Creeper

I've found a new hobby! It's called scoping-out-real-estate-while-running-in-the-rain. The rain part is VITAL because if it's nice out, the people are outside and can see you creeping around their driveways and trying to check out their backyards. The rain leads to some soggy feet so it's important to not make this a LONG run, but it's a fun one. Today I scoped out three different properties until a dog alerted attention to me and I ran off before I was caught.

No, I'm not in the market for a house. But aren't they fun to look at? (We've already established that I'm obsessed with HGTV - you shouldn't be that surprised.) And they're right in my area! So if I DID want a house, it'd be a great location! ...Yeah, I'm creepy.

I used running entirely for stress management today, and I didn't wear my Garmin because I didn't want to get it wet (and it was POURING). So here's the problem with that:

I wasn't monitoring my heart rate, and I was in a bad mood. I've been known for running too hard when I'm in a bad mood, because it gets the bad juju out faster. I've also been known to pull things when doing this. Luckily, I didn't pull anything. BUT my heart rate sky rocketed.

I should backtrack here. I've been having heart rate issues for a while now. I noticed while running on the treadmill that if I got past like 5.3 speed, it jumps up to 180+. I ignored it for a while (I know, stupid) and then after the first time I saw it go over 200, I panicked and have been hyper aware of it ever since. I'm still slow for one primary reason - my heart rate. If I run faster than 11 minute miles (sometimes even 12), my heart rate goes up - and keeps going up. I've been good about monitoring it but I still haven't figured out what to do about it. I've been waiting for my health insurance to kick in, and now that it has, I need to figure out who to go to for a check up.

Back to today. I was running hard and, for a stretch, in an area without a sidewalk. That led to a spontaneous practice of parkour (shout out to Katie for introducing that term to me) while running faster that my heart was comfortable with. My body was fine, and that's the thing that's continuing to confuse me. It's NOT that I'm not capable of faster speeds, it's that my heart FREAKS OUT. So I turned down a side road and leaned against a stop sign for a few minutes and took my heart rate the old fashioned way and it was definitely above 200. Wtf, mate?

To say that it wasn't comfortable would be putting it lightly. I didn't exactly feel like I was having a heart attack, but I was kind of dizzy and felt... weird. Just very off. I waited until it calmed down before I jogged (slowly) home.

I'm a creeper and a freakazoid. And yes, I know, I will be making an appointment with a doctor. Soon.

But for now, this is what happened when I tried to take a picture of how soaked I was after my run:


(Thanks, Knightley.)

Terrible weather, negative attitude, and a website addiction.

I haven't worked out seriously since last Tuesday, and I was having a hard time getting motivated today. I wanted to start off my week with swimming but after having a hard time getting up and no caffeine in the house (gasp!) I knew that the pool wasn't going to happen today. After putzing around for a bit longer, I knew I had to do something today to force myself back into working out this week. Leaving the house was pretty much out of the question - it's disgusting outside. It's humid and pouring and just generally awful. Therefore, I got on my trusty stationary bike.


To say that I felt sluggish would be an understatement. I don't know if it was from almost a week of not working out or the lack of caffeine or a weekend of eating crap in celebration of finishing the semester... whatever it was, the first few miles sucked. They sucked so much that I desperately just wanted to stop (which is what I did yesterday in less than half a mile). However, with a DVR full of good shows to watch while working out (namely Tabatha's Salon Makeover and What Not to Wear), I forced myself to stick with it. Well, a bit over an hour later and I'd done 20 (very slow) miles. My legs felt a bit like jello when I got up and while I don't have that post-workout high, I AM glad I did it. It should make the rest of the week much easier.

Also, I'd like to mention a new obsession. A couple of friends (that strangely enough, I have not met in person - yay for Twitter and the whole "friend of a friend" connection) use Daily Mile, and while I was slightly interested, I never cared enough to set it up. But THEN, mid-rant one day on Twitter about how workout machines CANNOT give accurate readings of calories burned, Jess mentioned that she usually trusts dailymile.com to give her an accurate reading (with some wiggle room). This peaked my interest. I went online when I got home from the gym and looked at the website and decided to try it out. It proved to be a good way to keep track of workouts and to get a decent idea of how many calories I burned. Also, the charts are an awesome way to get motivated - either to keep going with the good work or to get started again. For example, my chart since signing up begs the question "wtf happened last week?" and makes me want to get my butt in gear.


I was on the website now, but I only had a couple of friends. This is when I started the quest for friends. I started friending people in the Triathlon communities and anyone else who knows what it's like to train when it's effing cold out. The more friends I got, the more I enjoyed the website. I could keep track of other people and how they were doing, give motivation, and receive comments on my workouts. It really makes you feel like you're not alone in your insanity - there are all of these other people out there doing the same thing as you and working toward a common goal.

In case it's not clear by now, I love it. However, there is one problem with the website - it's ADDICTING. I'm checking in like every ten minutes to comment on workouts! It's totally ridiculous, but there are much worse things that I could be addicted to. Also, without a motivating comment telling me to "just get out there" today, I would've had a much easier time skipping my workout. It's a community of people who will tell you to suck it up when you need motivation, and will praise the work you've done. What's not to love?