my intentions, and why i'm so upset...

The intention of this blog was simple; have some type of journal to chronicle my running, my progress and keep me motivated.  Running really only started as a result of my life changing events, of which you are well aware... first epilepsy, then quitting smoking.

I've always had a desire to help people, any way I could.  While going through my seizures, and before my surgery, I didn't really have anyone to talk to about my thoughts, fears, feelings, etc. 

I'm a poor public speaker, standing up in front of people is not my thing... and the stress this would cause me would probably give me another seizure.  I'm sure there are many ways I can help without having to face my biggest fear, but I haven't done too much towards that yet.  

A few months ago, I received a really nice email from a Dr from Wellsphere, telling me that he liked my writing, asking to publish my blog posts on the site, making me a Top Health Blogger blah blah blah.  Yes, I was flattered, because at that moment I thought this was my opportunity to help," network with people that may be seeking help, if even just a few people, to share my experiences.  My mistake.

I have not made a penny off my site, never had the intention to, but I certainly wasn't in this to help them make millions! Seems that the company was sold, announced earlier today. What I've come to learn is that the blog posts from all of us that they suckered had become their property.  Obviously I should have been more skeptical, read the Terms of Service more closely, but I didn't. 

You may notice that the sidebars are a little more naked.  I've removed Wellsphere widgets, and have asked them to delete my account and my posts.

I'm really upset by this... but sadly, reminds me that things that seem to good to be true, probably are.  The badge to the left here was taken from this site, which links to a bunch of other sites blogging about this situation.  Seems like a lot of people are feeling duped, myself included.  

I've since asked for my account there to be closed, I'd rather have my thoughts and writing to remain my own, what I thought it was all along, and I will find another, more legitimate and rewarding way to help.  I have learned my lesson, and will not fall prey to something like this again.  I'm thinking of changing my blog to another address, so if I do, once it's up and running, I will let you all know.

**EDIT ➪  this link explains it better than i did... 

I need a drink.  Can you pour me another?

delivery

Getting anything in my mailbox other than bills is always exciting.  Today, I got my You: on a Diet book from Robin at Gotta Run from her Passing It On, Part Two. Yay!  I am not one of those lucky people that wins things, so YAY! :) Thank you again Robin!! I'm looking forward to reading it and getting rid of some of the jiggle :D lol

Update on the icky heart rate monitor, I called Garmin customer service yesterday, and they were very kind, and will be shipping out a new strap.  I've had to deal with Garmin's support twice, and both times they have been incredible, now if only my cell phone provider provided such customer service, but I won't go there.  So I'll be impatiently waiting for the mailman for this delivery so I can resume with the regularly scheduled programming of heart rate training.  In the meantime, I will continue with using paces from previous weeks, and perceived effort.

Since I'm doing the LT test on monday morning, I'm having to switch a few of my runs around. Wednesday was an unplanned non-running day due to another dump of snow, ran yesterday, will run today, (fridays are usually a rest day), and will do my long run tomorrow instead of Sunday. It was recommended to be rested and fresh for the test monday morning, and not to do a hard workout the day before.  

Remember I mentioned the snowfall on wednesday?  In the spirit of Nikemom's Foto Friday, here's a few pictures of some fun we had after shoveling... again. I noticed a hill within a short distance of the house where I see kids with snowboards and sleds all the time, so we trudged through our snow there.  This is also part of the trail path that I was running in the fall.  Fun and fast going down, a b!tch to climb afterwards :)

Cold after getting snow-washed the whole way down! LOL

Hearing his laughter and screaming all the way down the hill was too funny.

Happy Superbowl weekend everyone. :)

it's not me, it's you

Another snowfall warning today, so not likely to be running outside.  This morning I did Jillian's 30 Day Shred, which I was going to follow up with a spin on the bike.  

Yesterday I purchased a bottle of the Heart Rate Mate, so I put some of the gel on the HRM's electrodes, strapped it on, turned on the Garmin... 255 bpm. Exactly the same as when I turned it on for my last run... It fluctuated slightly to 254, back to 255, so it's not the display.  I did a reset of the Garmin, hitting the mode and power button at the same time, answered yes to the prompt of loosing all my data, fine because all my workouts have already been synced, and waited.  It got through it's cycle, turned it on again, still the same.  Ok, doesn't appear likely that it's the Garmin unit itself, or me.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I changed the battery in the strap Jan 14th, which I blogged about here.  So I figured I'd remove the battery from the strap and put it back in... see if that does a reset of any kind... EWWWWW, EWWWWWW, EWWWWWW.

I opened the compartment for the battery, and the stench was horrible!  Maybe it wasn't my running clothes that smelled!

How can it get this corroded so quickly, and why?!  I'm pretty sure the strap is done, it appears pretty "rusted" inside.  I don't get it!  I closed the compartment tightly when I changed the battery, have been using the strap for over a year now, but this happens within the last 2 weeks?  Ugh.  At least now I know why the readings have been completely wack-o!

obviously it's wrong...

Garmin sitting on my steps outside to get the signal while I finished getting ready, since it was way too cold to stand out there waiting.  Heart rate chest strap on... bundle up, out the door for a lunch time run yesterday.  Sunny but very cold.

Strap Garmin on my wrist, walk down the driveway to the sidewalk, it's already beeping that my HR is too high. WTF?  I look down... 255 bpm.  Pinch myself, yep, I'm awake, not dreaming and felt the pinch. Thought maybe the display was frozen, but the time, pace and distances seemed to be perfect and changing.

The HR alert annoyed me within 500 meters into my run, so that quickly got turned off, and I just ran what I felt like yesterday.  Without being controlled by my HR, it was a faster run, but whatever, I was irritated and it was cold out.  Looking at the Motionbased data, seems that at about the 2k mark, it finally dropped and was probably *more* accurate.... although I'm having so many doubts in what to believe and what's accurate.  So by the end of my 6k run, avg HR 193 bpm, max 255 bpm!! Ya right.

Sunday's HR data seemed odd too, HR showing 180 bpm at times, when I was walking!  If my HR is really that high, how am I not burning a million calories, and stick-thin? (Not that i want to be....just to be clear).

Below is a list of a few things I've been mulling.  I've been chatting with someone who has also provided a lot of great info and been very helpful; any other thoughts, please let me know!

• I thought that maybe Sunday's inaccuracy was due to interference because I had my iPhone with me, so yesterday I didn't bring it, and it was worse!
• Sunday, I simply strapped on the chest strap, didn't use water or anything on the inside of the strap. Yesterday, I used a bit of water on the chest strap, again it was worse!
• Garmin fully charged, HRM chest strap's battery replaced 2 weeks ago.
• Polar I think is more known for HRM's.  Looking at certain Polar products... they're expensive, but if I'm really wanting to train with my HR, I need something I can trust. Software is supposed to be great too.
• I lack concentration to be able to manually count and watch the time to get an accurate measure... I lose track.  Sad, I know, thankfully I'm not a Dr. or a Nurse! LOL
• I love seeing the maps and the data Garmin provides... my son checks out the maps too, and is often surprised seeing how far I've run... it's motivating!  Polar has a GPS add-on with certain models, but again, more $$.
• I admit, I'm a numbers junkie. It's what motivates me... I'm not an elite athlete, never will be, so the data shouldn't matter so much, but I'm quite sure that without it, I would have gotten bored with running already. I'm intrigued by my body, how things work together, how I can improve and challenge myself, better myself, and stay motivated.

So last night, while looking at the Running Free site, a local store, I came across Heart Rate Mate which you can see here, supposedly the solution to improve signal problems common in colder weather when you're not sweating as much. Hmmm. Looking at my chart, perhaps at the 2k mark i was finally warmed up and sweating enough to get "a proper connection"... 

I think I will try to get this gel until I get my LT test done on monday to test out on a few runs... Once that's done, I'll then decide if I want to check more into Polar's products if the gel doesn't seem to have made a difference, and I'm still getting inconsistent readings.

Love running, but when did it become so complicated? LOL.  I know it's self-inflicted... I could just lace up my shoes, put on a sweat-band and head out the door like my dad used to do back in his running days... 

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Penguin Sport-Wash Review

"It smells like a runner in here"  That's what I heard yesterday after having just returned from my run, still stretching, as Jay walked in the door after his second game of hockey for the day.  ( I won't publicly publish what I thought of his smell coming into the house... lol)

The Good ➯ I love the fact that we're an active family.  Between the four of us, physical activities include hockey (x2 ppl), swimming (x2 ppl), running (of course), cycling, kickboxing, karate, football (American), and going to the gym (x2 ppl).

The Bad ➯ This results in a mountain of laundry... stinky laundry.  This weekend, Jay was in a hockey tournament, 6 games.  No better time to put Penguin's Sport-Wash to the ultimate challenge.  I also ran Saturday and Sunday, 15k and 8k, and sweat through the bottom 2 layers despite the freezing cold temperatures.  This was part of Runners' Lounge "Get the Stink Out Challenge", so I was pretty excited to participate.

The Ugly ➯  Me, first thing in the morning...

Taken from their website, here's a little blurb about the product.

Outperforming your performance wear? If you are washing it with regular detergent, then you are. Residues left by regular detergents trap moisture which cause odor, and block ther performance-enhancing features of your gear.

Penguin Sport-Wash is no regular detergent.

Its residue-free, non-allergenic formula is deisgned to keep high-tech fabric at peak performance and odor-free by washing away residues left by regular detergents, removing dirt, neutralizing bacteria, and restoring breathability, moisture-wicking, and factory applied waterproofing (DWR).

Today's pile was my second packet, and what I noticed with both loads is the lack of smell... which after what was living and probably breeding in that pile (ewwww!!) is a good thing. There is no cheery perfumed smell like most other detergents, the clothes just come out odorless.  I liked it.  I was surprised that with the small amount in the packet, it got out all the 'stink' from our clothes.  As you could see from the third picture, it bubbles up quite quickly too! :)  I checked our local Running Room store for prices, a 10oz bottle, good for 20 loads is $11.99 CDN.  If it extends the life of my favorite running clothes and I don't have to plug my nose to put stuff on, then it's worth it!

I think this stuff did the trick! I might actually get and keep a bottle of this stuff around to use only for our sports stuff, which I usually wash separately anyway.  

Someone else apparently approved in our household.  I took the clothes out of the dryer, went for a run, and came back to find the cat sleeping on the laundry pile in the basket... sigh.  Of course she moved when I tried to grab the camera -- she probably thought I was going to feed her.  Fat cat.

Have a great day!

Layer me up!

With the wind chill warning lifted (even though it was still -30℃/-22℉ with wind), and the sun shining brightly, I decided to hit the road rather than the TM. Getting ready for a winter run takes time...

Layer #1 -> UA Cold Gear hooded shirt...

Love the little fold-over hand thingys. Great to keep hands warm if you don't want to wear gloves or mittens, but not too practical if you need to flip someone the bird  ;P

Then, Layer #2

A pair of tights, with another pair of pants overtop. Fleece UA jacket... No wonder there seems to always be an endless pile of laundry!  BodyGlide on my cheeks, lip gloss for my lips...

Finally, outside and ready to go...

I had 8km on my schedule for today, almost headed turned towards home at 7.5km, but felt great, was warm, and happy!  I decided to swap the two days and do my long run today, and will run 8 tomorrow instead.  15km slow run (longest run since my injury return YAY!)  Breathing was easy, perceived effort was also easy, but heart rate was high. Hmmm. Even while walking in an effort to bring down my HR, I was in my aerobic zone. Max HR showed 204 bpm, which I think is a false reading, because I certainly wasn't running hard enough or fast enough to have my HR go that high.  I haven't seen 200+ bpm in a long time, even on my much faster runs (comparatively to the runs I've been doing lately), so I don't think it was to accurate today for some reason.

Yep, they froze -- well, a pretty thick slush anyway...  Nice eh?  I didn't pass one runner out there today, although I saw a few pass by the house when I was already done.  I felt hardcore being out there today, and super happy to have run outside rather than on the TM.  How's that for a Canadian winter Kim? LOL

Fab-u-Lous!

Thanks to Lindsay and Sarah for tagging me! :)

Supposed to name 5 things that I'm addicted to, and then tag 5 other fabulous people!

1) Coffee.  Love my coffee.  I was/am a big Tim Horton's fan, but since I bought my Keurig brewer, and now work at home... it's nice and easy to make a cup when I want it.

2) Blogs - I love that I have found all of you wonderful people, I love reading your blogs, reading your comments, and writing mine -- you all get me through my day.

3) Under Armour - Love it love it love it.  If anyone from UA is reading this and needs someone to test and review any gear (hint, hint) my hand is way up in the air waving, trying to get your attention!  I have a lot of it, mostly for running and wearing in the gym, LOVE IT!

4) Running, of course, but also just being active.  This includes lifting weights, cycling, kickboxing.  While I had my seizures, I couldn't take a bath by myself, and crossing the street alone was a risk.  Running and being active is my independence; my freedom.

5) My Mac & iPhone.  Love my gadgets.  The Nike+ ipod kit is what got me running!

As I've been reading blogs... (see #2 if you need a reminder) I've noticed a lot of these posts.  I think everyone is fabulous... so if have yet to be tagged, you're it. Consider yourself tagged, and you can let people know I think you're fabulous :)

Today is my 1 year anniversary of this blog! Didn't think I'd have much to talk about since it's also my 198th post!  It's also my dad's birthday :)

maybe i could go faster if....

this week has no sense of routine -- I'm attending a bunch of remote training sessions, scattered throughout this week and next. It's a nice change of pace, but difficult to plan my runs. Today, a scheduled 7 hour session turned into 4 hours! Yay!!

I will be doing my "Fabulous" post tomorrow after being tagged a few times, which also happens to be my 1st Blogiversary... but just like JoyRuN's post, this post is a teenie bit of a spoiler, which I'm sure will have much less of an impact than hers did! LOL

I love my coffee; the taste, the smell, mmm.  Typically my days start out with a cup of coffee, and some breakfast.  If running, I will usually wait about 30 minutes before heading out.  Today, I had my coffee, was immediately in my training class (while still in my pyjamas), and at about 11:30, had another coffee. With the class ending at about 1pm, I was able to start my run at about 1:30... 2 hours after my coffee.  

I noticed today that I had a much easier time keeping my heart rate closer to the calculated zones than in previous runs soon after coffee, (even though my pace was only a few seconds/km faster in comparison).  Duh...  I know, caffeine elevates heart rate, but I never really gave it much thought.  I'm not sure that caffeine gives me a buzz anymore, not a noticeable one anyway.  I know that if I have a cup of caffeinated coffee after 6pm though, I'll be awake for days.

So my question to you all is... if you're a coffee drinker, does running impact when you drink a coffee, or does having a coffee impact when you'll go out for a run, or don't think about it, don't care, gimme my coffee?

Get This - Survey Results - GlowDay.com

I will try over the next few weeks to leave more of a gap between a cup of java and a run if at all possible, and see if this has any significant impact on my HR training.

After missing about a week of kickboxing, I went back tonight... I am asking you all to avoid making me laugh for the next several days. I know it will be tough as you all are a riot, get me through my day and have me laughing all the time, but it's gonna hurt, a lot.  It will certainly help towards Amanda's challenge though :)

Have a wonderful night!

i'm a wogger

I thought I was clever Sunday morning while out for my 'wog' -- coming up with a new term, but nope, seems that 'wogging' is quite common.  It's the middle ground of walking and jogging, and seems to be what I've been doing lately.

My LT test has been scheduled for Feb 2nd.  Until then, I'm going to loosely follow the HR training when I'll get my proper training zones.  I did get a bit of reassurance though last night. I found a forum discussing heart rate training, with real people, not elite athletes or professionals talking about their experience.

The guy posting was talking about having to slow to a 7:30/km or slower pace to stay within his base building zone, in effect, wogging -- and if I remember correctly, he even used the term... that's when my ego bubble burst!  (I'm having to go even slower than this to stay in my zone... which is another reason why I want to go through with the test...).  Following this method of training, after 12 weeks he was under 7:00/km, and eventually his pace increased to 6:05/km at the same HR!

Reading the forum thread, which can be found here,  helped me immensely.  My previous post listed a bunch of questions that I had/have, the above answered a bunch of them.  It provides me a realistic timeline, a guideline to give me an idea of how long I should be prepared to stick with it.  It also helps me realize that even though I feel like I'm no longer a 'runner', this is a phase... and others are having to slow down tremendously to adjust as well.  Certainly helps to know you're not alone.

I'm not doing this with the delusion of becoming something I will never be, but I'm amazed by our bodies...