<p>4.5 hours on my hands and knees staining the deck. 2.5 mile run. .5 oatmeal/cherry/toffee/chocolate chip cookie One of those giant cookies at a take out place - half was enough!</p>
<p>BB, is today your marathon? Good luck!</p>
<p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p>
<p>Thinking I’ll do a 5K sometime in the next two weeks…</p>
<p>Idad: a belated thanks for the exercise bike information. It sounds like there is no advantage to a regular exercise bike over the Airdyne - I am going to stop by a sports equipment store and see if I can try out the different options, but it seems like the Airdyne is the easy choice.</p>
<p>I want to say that I really appreciate this thread - I stop by every couple of days to check in and see what people are posting about, and I hope to start posting my own updates soon . . . this summer has been challenging - nothing horrible, just a summer school course I have never taught before, and my daughter moving into off-campus housing for her senior year and starting to stress in high gear already about what she will do after she graduates (I think I have said “life is not a race” at least once a day for the past month) - but it has messed up my schedule. Thankfully my autopilot routine is fairly healthy but I have slipped in a few spots and I do want to get back to being more intentional.</p>
<p>I think BB’s marathon is next weekend.</p>
<p>11 miles with daughter this morning (she did 3 before we started for her 14 total) in horrible humidity. I did pretty well considered how awful my running week has been. We kept the pace slow and picked up the final mile. I’m glad my legs are starting to recover. Sweet potato pancakes afterwards for breakfast. I couldn’t resist…</p>
<p>Mmmm, sweet potatoes! </p>
<p>Down at WW - total of 24 pounds so far. Closet is barebones :-). Definite arm and leg definition, smaller chest and surprisingly, butt has flattened. In my “do 2 things every day,” I ran a C25K at a 10 min mile and did circuit training for an hour. Enjoying my indulgence these days - SBX iced venti coffee w skim milk. 2 points vs my previous pumpkin spice soy chai which was something like 9 points! Have cookies in the house but took one bite and said “eh” and stopped!</p>
<p>35 min hilly park run this morning. Surprisingly quiet.</p>
<p>I chanced upon this thread about three years ago. I gained a lot of my inspiration by lurking and soaking in a lot of the good sound advice from idad, bceagle, MOWC and BB. I was a former competitive runner in hs and first year of college. But like many of us, fitness fell by the wayside as life went on. </p>
<p>My daughter, a very talented runner had her first two running seasons ended by injury. I wanted to keep her head in the game and decided I needed to start running with her. Of course I was fifty lbs heavier and my first 5k was 32 minutes and I thought I was going to die! </p>
<p>i decided that i needed to drop weight before running again. I weighed 180-185 at the time and started to exercise and eat sensibly. I wanted to get below 160 before running again and started on the c25k plan when I reached that weight level. Since then I’ve dropped my 5ks dramatically and moved on to masters track and field.</p>
<p>I read other running forums but gain more inspiration from the success stories I read here. From the veterans to the new posters. (Looking forward to reading about PizzaGirls age group medals in the near future. I sense a competitive runner?)</p>
<p>I know I can be over the top sometimes with this running thing, but this new competitive track thing has given me a new outlook on fitness. I like competing and if competing is the motivation to keep me working out then I guess it is all good.</p>
<p>It’s funny how strangers on an obscure forum can help change your life. Looking forward to the next 50 years.</p>
<p>Anything is possible.</p>
<p>I miss BC.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/838576-diet-exercise-health-wellness-support-thread-1127.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/838576-diet-exercise-health-wellness-support-thread-1127.html</a></p>
<p>^^Maybe we should all pm him and tell him to come on back.</p>
<p>I did and I know others have as well.</p>
<p>Okay, well sometimes people need a break, I guess. Every now and then you take a bunch of flak (not on this thread) and think, who needs this? You just hope that people will come back anyways. That’s why I hate it when people get too personal. Seems like you can argue your point and disagree without doing that.</p>
<p>Sometimes life comes up, and it’s time to head a new direction.</p>
<p>Speaking of new directions, I think I’m going to go for the 5K in a town where I haven’t run before. That little bit of change is something I enjoy. :)</p>
<p>That’s a great idea Deb - I’m going to try and do one in the town where D1 lives.</p>
<p>I enjoyed reading your “beginning” Deb. :)</p>
<p>Loved MOWC’s story; also Runner Deborah’s start. PG - such success, congratulations!
busdriver, I passed on your “review” of Mount St. Helen’s to a climber friend of mine, who just did Rainier and is planning on Mt. St. Helen’s soon. Just so he knew what he was getting into…</p>
<p>Yesterday I did a quick hike. One I have done twice before. Roundtrip 7.4 miles
Elevation Gain 1650 ft . About 1 1/2 hours, maybe a little more because I took some time at the top. Definitely felt easier than it ever has.
This morning, 40 minute cardio dance class.</p>
<p>Any ladies who need some inspiration (or gift ideas)- check out [Fellow</a> Flowers | Believe. Achieve. Bloom. Endure.](<a href=“http://www.fellowflowers.com%5DFellow”>http://www.fellowflowers.com)</p>
<p>A bunch of my women running friends run with the flowers in their hair (I don’t have enough hair…). The shirts are really nice- I have the red “Strength” one. Neat premise and good products.</p>
<p>I would love for BCEagle and DadII to come back, and I hope they will. I know the internet can get negative at times, but I miss their input.</p>
<p>Does anyone know why the left?</p>
<p>I’m afraid DadII didn’t understand some teasing we were doing. I feel badly about that. Not sure about BCE.</p>
<p>Hey CJane, more to pass to your friend…if he just did Rainier, he’ll be fine with St Helens. I read a review afterwards of St Helens that fit exactly what I thought. It said that if you are in good shape, you’ll think the last part is miserable and exhausting. But if you’re in excellent shape, you’ll think it’s a great hike, and enjoy it. I started the hike dehydrated and tired (had been flying for days), in pretty good shape, and thought it was very painful. My husband has been training for Rainer, at altitude, with a backpack, in excellent shape, well rested and hydrated…liked it a lot, already planning his next trip back. Without me, that’s for sure!</p>
<p>We hike pretty fast (6+50 round trip instead of the usual 8-10 hours), and started really late on a very hot day. If your friend starts early, well hydrated, and obviously in excellent shape, he’ll just find it enjoyable and challenging. I go past my ability level to try to keep up with my husband, and for the last few days I have barely been able to walk, and I still feel crummy.</p>