Don't Make Me Use My Teacher Voice

The count-down is on!! There are officially only 11 days until I face the Greensboro Gobbler and all of its hills and challenges.

I've been training for about a month straight now and things are going marvelously. I recently had some really rough setbacks for about 3 straight runs. It was SO discouraging! I don't actually recall all of the reasons for stopping short of my goals on those days, but I do know that the setbacks were much more mental than physical in nature.

Here is a breakdown of my mini-goals thus far:

• My first mini-goal was to make it up the first big hill at the start of the race. That was all I managed for that day. It was less than 1/4 mi. It was pathetic!
• My second mini-goal was to make it up the hill and then to the dog park at Country Park. Thats about 1/2mi. It doesn't sound like much but it was tough. Actually when I did it I felt so good that I kept running around the bend and down the hill. I ended up doing closer to 3/4mi that day and was ecstatic!
• Since then I'm conquered the biggest hill in the park.
• I managed to get completely around the first lap (1.5mi) which was the outdoor equivalent to the longest distance I ever ran on a treadmill. That was awesome!
• After that I made it totally around and back up the first hill and felt awesome walking back to my car that day.

Then, FINALLY, yesterday...after many setbacks and disappointing runs..I made it around the lap, up the hill and to the dog park. 2 miles baby! WOOT WOOT!

I felt awesome!! I'm so proud of myself and I'm just reflecting now on how far I've come and how hard I've worked to get to where I am. Man, its been tough! This is definitely the physically toughest thing I've ever done. I've never exercised so much in my life and I'm absolutely loving it.
The great thing is that I'm also seeing all sorts of side-effects from all of this running. Wonderful things! I'm toning up all over. I feel like I might actually be able to meet my belly-button one day! haha
I'm actually enjoying my exercise. Well actually..I need to clear that up. I saw a shirt the other day that sums up my attitude when running. "I Love Running. I Hate Running. I Love Running. I Hate Running." LOL! Thats ME!
Also, my moods have been much brighter and merrier. I actually read a while back that when you run, Serotonin is released and its a mood balancing chemical in the brain. Nice, huh?

I still have a lot of tweaking left to do until the race. I think the keys to success yesterday mentally were perseverance and prayer (LOTS of it!) and physically, was that I carb-loaded a bit before running. I don't feel like I ate the best carbs for me ( I had some cheese and crusty Italian bread with an olive oil bread dip for lunch) so I'm going to do some research on the recommended pre-run foods, and then I'm going to keep running. I have 2 more runs to the dog park planned and I want to fit in 2 complete 3ks before the race and give myself about 3 days to rest before the race as per my husband's advice.


So...11 days Gobbler. Me and you. I'm going to beat you down and then I'm going to go to Grandover Resort bask in the glory of mountains of gourmet food!


PEACE!


-G♥

Dear Santa,

Look....I've decided to start a little early this year because you're going to need some time for these things. Here is the Ringle Family Christmas list.

• Daddy Ringle needs some new clothes because he's shrunken so much in the past year its like trying to keep a sock on a flag pole. The incredible Shrinking man needs some new jeans, some socks without holes in them and some new running digs. He would also like to have a weeks worth of no red traffic lights so he can just get on his way and never have to wait. Thats sort of hard for him, Santa! ;)
  

• Guinness Ringle needs an endless supply of nummies and an indestructible chew toy. Santa...I suggest a tractor tire. Please check the local junk yards at the North Pole. It will take him at least a couple of weeks to destroy that. Another suggestion might be a stainless steel fridge or car bumper. I think these things might take a while for him as well. Guinness also needs a new shamrock-shaped dog tag because his current one has the wrong phone number on it.

• Luna Ringle would like for Guinness to stop trying to eat all of her kitty toys so she could actually get to play with them. She would also enjoy some more cans of Fancy Feast. Particularly the "gravy" kinds. Luna could also use a new pretty kitty collar because hers is getting a little frayed.

• Mama Ringle could use a giftcard to Victoria's Secret for Christmas. She's in dire need of some new (and nice!) undergarments. She believes that she's been patient long enough. She would also like to get an acoustic guitar and learn how to play it in the coming year, and tickets and transportation for ANY U2 show in 2011. She would also love a little extra help in the diet & exercise dept. Running is going well but she could use a little more motivation and energy.
  

But more than anything, Santa...The Ringle Family would like to be surrounded by family and friends this Christmas. We'll make our home as warm and welcoming as possible if we can fill it with loved ones.

Please? KThanx.

-G♥

When You Start Out The Climb.



My apologies for the lack of updates recently. Last week I had an incredibly busy week. My mornings have been spent training...Allow me to explain....

On October 10th I started training at Country Park for the Greensboro Gobbler 5k. I did one 5k last year in March and made it probably less that 1/4 of a mile before having to give up and walk the rest. My finishing time was 45 minutes. Boo hiss!!

Recently I began walking at Country Park and one day I was thinking about the Gobbler and suddenly thought, "Hey! I'd like to do that!" So then it became a goal.

I started by trying to make it up the first big hill and a little ways after. My first day I made it about .17mi. It was awful. Then I walked the remainder of the 5k distance. Then I was able to make it about .25mi.

After that I had a break-through. I told myself that I would try to make it to the dog park which is about 1.3mi into the course. I way surpassed it and went about 1/2mi instead. I felt awesome and walked the remainder of that lap.



The course is really hilly and very challenging. Its actually much more challenging than the course I was on for the last 5k. So this will be quite an accomplishment. My furthest distance ever (when I was running frequently) was 1.5mi.

Yesterday I surpassed that by running the entire first half of the 5k. Around 1.6 miles. This after a long break from running and many challenging hills. When I was running 1.5mi 3x a week it was on a treadmill on a 0% incline. So this has been a huge accomplishment already for me and I'm super proud of myself.

So after my run yesterday I officially registered myself for the Gobbler on Thanksgiving Day (Nov.25th). This also happens to be 2 days after my birthday and I think its going to be a fabulous gift to myself to accomplish my goal. I NEVER thought I could run a 5k but I've totally GOT THIS!

Also, as an extra incentive, my husband has made reservations for us at the Grandover Resort after the race. They're going to have this huge lavish buffet and I'm going to find some pumpkin pie and DEVOUR that bad boy! I'm gonna be like King Kong, climbing on that table and jumping around with my pumpkin pie and my ridiculously overloaded plate of delicious food.

My husband broke this surprise to me in an e-mail the other day and included at the end, "Remember...non-finishers eat at K&W". LOL

I guess I won't be a non-finisher then!

I'll keep you posted on my progress..



-G♥

The Cologne-

This story has gone unmatched since it occurred. I mean…really…well you’ll find out why..

At the other school I used to work at I had this sneaky little kid in my group named…well..we’ll call him ‘C’. Whenever ‘C’ was up to no good he’d give me shifty eyes to make sure he wasn’t going to get himself caught. That of course always tipped me off that he was doing something he shouldn’t be.

One day during snack I catch ‘C’ sneaking something out of his backpack at the table. He throws shifty eyes my way and then quickly stashes the item so that he won’t be caught. However..I did see it. In fact, I did a complete double take thinking surely I did not see what I thought I had.

I say, “Um…I don’t think so. Hand it over.” He does so very reluctantly. Since I had already caught a glance of this item I can’t, in hindsight, believe that I dared to touch it. I guess I was really trying to talk myself out of seeing what I saw. But no…I took it. And in my hand now was a small bottle of KY lube.

I pulled ‘C’ aside and calmly asked, “What is this?” because I was dying to know what he thought he had. “That’s my cologne.” And sure enough I had caught sight of him dabbing something on his neck at the beginning of the day. So ‘C’ had been dabbing lube all over himself all day before I confiscated it.

“’C’? Where did you get this?” Guilty look. “My Aunt’s drawer.”

At this point I’m absolutely biting my lip and its nearly bleeding. I wanted so bad to lose it. I shuffle over to my boss and show her. “’C’ has stolen some…erm…’cologne’ from his aunt’s drawer and brought it to school with him.” I had to go to where she was so that the kids wouldn’t see me totally lose it. Then, when trying to find something to store it in, a co-worker of mine grabbed a latex glove and stuffed it into one of the fingers. So now I’m carrying a bottle of lube around stuffed into the finger of a glove so that it totally looks like a condom and I’m wondering if things could possibly get any more inappropriate. I put it on my boss’ desk so that she could speak to whoever was picking ‘C’ up that day.

The funny thing was that the Aunt was supposed to pick ‘C’ up that day, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. Instead I led his mother to my boss’ office so that we could speak with her. Now this is her sister’s…um..goody. My boss handed her the glove and she says, “Y’all got me all worried about what’s in here!” The way she opened the glove had me rolling all over again. My boss has this look on her face like she’s not sure how to approach this conversation, but she says, “Um…’C’ thinks this is cologne…..I’m not so sure.” The Mom sort of pried it open with both hands and looked down into it and then quickly shut it and looked up biting her lip, trying not to laugh. “No. I’m not so sure it is either.” We all died. Poor ‘C’…his mother will have dirt on him for the rest of his life!

Gotta love kids…Even the shifty-eyed ones!

Well I haven't stuck to my promises....Already I've gone to McDonald's once, I didn't exercise but once this week, and I've been eating terribly.

I really miss the absolute do-this-crap-OR-ELSE motivation that trying to join the Navy provided me with. So I've decided that I need to set some sort of goal up for myself. It needs to be something that I can't easily back out of and also something challenging that I'll feel was really worth it when I'm through.

Sooooooo....I've decided that I'm going to try to do the Greensboro Gobbler. Its a 5k that takes place on Thanksgiving Day. Its fairly tough too. The course is Country Park where I walk at a lot. There are two really decent hills in it.

Forget the fact that I was running a mile and a half 3x a week. Now I'm getting to .25m and feel like dying. Dangit! I hate setbacks, but I've only myself to blame. The good news is that it shouldn't me nearly as long, as it did when I first started running, to progress from one goal-marker to the next.

So this is my plan of action:

• I'm going to try to run 3x a week for the next 2 weeks. (Short-term goal)
• While I'm running I'm going to run as far as I can and then either walk the rest or do intervals..I'm not sure.
  
• Each time I run I'm going to try to run past the point where I had to stop the last time. (Pacing!)
• If I feel like this is doable (even doable but really tough) I'm going to sign up as early as possible for the race so I can't back out.
• I'm going to try to get in at least 2 strength-training days a week
• I've GOT to watch what I'm eating or it will totally screw me on my runs.

This isn't for weight-loss. I'm sure that will occur if I do all of the above, but I really want to do this. 5ks are a blast and its such a good feeling when you finish one. I've only run one myself and I only made it .25m before I had to walk. I think I did a few small intervals of running, but my time was 45minutes which suuuucks. It was also when I first started trying to run.

My goal for this is to be able to run the entire thing without stopping. Even if I'm slow as a turtle. Slow and steady wins the race, after all!

Wish me luck! I'll keep everyone posted and if you have any suggestions please let me know! :)

-G

MOVE IT! Fat girl running! ;)

Welll....I finally decided to get back on the wagon. I haven't run or strength trained in..well..FOREVER! I have biked a bit, but mostly I've just totally fallen off the wagon. Whenever my exercise falls off my eating seems to go right along with it. I've started picking up bad old habits and I need to stop. I am stopping. Right now! Stop looking at me that way, Candy bar! I can't eat you anymore! Honestly though..I've gained a few lbs back and my size 14s that I was FINALLY able to fit into are starting to get snug. Not cool! Red alert! Red alert!

Anyhow, I did strength training yesterday, and was actually surprised that, despite not doing it for so long, I actually moved up in weight on everything. I'm now pressing 155lbs on the leg press, and 20 lbs (FINALLY!) on the chest press..I could have actually done more on that. I'm curling 25 lbs with bicep curls and I'm working with a 20lbs dumbbell with my tricep extensions...Not too shabby! I was happy with that!

I also ran this morning for the first time in a LONG time. It was nice that it was finally cool enough for me to do it outside. I had originally worked up to doing 1.5mi 3x a week. This morning I was only about to run about 3/4 of a mile. Disappointing, but things can only get better is my attitude. I refuse to beat myself up about it.

So I've decide to totally re-commit myself to my fitness and nutrition routine and to kick it off I thought that I'd make a promise list. These are the things that I will or will not do anymore.

I WILL:

• Get back to exercising 6 days a week
• Cut back on my portions and say no to 2nds
• Try to drink more water and less pop..even if it is always diet
• Try to use my Sparkpeople page more
• Work on getting back up to 1.5mi and maybe more
• Bring only healthy snacks with me to work and try to not snack at home
• Try to figure out what needs to be adjusted when I have a bad workout instead of beating myself up or feeling defeated
• Yuck...try to eat more veggies
  

I WILL NOT:

• Sneak any more lunch trips to McDonald's..I know..the shame of it!
• Allow bad foods to start sneaking back into my diet...you know who you are, cookies, pizza bagel bites, and candy bars!
• Say no to 2nds unless its veggies
• Order sugary, fattening coffees even if I do look forward to Pumpkin Spice Lattes in the Fall and Peppermint Mochas in the Winter
• Put extra butter on my popcorn.
• Forget to stretch and warm-up before a workout
• Go Hog Wild on junk food every time my husband leaves on business
• GIVE UP!

Well...These are my promises..I'm going to try..I mean really really try to stick to them! I'll try to keep everyone posted! :)

-G

There will be time at the end of this post to throw rotten tomatoes at me for my long absence. Here's what has transpired since I last posted.



(((Deep Breath)))




Bob and I were married on May 30, 2009. I still haven't found a teaching job. I became desperate and fell back on an old ambition to join the US Navy. I dang near did it and was training heavily for it. At some point I realized that I just couldn't see myself being happy away from everyone I loved for long periods at sea and had to re-think it. Immediately after I sort of fell off the exercise wagon. I'm getting back into it now. I did get a position last Fall as an after-school teacher for Guilford Co. Schools. I then spent the entire Fall sick with one thing or another (2 strains of Flu, Bronchitis, and then Pneumonia) In February I was transferred from the school I worked at, and loved, to another school. It was tough at first but I've settled in nicely and the kids are behaving very well. I love it. And that brings me up to the present day...

(((PHEW!)))



I'm sorry that I haven't written in so long..this is seriously overdue. I did move my blog around and even had a blog about my journey to get fit for the Navy. That was fun, and sometimes I really miss it, but the Navy just isn't going to be a good fit for me. If I weren't married and didn't have my beloved dog, I'd probably do it.



For today's post I wanted to share something that I've been thinking about recently. It seems like, lately, I find myself saying; " That turned out to be a really good investment". So I thought I would create a list of things that I have purchased that turned out to be an excellent investment and some things that absolutely bombed..



Good Investment: HTC Eris Droid phone with Verizon Wireless service. Under $100 for the phone and around $100 for my plan.
The Pros:

Apps- This phone has apps just like the iPhone and there are about a gazillion free ones available and more being added all the time. My favorite apps are: Facebook, Pandora, Mabilo Ringtones, and Steamy Window. With Mabilo I have NEVER had to purchase a ringtone. Steamy Window is this ridiculous app that fogs up your phone screen as if you've blown on a windwow in the cold. Then you can draw on it just like a real window. You even see condensation rolling down as you do it. When you want to start over you blow into your phone and it fogs back up! Isn't technology ridiculous?

• Great graphics and touch screen.


• The Cons-
  Sometimes the "smart" phone thinks its smarter than you. If you mistype a word be careful because it will replace it with whatever it thinks you were trying to say. You might tell someone you're watching "Hooters" instead of "Hoarders"...Yikes...



• I've had a couple of instances where the phone seems to have frozen and I have to take the battery out and restart. But only a couple of times.

Bad Investment: Motorola Razr with Cingular (Now AT&T) service

What can be said? This phone was EVERYWHERE when it first came out. It was the have-to-have gadget that year. I think my husband had Cingular which is why we decided to go with that. We did try to get hooked up with T-Mobile because they were the only ones (at that time) offering the "Fav Five" plan. Unfortunately we weren't able to get through to any real human beings, and after several attempts decided that it would be a disaster if we got that service and actually needed some help.

The phone was mediocre at best. It froze constantly like a computer. No apps and the internet browser was a joke! It was like trying to play Madden football on an Atari. haha


Cingular turned out to be a nightmare however. They showed coverage where I was living at the time, which was student housing when I was in college. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case. I literally had to exit my building all of the time or tell people to call my apartment phone because I wouldn't be able to keep them on the line. Cingular's answer? "Well just hold tight because a tower is being built right near you and will be up in August"...which turned into March, then May, then never... Eventually I got on with an agent and after explaining what had been happening he said that I had the option of cancelling my contract at no charge. I must have asked him to repeat that I was not going to be charged 3 or 4 times before cancelling. Shortly after I did I started to get calls from other agents saying that Ineeded to pay a cancellation fee. Apparently, homeboy didn't note any of our conversation, so they came after me. I told them that it would "be a cold day in hell before you get a dime out of me. I don't owe you anything. You didn't hold up your end of the contract and therefore it is null and void." I ended up getting all sorts of threatening letters and was told I had been sent to collections. They never actually did anything but it was a NIGHTMARE!!

Good Investment: Metal Prong Collar for my dog

Pros:

• He's being walked by ME and not vice versa! FINALLY!!
• 
  
  
• The trainer I worked with recommended it to me.
• 
  
  
• He's eager to have it put on because he knows it means he gets to go out.

Cons:

• It looks like a medieval torture device


• I have to make sure and put it on above his collar or it won't work.


• Its sometimes tough to get it off of him because it gets caught in his long fur.

Bad Investment: The "No-Pull" Harness and the Gentle Leader

The no-pull harness seemed to work well at first. Despite the fact that I never gave him gentle corrections, he eventually got used to the restriction and pulled harder and harder. The last straw came when a lady in a bordering neighborhood came over to talk to me on our walk and he became so excited to greet her that he literally pulled me over and dragged me down the sidewalk. I was embarrassed and hurt...NOT cool!

• The Gentle Leader never worked. In fact..I purchased it twice. The first time was when he was a puppy. He was a puller from day 1 and I wanted to start him early. He fought it so much that I decided to take it back. The second time I purchased it on the advice of a friend who has one for her Golden. She walks like a princess and I know that it took a lot of work to get her there, but it never worked for Guinness. No matter how much I worked with him he fought it. I was told that the dogs who fought it the most were the ones that needed it the most. So I kept working with it up until the time we entered training. At that point it became apparent that it was so distracting that training was not going to work with it. He would thrash his head from side to side, roll around in the dirt trying to push or paw it off, he would even stand on his hind legs and try to paw it off. It was terrible. The trainer had a time restraining him herself and she told me to leave it at home the next time and to purchase a prong immediately. What a blessing! Folks, don't believe what you hear..none of these devices work for EVERY dog! PLEASE...Do not use a Choke or Prong Collar unless specifically instructed to do so by a trainer or knowledgable Veteranarian and then only if shown how and when to use it. It goes along with training and if you aren't willing to use it right, it will be useless and your dog could become injured.
  

Good Investment: Knock-Off Burberry handbag.

The Pros:

I bought my bag off the streets of NYC. You can find fantastic knock-offs there. I don't know how they did it and I'm not sure I want to! :)

• I paid around $35 and we talked him down from well over $40. A real bag is going to cost you at least $300.



• Its held up remarkably well. If you get one off the streets make sure you do some comparison shopping for price AND value. I really examined a couple of other bags and spotted weak spots where they would come apart. I haven't had ANY probs with mine.
  
  

The Cons:

• If you open up the bag the lining is obviously not Burberry.



• For under $40 I didn't get a very big bag so I do find myself cramped on space.



• The strap on mine is stiff. Thats the best way I can describe it. It stands straight up and its supposed to. Also the material is not soft but it looks NICE.
  

Bad Investment: Real Vera Bradley Bag

What can I say? I loved it when I had it, but it got dirty easily and after a few washes showed signs of wear and tear. There were frays and holes. They're not made for lasting long. I paid over $100 for my bag and a nice billfold to match it. In the end they were stolen out of my car and the pattern is retired now. I might buy another in the future but I'd have to think long and hard about spending that kind of money on it.

Well , I hope this has been helpful in some way. Please, I would love it if you would share some of your stories about good investments and those gone wrong. Please post these in comments or share a link to your blog where you've written a similar post.

Happy Saturday!

-Gina