the cat out to louder and louder demands for exit.

Of course the cat is going to get the last laugh here as the dog, for reasons we can only speculate about, really only likes to poop on snow. When she was a puppy she was not impressed with spring and would hop from snow bank to snow bank. When the snow was gone it was like she was in a huuuuge house with no bathroom. Funny, but sad. So when the snow comes she's always so excited, and I just realized it's because she's celebrating the return of the bathoom. Dogs are weird.

Paula:
Not much happening health wise today ;-) It's Wednesday, my day off (or so it seems every Wednesday). I'm going to run again tomorrow night. We had cleanup night tonight, boy it's nice when the house is tidy. We've started at Facebook page at Volunteer Ottawa. I'm heading over there now to check it out. Later!

Paula:
OMG! I am so frustrated! I actually timed my 5K tonight and you won't believe how long it took me to run! I'm not even going to mention it here. It's embarrassing... (I even jogged 4.5 out of the 5K).

I have to shave at least 10 to 15 minutes off my time before the race (and I was so proud of myself, why did I decide to time myself? Why? Why?).

I guess I feel like I've been training for soooo long and I'm just not getting the results that I expected, so I'm feeling sorry for myself... Oh well, it should go away by tomorrow!

Larissa
Okay, first of all, you RAN 4.5KM! You have got to look at that and by freaking amazed. Who cares how long it is? And yes, I know you want to be all running like the wind and other stories of amazement, but you need to be proud of where you're at right now. Remember when you had never run ever?

I'm back to running this week after the week of Shin Shame. Things seem to be sorting themselves out down there (Wallace and Grommit? Anyone? No?) so I no longer have an injury excuse. And I will NOT be running the entire 5km, in any amount of time. Because the race is no fun when it ends in the arms of a paramedic. Even a cute one.

Larissa
Looks like we both missed Saturday. My excuse is that I have company, which is true.

I've spent parts of yesterday working on my calves, shins and quads. So I've been spending 3-4 sessions daily doing that thing where I stand on the stair riser with my heels hanging off and go up to my toes, then doing squats, then putting a towel on the floor and gathering it up using only my toes, and then stretching. No no, it's even more exciting to do than it is to read about! Please, do this at home! Dazzle your friends and excite your partner!

The cats are determined to get outside. We only let them out in the backyard and only when supervised, and there's still too much snow to allow them out. They disagree, as cats do, and have taken to darting out the front door. Well, in The Poofycat's case it's more lumbering clandestinely, but the point is the same.

They both got out the other day and it was exactly like they had planned it: outside and immediately split up, going in exactly opposite directions. It was so well planned I'm kind of surprised they didn't have regular cat clothes buried somewhere along with fake ID and passports so they could ditch their orange prison jumpsuits and move about freely. Anyway, it took us, 3 neighbour kids and the smell of tuna to bring them back.

My point is this: where you're at may not seem great, until you find yourself under the neighbour's porch without Fancy Feast. This point, of course, is moot unless you're a cat with a higher than average reading ability.

Paula:
There is always one day on the weekend that I just can't remember to blog... I blame Kerry, he keeps me too busy.

I've run both yesterday and today around 7:00am. Why can't I just sleep in like the average person... I've mapped out a new route (well, I guess I can't exactly say that "I've mapped out the route", since it's really just a very straight line, only one road). Anyways, this run that I've done this weekend is about 2.8 kms, and I ran the whole thing. I figure that I'm not quite half dead when I finish it (still breathing anyways) so I shouldn't been quite dead after the full 5K. As long as I have enough life left in me to walk to the "after race rest area" and pass out without thousands of people seeing me.

Oh god, what did I get myself into???

Paula:
We have started a running group at the office. Today, three of us went out for a jog. We went approx. 2.5kms or more... I think that Mother Nature is playing a cruel trick on us though, as it seems that each friday (our run day) we have horrible weather. Last friday it snowed/rained during our run and today it was freezing rain. Running while ice pellets bounce off your face can be a little more difficult than just running. We looked like drowned rats by the time we got back to the office.

Well, at least it makes our run interesting ;-)

Larissa
Interesting...insane...y'know, whatever works.

How I wish I had something interesting to say. Wait, I do. We're halfway to our fundraising goal of $2,000! That is really awesome, actually. Although right now I feel I've worked harder for this money than I have at any other fundraising thing. Let's make sure any future fundraisers has a lot of us sitting and talking about running. Visualizing, if you will.

Larissa

Thanks to everyone for the advice re: my shins. And knees. I am following as much of it as I can. However, the run must go on! We're halfway to our fund raising goal, so we have to make it!

I am so tired right now, though! I barely have the energy to continue sewing my Sequins of Power onto my running outfit.

Paula:
Hey! Save some of those sequins for me lady!

I just got back from my run. We did 5K today (still not running the whole thing, and won't until the race, if it even happens then ;-). Thomas went with me tonight, which was a nice change, except for the fact that it was sooo embarrassing! As I'm jogging and using all my energy to just keep going, he's walking beside me... "WALKING"! About 1/2 way through the run I told him that maybe he would get more out of the run if he ran ahead, then walked slowly until I caught up and ran some more... meanwhile, I'm thinking "run ahead of me, so that I don't look like I'm running so slowly - this is embarrassing!". Up until today, I was quite proud of how far I'd come, but after running with Thomas... I'm not so sure anymore.

Paula:
No running today. I woke up early this morning, thinking I would run before I got the kids ready for school, but I just couldn't bring myself to get up and put on my "running" clothes ;-). Then I figured it would rain all day and evening so when I had the opportunity to run throughout the day, I didn't have my clothes with me. I just can't win... although, if I was really serious and wanted to run today, I suppose I could go out now, but I'd much rather sit on my sofa and type this Blog. It's the first day in a while that I've missed, so I'll enjoy it and relax.

So much for "not" eating after 7pm, since it's about 8:10 and I've just finished my supper (and dessert... shhh).

Tomorrow is a new day...

Larissa

You've been doing really well, so I think you can take one (1) day off. Meanwhile, I am still dealing with the shins. Perhaps I can get a shin-ectomy later? That would solve a lot of my current issues.

I continue to stretch, and ice, and stretch...gah. Ah well, I know you're strong enough to carry me over the finish line, so all is good!

Larissa:

Sometimes I read our posts together, and it's like we're operating on two totally different planets! I'm all about the Ministry of Fabulousness, and you're like, "I ran 5k". Although, as my friend Jon would say (shout out), "I love your blog about running...that's never actually talking about running." Isn't he just Mr. Picky McPoint-Outy?

So, about running. Well, I have a sad tale of woe for everyone, in that my knees have not been Happy Knees lately. If they were cartoon characters they would be frowny juice cups. If I were a cartoon character I'd so be the bent over warty witch with a dangerous apple and serious childhood issues, but I digress. This is about RUNNING.

I bought my new pair of running shoes and went out last night and had to quit after just a couple of km because of the pain. Not. Good. So I've been avoiding talking about the pain, and how I'm actually officially worried that this means I'm going to blow out a knee on the run. Or not make the run. Or something equally horrific.

So I'm working out like a madwoman trying to instantly build up the muscles around the knees. This can happen right away, right? Right? WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?

Paula:
Fabulousness is just not my regular topic of conversation, and you are doing such a good job at it ;-)

Larissa, watching you lose all the weight you lost is such an inspiration, with the effort you put into that, I have no doubt that you will pull through during the 5K.

I've been behaving badly on my diet lately. I have to stop eating at night (it's not "bad" food, it's just food). I know that I shouldn't be eating after supper, if I want to lose weight, but I just can't help myself, everything is so tempting and I'm soooo hungry! My excuse is that my body is needing fuel, since I'm exercising so much... but I really know that's not true.

Larissa

Hi folks, sorry I missed the weekend. Unfortunately, could not have been avoided and I can't get into it here. Was I spending the weekend making lists of potential GASP ministers? Maybe. Would love to have Stockwell "Doris" Day involved somehow, but I think those wetsuit images have completely and hopelessly destroyed any hope he ever had of fabulousness. I'll leave the political commentary to others. Although I think he should have insisted on only being interviewed by wetsuited journalists. Becuase nothing makes one's figure ready for tight neophrene like journalism.

In fact, I am going to wear neophrene every day from now until the race. Why do I have such a large collection of neophrene garments available? That's seriously on a need to know basis, people. Come on. But I do like to be ready in case of shark attack. Or zombies. Not entirely sure how neophrene protects me from sharks (the zombie protection is obvious), unless the shark is laughing so hard it forgets what its doing. Or perhaps drooling excessively at the idea of the hefty meal it is about to enjoy, resulting in dehydration and disorientation? Why aren't more scientists working on this?

Paula:
I just got back from my 5K... my legs are killing me, but I feel pretty darn good. I think I'll have to change my eating habits though, I'm sure there are certain things I should be eating/drinking while training (I know, I know, it's only a 5K, but it's like a marathon to someone like me).

We are watching the most disgusting movie... how to eat fried worms (I was just talking to someone about this movies yesterday... Brittany)

Paula:
I didn't have a chance to post yesterday, but I definitely did my exercise and ate relatively well (we celebrated my nieces birthday and I had a piece of cake). Yesterday, for the first time ever, I ran around my block which is 2K - I actually ran the whole way, never stopping. I was feeling pretty good about myself... I did it again this morning. It's no where near the 5K that I have to run, but I'm feeling more and more confident that I'll be able to do that one, without stopping (not 100% sure yet though ;-).

We are going out for lunch at an all you can eat Chinese restaurant today to celebrate Kerry's nieces b-day. I'm going to try to behave and eat properly, but my god, it's an all you can eat restaurant, I'll do my best!

Paula:
Ok, I think I went a little too train crazy. After my looong run yesterday, I got all excited and I went out for a run at lunch today too. My legs are soooo sore, my knees and my muscles. I think I'll have to skip a day, or run less at a time until I get more used to it (It didn't help that it was actually SNOWING when we went for our run today).

Well, I'm off to bed, it's Friday night and I'm going to bed at 10:30pm, not much of a party animal, am I? Actually, I'm usually in bed earlier than this... so it's a late night for me ;-)

Larissa

Yes, it is very difficult when we train too hard. Or so I've heard!

You're being all inspiring and crap. It's very difficult for me to be all puppies and rainbows, so I congratulate you on your dedication and continued commitment.

Meanwhile, I heard the best acronym ever! You know DINKS (Double Income No Kids)? This was GASP (Gay And Sans Progeny). Love it. Am going to have a Deputy GASP in my Ministry of Fabulousness.

Paula:
Larissa, you are doing great too! I'm sure that we will be crossing that finish line together (shiny, beaded, colorful clothing and all - what do you think about little helicopter hats? Or were you thinking more along the lines of nice big crowns - did I ever tell you that I was royalty in my past life, I won't mention what my sister was though... ha ha ha)!

I am so excited! I ran approx. three quarters of the distance I went tonight. I measured it after with my car on the way to Kanata and guess how far it was???? It was just about 6K (round trip). OMG! I must have run at least 5K of it (or close to it anyways)... now I just have to practice running the 5K straight ;-) YAY... YAY... YAY...

Larissa

Paula, congratulations! That is amazing!!!!!

Paula:
It's scary that there is less than 8 weeks left before the race. I took Alex to football practice tonight and decided to take a walk/run while I waited for him. I did 3.6K, but walked a lot of it, since it was mostly in a busy parking lot and I had no idea where I was going on my first lap (I did two laps and was able to run most of the second one). My goal is to run the entire 5K race, I would definitely like to be able to do it before the 24th of May... pressure, pressure...


Larissa:
You're going to do great. I'll be cheering you on. From the back.

I know I haven't written much in the last couple of days, I just haven't been able to. This month is so crazy it seems I don't have a second most days. Like tonight, it's 11.02pm and I'm just trying to get organized for tomorrow now. I don't know, I think my goal at this point is to survive until May.

Paula:
Had a short run today, but it was definitely a workout. I haven't eaten that well over the past two days... I had lasagna and potato salad yesterday "and" today and I feel extremely full. I'm watching the Biggest Loser right now and I'm getting more and more motivated. I'm going to push myself more in order to get back on track, I have to be in good enough shape to run that 5K in less than 8 weeks. I just wanted to say that everyone at the office is so supportive and it makes such a difference. Thanks guys!

I had some fun with the kids today, being April fools and all... any chance I get to tease them, I'll take it ;-)

Larissa:

Less than 8 weeks. Whooo, okay. Good reminder. I think there will still be snow on the ground, though, which seems totally unfair.

Larissa

I made it to Somerset and Booth before my knee gave out yesteday. So not bad. I think that's about 10 - 15 km on the route I was travelling.

Today, however, I've been taste-testing Voluntinis. 'Nuff said, before I say too much.

How is the Carb Battle going?

Paula:
Good for you Larissa! 10 - 15 kms, that is great!

I took today to just relax and do nothing... I have to admit that I had a few things that I shouldn't have eaten, but in very small portions ;-)

Larissa
Oh no, looks like we both missed yesterday! My excuse was that after all of the burbon talk from the other day I decided to drink mimosas. And here's the thing - I think the mimosa is the perfect drink. It's got your vitamin C, your bubbles, your tangy aftertaste and if the OJ is of higher quality the champagne (read: bubbly wine) doesn't have to be.

Anyway, so I got absorbed in mimosas and the movie "Eastern Promises", which was horrifying but surprisingly good. THEN Chris pointed out it was a David Cronenberg film, which I thought was sneaky as I have boycotted Croenenberg since I threw up while watching "Naked Lunch", a fact I'm sure would delight him if he ever decided to read a blog about pudgy gals running.

Ohhh, and who would play you in the movie version of "Pudgy Gals Running"? I'd want an ever-so-slightly padded Angelina Jolie to play me, and would probably get the amazingly talented but slightly less va-va-voom Kathy Bates. Or Rosie O'Donnell. "Everyone likes Rosie," is what I'd tell myself as I sobbed into my pillow at night.

But today, Saturday, Lola and I are going for a marathon walk. I have always wanted to get Lola a doggie backpack and I might just buy that today. I was thinking of walking to one of the doggie stories in Westboro to purchase it, but one does have to stay loyal to the doggie store in one's own neighbourhood (Wag's!) so maybe we'll stop there briefly and then go on to Westboro. I think that should be maybe 15 km? Then we'll call Chris for a ride!

Then tonight we'll turn off all of the lights and the computer and unplug everything we can (appliances, etc, still use energy when plugged in even if switched off, a reminder for your hydro bill and for the planet) and for Earth Hour we're going to walk the neighbourhood and shame people who have left lights on. Oh, not really. But we will mark down their addresses for shaming later.

I must point out, however, that I think it's sadly amusing that: 1. We're only prepared to give the Earth an hour. Like anything over an hour is just too much to ask. And 2. That I'd like to know how much waste, run-off and general polluting took place during the making of that gigantic Earth Hour banner Ottawa city hall draped over the building for a press conference. I'm really glad that Ottawa is participating and I really hope Parliament turns off the lights and all of that, but perhaps we didn't need to add to the pollution of the planet to proclaim our desire to make changes for the planet? Just saying....although then would it have gotten press play? Sigh.

Maybe that's what I can squeak out after falling over during our race, "I was good to the planet for an hour. Remember me!" before I die on the road.

Paula:
Oh no, I completely forgot to post yesterday! My excuse is that I didn't get home until about 8:30pm and went to bed shortly after that... what a life huh?

Well, yesterday was the first time that I went for a run at lunch time (during my work day). I wasn't too fond of the route I chose though, too many people. I'll find another one next time. Tonight I do my weight training... meaning push ups and sit ups etc... I'm going to try that "special" push up again, maybe this time I won't fall flat on my face... I know it's a "fit" people excercise, but I'm willing to make a fool of myself, I have no issues with that (actually, to be honest, the kids are at their dad's tonight and I'll make Kerry leave the room before I do any excercises, so no one will actually see me make a fool of myself ;-)

Do you ever get those emails that tell you that you will receive years of bad luck if you don't forward to ten people within 1 hour? Well, I hate getting them, I always delete them (I would never forward such a thing to anyone) and then I curse the person who sends it under my breath! Well I got one the day before yesterday and I deleted it, so when everything went wrong yesterday (deliveries didn't arrive at work, I forgot my lunch, my passcard didn't work to get into my office, I forgot my medication at home, my phone died. And this is only the stuff I can remember)... well my first thought was that darn email and so then I had to curse the person who sent it to me "again"! ARGH! You know who you are!!! You are now in my bad books!

Paula:
You know, I get a visual each time I read your posts Larissa... too funny!

I weighed myself this morning (BIG mistake!), and I gained two lbs - I know that it's probably because I've changed my eating habits, but it still sucks - well, as long as I can lose it again, I'll live ;-). It's my weight training night - no running today. I don't know how I'm going to be able to do push ups or sit ups tonight, my whole body hurts like crazy from the other night when I did them. Just even touching my ribs causes me pain (I keep telling myself that it's a "good" pain, so I can handle it, but please someone tell me... "is there such a thing as good pain"? Huh?)

Jill showed me how to do a different type of push up that will exercise my "core", when I tried it at home tonight, I fell flat on my face (thanks girlfriend)!

Well, I'm off to cause myself more "good pain", wish me luck!

Larissa

Don't you know by now you can never trust crazy fit people and their "tips"? The tips are always something impossible that only super fit people can do in the first place. Have I taught you nothing?!?

Here's my fitness issue: I am still not training hard enough. I realized it the other day, as I'm going along on the treadmill, all, "La de dah, look at me, I'm walking, I'm running, I wonder what's for dinner?" Suddenly I've realized I'm still only going, like, 2.5 km in 30 minutes. Not good.

And so far the anti-Atkins has been a bit of a bust. Chris did give up coffee and had to take to his bed for 1.5 days to recover. I was expecting him to call for the laudanum and to begin all of his sentences with, "I declare!"

Which brings me around to the whole Mint Julep thing. I remember reading books about the southern US and pictured these ruffled and hatted women sitting on a porch sipping a mint julep, which I assumed was a version of iced tea with some mint in it. I was so excited to get one once, and that was when I realized a mint julep is basically a big cup of burbon with a couple of mint leaves waved over the top and some sugar if you're fancy. Soooo, these women were all hard drinking liver ruining iron stomach persons with fancy clothes? I suppose that is the myth of the "genteel" south. But could those women run 5km? Exactly.

Paula:
I don't blame you for wrestling with the dog for the bone. I would do it with my kids, well, I'd wrestle them for real chocolate, not bones, but it's all food right lol - it helps that my youngest is a wrestling fan and there would be nothing as exciting as mom bribing him to a match = I win, I get the food, you win, well, you won't win - isn't it true that mothers are always stronger than their kids, even when their kids are bigger than they are? I'm going to have to stop thinking this way, considering Alex is a kid that the football team is dying/drooling to recruit.

I'm really sorry about bringing the chocolate to work with me, but if I leave it here at home, I'm afraid I'll eat it... I'm actually bringing more in tomorrow ;-) but I'll hand it out myself instead of leaving in on the front desk calling to everyone. I know the ones who want it...

Well, I've decided to go off the Atkins diet. I'm not stopping my diet, just changing it up a bit (I'm a little worried about making the right choices with food). I really need the carbs when I'm running/training the way I am (I did another 5K tonight). I'm going to take your advise Larissa and stay away from the bread, so hopefully that will keep the weight coming off. We are both doing well Larissa, and we still have 2 months to the run. Just think of how much easier it will be by the end of next month! YAY!

Larissa

Yes, easier. Uh-huh. I'm still expecting you to carry me for at least part of this thing.

I also heard the best description of someone's clothes today: "She looks like Laura Ingalls of the Damned". Love it. I am totally going to try to make that part of today's hip slang. "What are you wearing? I'm going to go for a Laura Ingalls of the Damned kind of look."

Gasp! That's what we should wear for this run! Ohhh, and speaking of the run, there's a movie coming out that I think we'll have to see together called "Run Fat Guy Run". I'm interested because it has that guy who was in "Sean of the Dead" in it. And come on, how can I not see a movie called "Run Fat Guy Run"?

And speaking of movies, I was watching Radio Canada because they have some seriously mind-bending stuff on there, and tonight it was some dance competition. Looked kind of like a cross between So You Think You Can Dance and a game show. Anyway, there was this very cute and rather pudgy gal dancing away (modern jazz style...yup. Dance. Modern jazz style. I leave it with you). I was all, "Dance pudgy girl dance! Make your rather disturbingly thin but tall male dance partner fling you around like you're fairy dust! Move those hefty calves! Point those sausage toes! Dance like your next slurpee depends on it!" And she danced. She danced the dance of the pudgy. I salute you, pudgy dance girl.

Paula:
Today sucks on my diet. I'm starving! I came home and had a handful of chocolates along with a handful of chips. I think my mistake was missing lunch today. I should never do that! You know, I made it through easter weekend and here I am, first day back to work and I've cheated (it's usually harder when I'm at home). I definitely won't lose that pound if I do this.

I even brought a bag full of chocolate eggs to work, so that I wouldn't be tempted when I got home (I feel better when I can pass the chocolate on to the thin ladies and men that work in and around our offices, better on their hips than mine lol). I was very good, I didn't even have one, thank god they are almost all gone - smile.

The biggest loser is on tonight, I'll watch that and get all motivated up again. I'll do my weight training during the show and run/walk my 5K tomorrow night (god, I can't wait to say that I'll "run" my 5K, instead of run/walk), then I'll be back on track!

Larissa

Now, you know I'm not one to point fingers (but I AM full of lies), but I do just have to say that bringing the chocolate to work where there are OTHER PEOPLE who are ALSO avoiding chocolate , but then cheating on your own diet, strikes me as a little bit of karma nibbling on your tushy.

You already know you weren't going to stay on Atkins forever, so maybe this is a chance to start taking in some carbs if you can limit them. And the exercise is amazing, so you're doing soooo well. The thing that kills us on these diets is the whole all or nothing thinking - the "I'm ON" and so eating well, or "I'm OFF" and filling our faces.

This is how desperate I am - because of Lola's allergies she can't have chew bones with any beef, chicken, pork, lamb, etc flavour. But everyone knows a dog needs to chew. So we got her a chocolate bone! I KNOW. But it isn't 'real' chocolate as of course cocoa is poison to dogs. Of course the dog is all, "Meh." But I'm like, "Give. Me. That. Bone!" And then I realized I'd been reduced to tussling over a dog bone with a dog. One that doesn't even have real chocolate in it. It doesn't even smell like chocolate. So really, this is just a story of how I should just have eaten an easter egg and moved on with my life.

Larissa

The other day I saw "The Other Boleyn Girl". Generally meh, but seriously - layers and layers of heavy fabric, poorly ventilated and hot halls, dancing...and no deodrant. Yikes.

Went outside for a run that was clearly going to be a walk - uphill. Boo to uphill. All runs should take place on a downslope. Not only nicer for the runner, but gives everyone a head start should they be being chased by a bear. Aren't you supposed to run downhill when pursued by a bear? Where is that stupid book that gives you all of those hopeless survival tips?

And speaking of survival tips, I watch that "Survivor Guy" show - the decent Canadian one, not the smarmy British one - and in one of the recent episodes in the arctic dude there decided to eat some of the sled dog's food. Now, not that I'm judging, but once you've made the decision to eat the dogfood, why don't you select some food from the tin? Instead, he pulls a piece of the meat away from the dog, and then is all "Ewww, it has poop on it." So give it back to the dog and take some food from the tin you're carrying the dog food in. And they let this guy wander away alone? Get the sense they may be secretly hoping he doesn't make it back? I wonder if they call him Poopy now? I would, clearly.

Paula:
Just got back from my run this morning. Boy, is it ever cold out, at least it's not as windy as Saturday, phew! It's been a week and I still haven't lost that 1 lb that I needed to lose... argh! I guess I lost so much in the first week that my body decided to go on strike ;-). I think we'll just hang out today, I wanted to go clothes shopping, just to see if I can fit into a size smaller than I'm wearing now... who knows, maybe I'll actually buy something. Thomas wants to go to another concert tonight, so that means that I'll be up until midnight so that I can pick him up. At my age, these late nights mess up my whole week!

Larissa

This heart disease reversal diet has no caffiene. The Poofycat says it all:

(she's yawning)

Paula:
I ran again outside today, I was able to do it before the mall opened, thank god! Apparently I'm still on track with the distance vs. time, I thought I was much worse when I ran outside, but nope, I was able to run 3.7K in 32mins, which is pretty much the same as I've been doing on the treadmill. I don't know why I think it's harder outside than on a machine (well, it could be that my body hurts more lol).

It's been a busy day today, we missed lunch and I'm waiting for supper to be ready (GOD I'M HUNGRY!). I still haven't lost any more weight since Monday, which is a bit discouraging, but I'm sure it will start again soon. I just want to lose that 1 (ONE) pound!

Larissa

Grrr, my knees are not happy. I have been putting knee thingys on and they're helping a lot, but this is much harder on my knees than I thought. Heeeey, a rhyme. Poet, know it...

I can't believe you're managing to run outside. I nearly cracked my head open 18,936 times just today trying to navigate the wavy crusty ice that's everywhere. I had one of those moments today where I was opening the back of the car and realized I was gently sliding down the driveway and couldn't stop myself. I kind of surfed my way down to the street with my running shoes clutched to my chest. I'm sure my cankles are to blame.

Speaking of cankles, last night I watched "No Country for Old Men" (which I call "No Country for Dorothy Hamil Hair" because...really? Given the amount of time he would have to spend on that bob to keep it so perfectly straight and shiny I really can't believe nobody once suggested he try a different look). And yeah, I don't know what I was expecting but it really wasn't that. Probably too because I warmed up by watching "Finding Nemo" and let me just say there's a lot less homicidal rage - well, no, not true. I just think the rage and loathing in NCFDHH is much more below the surface.

Oh, I kid, I kid. Don't email me!

Paula:
We've rented a few movies for the weekend. I'm looking forward to a bit of rest ;-). Yesterday I bought a Kickboxing DVD (it's supposed to be one of the best types of workout videos around, since it's an entire body workout). I decided that would be my workout for today. Well, what a disappointment. First of all, I don't think women are meant to jump and bounce like that, it's just wrong and painful! A couple of times during the workout, they were explaining what you are supposed to do next, it had to do with the legs and certain kicks and steps, but the camera is focussed on the upper half of her body instead of her legs... now tell me, how am I supposed to follow new moves if I can't see what she's doing... I was so frustrated by the end of the video (I wonder if maybe this video was actually designed for men to watch instead of women to work out to... hmmm...). My poor son, he got the brunt of my complaints, I think he'll stay clear of the living room when/if I should ever decide to try the DVD again.

Paula:
It's been over two weeks since I've started this diet now. I can start to eat some yummy berries, grapes and nuts if I want, which I'm looking forward to.

I did my run tonight, I had to run around the outside of the mall again (I gotta find another place to run, it's embarrassing running past a truck three times when there is someone sitting inside, likely waiting for his wife while she shops lol... I can just imagine what he's thinking as he sees me jog by the first time, walk past the second time, and crawl past the third time ;-). It's so much harder to run outside than it is to run on a treadmill! Lately I've been able to run for the first 12 to 15 mins on the treadmill, but when I'm outside, I can't go more than 2 or 3 mins at a time - GOD, that sucks! It's going to take me forever to manage the entire 5K (and here I thought I was ahead of the game... nope).

Larissa

You know what's just as healthy as running a 5k? Sitting in a coffee shop eating pastries. Look, I'm just floating that idea out there.

Today I had to face the sad, sad reality of my cankles. I really did not want to accept my cankleness, but I suppose accepting what is will make me a more even-keeled person. Unfortunately, it will not make me a person with actual ankles. Are there exercises for cankles? Will running give me ankles? I'm just disturbed about this whole thing.

Larissa

Okay, really? Do I really have to deal with skin breakouts at my age? I think it is absolutely unfair that I'm trying to manage wrinkles and zits at the same time. Not just unfair...unjust. Really, someone should put together a lobby group and demand that the medical community devote some resources to this issue.

The other day I was talking to a friend about creating a Ministry of Fabulousness, and I'm still convinced this is exactly what we need. I mean, how many people work in some of this other ministries and departments? Transport Canada? Come on. There's only like 33 million people in Canada? Surely we're not all transporting at the same time, so some resources there, currently commited to non-fabulous transport could be reallocated. In fact, the Ministry of Fabulousness could take over the CBC, which would be about 1/7 of the budget necessary to create actual fabulousness, take some from other, non-fabulous departments and then we would have a nation of serious fabulosity. This really deserves serious consideration. By serious considerators.

Oh, I'm just creating a smoke screen for the reality that my training is not going as well as yours! I'm still trying, but becoming more convinced that fabulousness and not fitness is the way for me to go. Of course, then the question becomes whether one can be fabulous and flabby? Hmmm, that will keep everyone up tonight.

Paula:
Larissa, I think a lobby group is a great idea! Now, the Ministry of Fabulousnous piece totally confused me lol. Trust me, by the end of May, you and I will be running the 5K side by side.

That said, I didn't have a chance to exercise today. It was one of those days that just didn't slow down, I'm just now having supper and it's 8:30pm... so much for my not eating after 7:00pm ;-)... Alex had his first football practice today, he's so excited, very sore, but very happy too!

Paula:
I did another 5K on the treadmill tonight! who hoo! Again, I felt like I was about to pass out when I was finished;-). Of course, I didn't jog the whole way, probably only half this time, and it took me almost 45 mins, but that's ok cause I did it, and the plan is to be able to jog/run the entire race by the end of May!

I did my workout right before supper, I was at mom and dad's tonight, I could barely eat anything, and I only get a great meal like that once a week - at their place lol, so I definitely wanted to eat. Of course, it took me so long to finish my workout, that dinner was ready right after I was done... (wow... dinner was ready and "I" didn't have to make it, god I love my parents!) I really think I should wait about 1/2 hour before I try to eat after I've exercised (yah, d'uh). I might try to sneak out a bit early on these "special" nights so that I can have that extra 1/2 hour before supper (shhhhh, don't tell Larissa).

Larissa

Listen, I hear you about trying to figure out how to squish the workouts into the evening. I keep thinking I'll get up earlier and workout in the mornings, which works when I can exercise at home but doesn't when I have to go to the gym so I can use the treadmill. Maybe what I should do is on running days get to the office earlier so I can leave earlier and go do my workout. Hmmm.

Paula:
YAY! I've lost 14 pounds in the past 10 days! Since I had gained 5 lbs before I started back on the Atkins diet, that makes my weight loss 59 lbs to date! I just have one more pound to my milestone! I am so thrilled... I know, I know, some people would say "Paula, don't get too excited, it's mostly water weight"... you know what, I don't care if it's water weight, it's water weight that is no longer on my body! YAY!

I haven't exercised yet today, I'll do weight training later tonight. I went to the mall at lunch hour today to pick up a salad to have with lunch. My sister came with me and got a salad too. Like her, most people can eat the whole salad as their lunch (and enjoy it... GOD!), it takes me forever just to force 1/8th of the salad down my throat. I thought that the more you ate something, the more "used to it" you got... well, I'm definitely not there yet! Maybe I should try some hypnotic suggestion. Think it would work???

Larissa

14 pounds in 10 days?!? I'm going to have to watch you to make sure you're eating. And not having a final, potentially fatal showdown with your apparent arch-nemisis - Salad. Oh, sure, it looks all innocent, lying there green and crispy, but we both know it's biding its time until it can lodge in your throat over your windpipe. Case in point: a friend of mine once almost choked on a piece of romaine in a restaurant.

Larissa

If Paula can eat bacon for breakfast, run 5km and hit her weight-loss goal, I am going to start something drastic. I am going to try the anti-Atkins and do 21 days of the program for reversing heart disease. I have no reason to believe I have heart disease but I just think it will be kind of funny to have Paula doing Atkins and me on a program where I once saw the doctor who developed it almost literally foam at the mouth at the idea that Atkins was healthy. I'm not saying Atkins isn't, I'm not making any comment on that, I just like the juxtaposition of the two plans. So while Paula gets to enjoy steak for dinner, I will be eating...let's see here...Japanese buckwheat noodles with vegetables. Actually that sounds good. Not 100% sold on the tofu stuffed manicotti, though.

Ohhh, I'm already seeing problem #1. Planning. The afore mentioned Japanese buckwheat noodles dish requires beans to be soaked overnight. Man, I can never remember stuff like that, which inevitably means the next day I end up trying to substitute the non-soaked beans for something similar, like fried chicken, and then giving up and ordering pizza. Well, not this time! If you can avoid bread for lunch, Paula, I can write myself bean-soaking reminder notes.

Problem #2, buckwheat is also known as "kasha". I have made kasha dishes and while I enjoy the rather...earthy flavour and can rise above the interesting scent..okay, look, it smells like cooked dirt but it does taste just fine. However, Chris cannot stand the smell at all and reacts rather poorly to the idea of kasha. So here's hoping he doesn't figure out that they're the same thing.

Paula:
Oh man... I totally forgot to post yesterday, sorry about that. Yum, had ham and eggs for breaky this morning, then had roast beef, veggies (yuck), and cheese. Kerry and I went to St. Alberts today to get some cheese. OMG, they have the best stuff there, we got curds and fresh made cheddar. Although I can't eat too much cheese, it's definitely on my diet. I've also found out that those "crystal light" packets are delicious!

Larissa, if any other diet worked for me, I would definitely pass up the Atkins and change immediately, but nothing else works for me (apparently my body hates carbs). Even though I get to eat lots of meat, eggs, veggies & cheese, I can't eat BREAD and that's what I WANT! I would even eat that "buckwheat noodle" dish you were talking about!

I used the treadmill again today, but I didn't run nearly as much, I have a bit of a stomach ache (which intensified each time I ran). I still did 35 mins and went approx. 3.5K. I'm a little nervous, I have to weigh myself tomorrow morning... god, I hope I've lost enough to keep me motivated. I find that the worst thing is when you've worked so hard all week, eaten right, and you still don't lose, it's very discouraging!

Larissa
Paula, that is seriously, seriously awesome. Very well done! Very inspiring! I am very pleased you're going to be in the shape necessary to haul my carcass across the finish line.

I've recovered from a 2 day massively horrible headache and ran today. Today I discovered the wonderful amazingness of the knee brace. Tomorrow I'm getting one for the other knee and might actually have a shot at finishing this race! I'm still nowhere near 5 actual km, so I'm counting on you to...do something that includes one of us finishing. Ah, I'll finish. I might not finish with grace, or with speed, or upright, but I'll finish.

Paula
YAY! I did it! I've finally run 5K (well, I didn't run the whole thing, obviously, but I did run most of it, likely between 3.5K and 4K - and not a very fast run at that lol). It took me 43 minutes (I was half dead when I finished, but that's ok, the excitment I felt was well worth it ;-). Oh, but there is more! I have just a few more pounds to go and I'll reach my next milestone! I can't wait until Monday to find out how much weight I've lost! It's been more than 17 years since I've been this size (since before my son Thomas was born). It's overwhelming. I've usually sabotaged my weight loss well before this point, so far so good!

Paula:
We woke up early today and went for breakfast in Arnprior at the Antrim Truck Stop. What a great place and a delicious meal... I'm not sure if I've ever met anyone else who drives that far just to go for breakfast, a little crazy I would say, I'm not naming names (... mom & dad...). I have to admit that it was a really nice drive and well worth the time it took to get there ;-). You gotta love a diet that let's you eat bacon, eggs, sausage & ham for breakfast! It's now my favorite meal of the day - well, I don't normally have more than one kind of meat, but today... mmm, mmm, mmm.

Got the boys to do some housework (tidying up and dishes...), you were right Larissa, they loved it, didn't complain even once. Ha! Ha! Ha!... Right!

We went to see a movie after cleanup (Vantage Point), I wasn't very impressed. It wasn't horrible, just not what I expected at all.

Larissa

Yes, I knew children loved housework. That's just common sense.

Did I tell you the dog got stuck in the cat post the other day? We have this huge cat scratching post that has three large round tunnels kind of stacked, and I guess the dog was trying to get something behind the post and decided to try to squirm through the lowest tunnel instead of going around. She got stuck and we spent about 5 minutes trying to push her back through the stupid tunnel thing. Fun!

Exercise continues. I'm starting to lose faith that I can be ready for this "race" (note it has gone from a race to a "race", because let's be serious, there is no real racing involved from my perspective. Unless it's a race to avoid being trampled to death), because I'm just not progressing. I think I might need to be more aggressive in my training and start pushing myself more. Or...hire a body double to run the race for me. It's a perfect plan and nothing can go wrong with it at all! Nothing!!