gwennefarrell

Got up this morning, looked outside and nearly went back to bed. It had snowed last night and I knew that would mean work for me. If I had my choice I would have just waited for the rain to start later this morning and let it wash away. Unfortunately my brother had to go out this morning and while he is doing really well with his walker pretty sure maneuvering in even a small amount of snow would be difficult. Out I went with the shovel and made a clear path for him. I enjoy snow so much more when someone else has to do the snow clearing.

Yesterday was my 16k run. I knew it was going to be cold so put on a long sleeved t-shirt under my running jacket, gloves and a toque. Out I went and it was bloody cold with a breeze happening. I thought ok, not going to head to the beach because it will be even windier down there and the wind chill will be worse. In my head I calculated a route to run and figured if I did that 3 times I would hit 16k.

I have to say because I was wearing appropriate clothing it was not as bad as I thought. My head and ears were kept warm by the toque. I found if I pulled my sleeves over my gloved hands they kept pretty warm. At one point I even unzipped my jacket a little though zipped it back up when the wind picked up. Really, it was just my feet and face that felt the cold.

I was actually pretty comfortable doing that run. I kept my pace pretty steady even running up a 4 block incline (which I had to do 3 times). I finished my 16k feeling good thinking that it wasn’t as hard as last time. I got home and updated my Fitbit app and went what the hell? It said I had run 18.2k. No I thought, I can’t run that far. I checked the health app on my phone and it said the same thing. I couldn’t believe it, I had run 18k and it didn’t kill me.

So now what? Coach has a plan for me to be able to run a half marathon which is 20.3k. When she first told me this I told her there is no way. Well, I am only 2k away from doing it. I admit, I felt so good about this I want to try another 18k run this week. Here’s hoping the weather cooperates.

I will note, I barely believed I would get to running a 10k. It has been through the encouragement and support of my awesome coach that has gotten me here. When I think I am going to fail Coach always tells me she knows I can do this. Trust me, if you want to take up running, find someone like Coach Kelly.

I was out walking my dog, Scottie, yesterday morning and apparently it was ‘Scottie Gets to Meet New Friends’ day. Now Scottie loves all people and for her it was a thrill that we were stopped a couple times for people to give her a quick pat. One woman laughed because she always sees Scottie looking at me adoringly and had just realized that it was really because I had treats in my hand. Then a teenaged boy asked if he could pet Scottie who of course got very excited. Well today we saw that teenaged boy again and Scottie literally started dancing as she recognized her new friend. Again, my dog just loves everybody.

So I have noticed in the past few weeks that even though I am running/walking the same amount I am not getting up to my cardio zone as much as I should. I am moving at the same pace but I think my body has gotten so used to this that my heart doesn’t need to pump as hard. Time to up my game.

Today was my hill training and it is the day I like best. The training is only about an hour with a start off jog, 10 intervals running up hill and then gently walking back down all finished off with a jog home. Last week I decided I was going to push myself way out of my comfort zone and get in a good workout. So, I opted for alternating a brisk jog up the hill and then a sprint up the hill. Wow, those 5 intervals sprinting were tough and by time I hit the 2/3 mark on the hill my heart was pounding and I was breathing pretty heavy but I kept going. The last interval I admit my legs were really starting to feel this workout but I was pretty proud of my accomplishment.

As always when I got home I used my Fitbit app to analyze my workout and boy did it show a difference. I spent most of the training today in my cardio zone! It was an awesome workout and made me realize I just have to push things a bit to get even more fit. Seriously, being able to run 16k (tomorrow’s long run) isn’t enough?

Find your motivation to challenge yourself and remember it can all happen just one step at a time.

This past Friday I got together with two good friends for lunch. One of them I saw a little over a year ago (when I was 40lbs heavier) and the other I hadn’t seen in nearly 3 years. The latter asked me what my farthest run has been and I advised 16k. He then asked if I was lifting weights and I said yes but for toning not bulk. He said he could tell because of the caps on my shoulders. He congratulated me on how great I look. That was enough to make that luncheon very gratifying.

If you recall back in October I talked about developing a very painful corn on one of my toes (I still can’t believe how painful that was). The podiatrist advised me to start wear a rubber toe sock to keep the knuckle on that toe from rubbing (my husband refers to my toe sock as a leprechaun condom) and boy has it worked. I always wear it when I am working out and the corn is completely gone.

The 2nd thing the podiatrist recommended was that I replace my running shoes. This irritated me because the ones I currently wore still had a good 8 months worth of wear on them. But then, as luck would have it, my husband found a New Balance outlet store in the US. He was able to get me 2 pairs of the recommended models of NB and even with exchange we probably saved $60 doing it that way. My previous shoes I plan to take to our condo in Mexico so I have good running shoes down there. I figure since we are only there for a few weeks at a time then they should be good enough. Besides, I’ll get at least a couple years of wear out of them by not using them so much.

Taking care of my feet is extremely important to me. Not only in terms of keeping them in shape for running (trust me you want your feet to feel good when you work out) but to watch for any cuts or ulcers. With the loss of my brother’s leg due to an infected diabetic ulcer that wouldn’t heal, I am extremely cognizant of checking my feet. I do it each morning before I put my shoes on, thoroughly inspecting the soles and in between all the toes. Other than the corn I haven’t found any issues and with my glucose levels kept at a pretty normal level I am not at high risk but better be safe than sorry.

One other thing I do though I admit it is mainly for comfort, once I am home for the rest of the day off come the shoes and on go slippers. As a matter of fact I kind of resent it now when I have to wear shoes for more than a few hours. May become a bit of an issue if the world ever goes back to normal and I spend more time out of the house than in it.

I am happy that the storm they predicted for last night did not bring the amount of rain they said it would. As a matter of fact we didn’t get much here at all. We did, however, get the wind they had called for and while it has slowed down significantly there is still a chilly wind blowing. I didn’t realize how cold that wind was until I took the dogs out for a short walk (short because I was freezing). It made me glad that I had done my 1 1/2 hour walk this morning on the dreaded treadmill.

I know I have posted before about how I go through cycles of insomnia. This started happening several years ago when all of a sudden I stopped being able to sleep for 8 hours a night and instead it would be as little as 2 hours. I tried everything from turning off the blue screens at least an hour before bedtime to taking sleeping pills, doing deep breathing exercises and others but to no avail, I would still go for days without a decent night’s sleep. Having said that, it is a bit better now. While I still have restless nights they are fewer than what they used to be and most nights I can get 6 hours of sleep. Apparently research has shown people who have a normal BMI tend to get better sleep. Maybe that is what is helping me or maybe it is the exercise, I’m not sure I just know I like not feeling tired all the time.

But is getting enough sleep really that important? They say you should get 7-9 hours of sleep each night to remain healthy. Well, as a former union VP who was always busy and traveling that was an impossibility for many years. But does it really matter? There are many organizations that have done research around this issue and a good night’s sleep is extremely important to both physical and mental health.

One of the main functions of sleep is allowing both our brains and bodies to restore themselves. An example of this is that during sleep our tissues are able to do repair work on themselves. That will help with an injury but also is a huge support if like me you exercise nearly every day. Sleep gives your body that chance to prepare for the next day.

Not getting enough sleep has a significant impact. Sleep deprivation can actually lead to a a state of fatigue intoxication which of course is dangerous if you do things such as drive, operate heavy equipment or have a job that is safety sensitive. Lack of sleep may impact your immune system reducing your ability to fight infections (with a pandemic in play this one is really important right now). It may also impact your emotional health by altering the activity in certain parts of your brain which can lead to it being more difficult to control your emotions. Studies have also linked sleep deficiency to a higher risk of depression, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

Ultimately the message seems to be try to get a good night’s sleep on a regular basis. While I am still not quite back to where I would like to be, according to my Fitbit most nights I do get in some good rest, certainly better than what it was 18 months ago.

I went to take my dog for her morning walk today and had only just passed the next door neighbour’s when I realized I had forgotten poop bags. Being a responsible pet owner I turned around and headed back home to get them. The problem is the dog loves her morning walks so when she realized where I was headed so soon she put the breaks on. I walk her using a hands free leash meaning it wraps around my waist so I put all of my 120lbs into it trying to get her to move. She, all of 25lbs, was having none of it and it took a few treats to get her moving.

A few posts ago I talked about how I felt I wasn’t putting enough into my workouts and for some reason I still feel that way. I know I have been getting more than enough training done and still work out 6 days a week. I really don’t know where that feeling is coming from or how to overcome it.

Today was hill training day so off I went with a jog until I got to the bottom of the hill. Ok, I thought, time to turn this around. Hill training is one of my shorter sessions and I add a bit to the workout by jogging to the starting point and when done jogging back home. Still, the whole thing only takes about an hour. I started my first climb and thought, you really need to push this today and I did. The first 9 intervals I ran pretty hard (quite the change from when I used to do this training). When I got to the 10th interval I was pretty proud as I know my heart had been in my target zone the whole time but I knew this last one needed to be the best one I had ever done and it was. When I say I ran up that segment of the hill I mean really ran, legs and arms pumping, starting to breath heavy, heart rate at the top of the zone.

I got to the top and thought, holy shit, did you just do that? Yes I had. I just felt I needed to really test myself today and apparently I passed. I walked for a block and then did a nice gentle jog back home the whole time with a smile on my face thinking ok, that was a good workout.

The lesson I learned from this is I need to push myself more often. Let’s see what I can do on my 14k tomorrow.

Today started out really well. I got up early to do an 8k run and when I checked my phone I saw a text inviting me to get my COVID booster! I immediately booked it for this afternoon and I am thrilled to say that I have now had 3 doses against COVID.

Last night my sister and I were out in the hot tub and were talking about the Christmas pajamas I had just given her for her birthday. I told her there had not been a lot of choices and most were unfortunately in size extra small. She told me I should have bought myself a pair and I laughed and said I’m not that small. She smiled at me and said I really don’t think you realize how small you are.

I had to think about that for a bit. It’s funny, when I was at my largest I never thought of myself as big, it was still just me. I had long before accepted what size clothing I wore and it didn’t really bother me. In contrast, it has taken me quite a while to accept that I now wear a size 6 and I have become more and more comfortable with it. I now know that I can pick out clothing in small sizes and have the expectation that they will fit.

What I am really comfortable with is just because my body has changed so much, I am still me. I am still that person who holds family and close friends as the most valuable assets in my life. I am still fiercely loyal to those around me. I am still a die hard labour and community advocate. I am still an avid volunteer. I am still an animal lover. I am, still me.

I recognize that my outer packaging has changed but the important parts of me have stayed the same, they are just healthier.

Yesterday was my 12k run so as usual up early and hit the road. I knew it was going to be cold so I layered up and put on gloves and a toque. However, it was even colder than I thought it would be and I didn’t even start working up a sweat until I was at about 7k. Still, I kept going even though my face was numb and tears were streaming down my face. For once I didn’t even have to push through the 10th k, I just kept going. I was pretty proud to finish that run though I admit I had to turn on the gas fireplace for most of the morning until I had finally warmed up.

Things have been getting a little overwhelming for me lately. There’s the pandemic which means I don’t go out very much, being able to only spend a handful of days with my husband again this year, my brother’s health issues, our trailer property flooding (we may know in a week how bad it is), crazy weather causing my arthritis to flair up and now a new variant of concern that has our upcoming trip to Mexico to become precarious. Some days I think how can I deal with all of this? Yes, the running and walking helps most days but still every time something new is piled on I think there can’t be anymore.

This week I got to have one of those feel good moments. My sister is visually impaired and like me she doesn’t leave the house much. But, she keeps herself occupied by knitting which she does pretty much daily. Over the course of this year she has knit approximately 115 sets of toques and scarves. The past couple years she has found organizations that would take the toques and scarves and distribute them to those in need. She had selected a new organization this year but after more than a month of doing follow up she gave up and asked me if I could use my connections to find an organization that wanted them.

I decided to contact the United Way of BC to see if they could hook us up with a good match. Now most people would reach out the the UWBC through normal channels but not me, I went directly to their CEO (we’ve worked together for years) and he immediately had the appropriate staff person contact me. Soon, they suggested an organization that they that could really use this donation. The organization was looking for items to help migrant workers who had recently lost everything to the horrible flooding we have experienced over the past few weeks. Because they are migrant workers they are not entitled to the same support that permanent residents in BC receive. With winter coming on some warm items of clothing would be welcomed. Both my sister and I agreed this was a great match and we made arrangements to have the numerous bags of toques and scarves to be picked up. The rep from UWBC was thrilled to be part of this and as was the volunteer that picked all the sets up. Pictures were taken and UWBC is reaching out to the media to tell of my sister’s incredible gift.

Now that is a nice story but it is not what really made me feel good. Right after all the knitting was picked up we headed off to meet our Wednesday morning coffee group. When we got there we apologized for being so late and I explained about waiting for the toques and scarves to be picked up and who would be receiving them. An elderly gentleman who is part of our group immediately opened up his wallet and handed me a $100 bill asking me to make sure that it got to the organization supporting the migrant workers. I stood there for a few seconds staring at the bill thinking I just don’t know what to say. Then I looked up and smiled at the gentleman and thanked him profusely.

Yes, my world is difficult right now but I have decided that every time it feels overwhelming I am just going to think of that $100 and how it will help those in need right now. Witnessing that simple act of kindness gave me the feel good moment I needed to get through what lays ahead.

This is not the post that I planned to write today but I am so frustrated I decided I need to rant. It was lovely to get up this morning and there was no rain happening. Today was my hill training day so I started off with a warm up walk and then a jog for several blocks until I get to the bottom of the hill that I use. Now I usually hit the road at around 5:45am so of course it is quite dark out. I try to run in well lit areas (except the west beach promenade which I have complained about to the Mayor as it is very poorly lit) and I wear a very bright jacket with many reflective stripes. Trust me, it would be hard not so see me.

As I was jogging along this morning I got to an intersection on the east side of the street. I watched as I started into the intersection to see a car pull up to the stop sign on the west side of the street. He then raced through the intersection and only avoided hitting me because I frantically jumped back. There is no way he didn’t see me so I truly believe he decided if he gunned it he would get through the intersection before I did. Seriously, that 5 seconds he saved could have cost me my life.

This would not upset me so much but things like this happen at least once a week. My favourite is when I hit the button at a controlled crosswalk and vehicles that have plenty of time to stop actually accelerate illegally disregarding the flashing pedestrian lights (note, I always wave at drivers who appropriately stop and smile at the ones who stop before I even hit that button, those are good drivers). Do these people realize what would happen to them if they struck me? Do they not understand that they would have to live with that for the rest of their lives?

I know I do my part to try and keep myself safe. I am very cognizant of the vehicles at every intersection, I never jaywalk, I wear a high visibility jacket, I stop and look at the railway crossing, I wave vehicles through whenever possible. I am not sure what more I can do. Our public auto insurance company did a campaign about the fact that this time of year is when they see the highest number of pedestrian involved accidents and were reminding drivers to always be on the lookout for pedestrians. Apparently that campaign completely missed the mark, well at least in the area where I live.

If you are a driver, please at every intersection or crosswalk be aware of your surroundings and watch for pedestrians. If you are out walking or running be very cautious at all times to protect yourself. I read a letter to the editor in our local paper recently that said we should go back to a saying they had when she was a child, white at night meaning to wear white when it is dark out. I disagree, white is not reflective so it should be bright at night meaning high visibility including reflective stripes.

End of rant.

Ok, I am about done with this whole atmospheric river thing. Once again our recreational property has flooded and an evacuation order has been issued for those that live there. We have pretty much lost all hope that our trailer will be unscathed. Now we just have to do some forward thinking about how we are going to handle the cleanup.

I heard an excellent interview on the radio the other day regarding the impact of running on your knees. I have had many people tell me that they had to stop running because it was damaging their knee joints. Apparently, that used to be the mantra. Back in the mid 80’s a study was done and it concluded that over time running would damage the cartilage in the knees potentially leading to arthritis. The general advice was if your knees hurt, stop running. Now the advice has changed.

The person on the interview has been involved in a new study which says the opposite. This study has shown that running can actually help to keep your joints healthy. She explained that cartilage is like a sponge and when you put pressure on it the moisture it is holding comes out, much like when you are wringing out a sponge. Then when the pressure is removed the cartilage is able to absorb the fluid that is in your knee joint (she did say the name of the fluid but I was too slow to write it down). Continually doing that and keeping the joint moving can lead to a healthier joint. She went on to say that the current study has shown that if you have osteoarthritis running can help the joint stay mobile over the long term. I checked in with my physio because that is what he had told me and he explained that nearly 30 years ago when I wrecked my knee the thought was any sort of strenuous exercise would further damage the joint.

So then, why do so many people end up with painful knees when they run. The explanation was that it is more likely due to the way the person was running. She recommended that if you are a runner and your knees are painful look into changing to shoes that are a better fit for you and have your running style examined to see if that is the cause. She also said it is important to give yourself recovery time (hence why I don’t run every day) and that they found people who continually overdid their running were more likely to suffer an injury.

This just proves that not only was my physio correct in his support of my running, it also completely validates my coach’s goal of taking things slowly and getting to the finish line injury free.

Another day, another forecast of an atmospheric river. Yes, we have barely recovered from the storm that brought devastating floods less than 2 weeks ago and a new one is on its way. To make things even more fun another rainstorm should hit on Tuesday. Here’s hoping everyone is much better prepared this time round.

I have to admit this week I think my resolve has been slipping. Don’t get me wrong, I still did a workout 6 days in a row but I confess the effort I normally put into walking/running wasn’t really there. Yesterday, due to the weather, I had to do my 10k on the dreaded treadmill and my pace was probably worse that it has been since I first started running. Seriously, the intensity of what I normally bring to exercising just wasn’t there.

Because I had switched up my normal workout routine today was a walk instead of a long run. I spent a fair amount of time reflecting on what was going on with me. Yes, I came up with some great excuses. My knee has been bothering me for well over a week now (ok, really it isn’t bad at all today). We’ve been dealing with so much damage caused by the rainstorms including our trailer which we are still prohibited from going to check out. Add to that they just announced a new COVID variant of concern which made me wonder if this pandemic will ever end.

Once I had run through all my excuses I decided to turn this around. It was a year ago that I got to a point in my weight loss that I stopped being obese. I hit my goal weight a year ago and not only have I maintained that weight I actually lost another 20 lbs. Nearly 11 months ago I decided to train to do a 10k run and now I have done as much as a 16k. These are all major accomplishments and looking at them I became more and more determined that I can do better.

Next week I am back to smiling when I am done a workout knowing that I have put everything into it that I could. Screw all the other stuff going on, lingering on it won’t change a single thing. I found my resolve again and it is just simply one step at a time will get me through this.