{"id":1898,"date":"2010-04-09T20:09:52","date_gmt":"2010-04-09T20:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/?p=1898"},"modified":"2010-04-09T20:09:52","modified_gmt":"2010-04-09T20:09:52","slug":"few-things-friday-duathlons-donna-and-dieting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/09\/few-things-friday-duathlons-donna-and-dieting\/","title":{"rendered":"Few Things Friday – Duathlons, Donna, and Dieting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ack, how has this week gone by already?\u00a0 I mean, I’m grateful for the weekend and all but day-um.\u00a0 It’s like I blacked out and woke up and it’s Friday.\u00a0 Oh well.\u00a0\u00a0 Get ready for a cavalcade of random here.<\/p>\n

Sunset Du-Loop Wrap Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

So I didn’t have the pictures until yesterday, or I would have posted sooner – but hey, better late than never.<\/p>\n

In the morning, we gathered our things and headed out to the Middle-O-Nowhere Texas.\u00a0 We marveled at the wildflowers and the cows (hey there, barbeque!!!) and all the not-city stuffs and finally arrived at what is to be described as a RLP (ranch-like-property).\u00a0 A small house, a guest house, an outdoor shower, a hot tub, a fire pit, a shed, a pond, two porta potties, and then a whole lotta land.\u00a0 It was awesome!<\/p>\n

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We set up our tents and blew up the double thick air mattress (what, me, sleep on the ground… sorry, you must have me mixed up with someone else…) and set up camp.\u00a0 I made us turkey sandwiches which were quickly nommed, and then we alternated sitting around enjoying the lovely day and walking around.\u00a0 I usually try to sit on my ass as much as possible before race day.\u00a0 So not the case this time.\u00a0 Between packing the day before and setting things up and walking around to tour the property – I’m pretty sure I put 3+ miles on my tootsies within 24 hours of the start line without even getting in a workout.<\/p>\n

As the day went on it got…hot.\u00a0 It was definitely over 80 as we changed and got our electronics in order and stretched.\u00a0 I put on another coat of sunscreen (thank goodness, as I did NOT get a sunburn all day thxuverymuch), and headed out to the start line.\u00a0 Someone sang the national anthem, and the 20 or so of us got to the road and they said GO, and we were off and running.<\/p>\n

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Now, there are some things to consider here.\u00a0 The race was on paved country roads in the middle of nowhere.\u00a0 No mile markers, just 1.5 miles out and back.\u00a0 Not much shade.\u00a0 Only one fluid stop at the 1.5 miles and it was just warmish gatorade.\u00a0 Water back at the bike exchange but it was also warmish.\u00a0 No water offered on the bike part.\u00a0 And keep in mind it was over 80 and HUMID.\u00a0 My decision not to bring my camelback – maybe not so smart.<\/p>\n

Thing two – I consider myself a pretty fit person.\u00a0 Middle of the pack racer who is improving all the time.\u00a0 I believe that me, Zliten, and our neighbor’s friend Angel who was doing the race too were the three youngest folks there.\u00a0 So, I got this.\u00a0 I can totally beat these geezers, right (and please, I mean geezers in the most affectionate way)?\u00a0 Nope – they are all part of some super elite running club.\u00a0 That 60 year old?\u00a0 Yeah, he’s running Boston next weekend.\u00a0 That lady in her mid-50s?\u00a0 She’s talking to me later about her experience running 50 mile ultras.\u00a0 I beat: Angel, Zliten, and the three people that didn’t finish.\u00a0 That was incredibly humbling and awesome.\u00a0 More humbling, but still.\u00a0 It gave me hope that my best distance running years are way ahead of me if I want them to be.<\/p>\n

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Anyhoo, getting ahead of myself.\u00a0 So I take off with Zliten and go about a quarter of a mile and see him immediately behind me still.\u00a0 I turned around and told him how fast I was running (9:15-30 pace at that time) and suggested if he wanted to finish he might back off, which he did.\u00a0 I kinda felt bad for doing it, but his goal was to finish.\u00a0 And he hadn’t run more than 1 mile in quite a while, so I was just looking out for him.\u00a0 I paced the rest of the back of the packers and ended up running just under 9 minute miles on average, which I’ll call a win.\u00a0 I didn’t want to go all out as it was hot and I knew I still had another bike and run to go.\u00a0 I definitely struggled a little on mile 3 because it was mostly uphill – but I reminded myself I’d get a “bike break” so I kept plugging away.<\/p>\n

I finished around 27 minutes and hopped on my bike and was off.\u00a0 I took the first .5 mile easy just to get adjusted and then I pumped it out as much as I could.\u00a0 I was on average about 12 mph.\u00a0\u00a0 Not great, but I’m just not that experienced biking.\u00a0 I don’t feel comfortable going fast downhill and I’m not super strong uphill.\u00a0 Anyhoo…the loop was 1.25 miles up and back, then 2.5 miles up and back the other way.\u00a0 So every downhill was accompanied by the knowledge that we WOULD be going up it on the way back.\u00a0 The coast down right before the second turn around was not as sweet as it should have been – because I knew I had to slog my ass back up it.\u00a0 I knew I would pass Zliten on the bike and I decided the best thing I could say to him in the 5 seconds I had – “Save your energy for the hills on the way back.\u00a0 Love you.”<\/p>\n

I was pretty wiped after those hills but finished strong and set out on run #2 – this time it was through uneven muddy trails so I took it slower.\u00a0 Slightly over 10 minutes for the mile.\u00a0 My legs were toast and I didn’t want to hurt myself by falling.\u00a0 When I got back to even ground I sprinted it into the finish and my garmin said 1:18:45.\u00a0 Totally happy with that, my goal was under 1:20.<\/p>\n

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After getting some cold water, I filled up my bottle and waited for Zliten.\u00a0 Everyone asked if he was ok, and I said yep – he’s just slower than all you rockstars, and then we saw him coming in.\u00a0 They offered to let him just skip the last 1 mile and he was like – “hell naw” and I walked it with him just short of the finish line.\u00a0 I don’t have a time for him, but he finished!\u00a0 I’m damn proud of him!<\/p>\n

After that, we relaxed and ate (way too much) and drank and mingled and then camped out after looking at the stars and eating smores and enjoying the great feeling you can only get by overexerting yourself in the sun.\u00a0 And yes, I forgot my swimsuit so I got in the hot tub with my sports bra and running capris, heh.\u00a0 All in all, it was a kick ass experience, and I cannot wait to do it again next year.\u00a0 Maybe move up to 4th to last… baby steps…<\/p>\n

Iguana Donna:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The poor ‘guana… she looks so adorably pitiful.\u00a0 So last week at the vet for a checkup, she had started to be increasingly grumpy and hard to control – and she was struggling at the vet, and sliced her OWN paw open.\u00a0 It was really gross, you could see the muscle and everything.\u00a0 She had to have stitches (yay, more money!) and we took care of it the best we could, but her nesting box (the place we provided her to lay her eggs) is full of dirt, and she wasn’t gentle on it, so it got infected.\u00a0 They are treating it as an open wound now, with a bigger, more substantial bandage.<\/p>\n

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Also, last week, we made the decision to get her spayed.\u00a0 Her egg laying process was NOT going well and we just wanted to not have to deal with it again (we never plan on breeding her, no thank you!), so we scheduled an appointment (which was yesterday).\u00a0 When they went in to do the surgery, they found that her ova-duct had ruptured and her insides were full of yolk.\u00a0 So it was a GREAT thing that we had made the decision to spay her when we did, or it could have been bad news.\u00a0 Eggs below, and see the hand size for reference.\u00a0 That is a LOT OF EGGS!<\/p>\n

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The poor iguana looks like she was in a really bad fight or something – her “cast” on her paw, the 20 staples up her belly from her insides being yoinked out…and she is SUPER skinny now.\u00a0 We now have to give her pain meds for the next 5 days, calcium orally, food orally (though she IS eating naturally, just not quite enough), nu skin on her wound every day, and continue the antibiotic injections for the next month.\u00a0 For the love of a lizard.\u00a0 Srsly.\u00a0 High maintenance pet.\u00a0 Expensive pet.\u00a0 But a very sweet ‘guana.<\/p>\n

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Yesterday, she was just pouting in the corner resting her head on her bandaged leg and sleeping…it was pitiful but just made me wanna say “D’awwww…” every time I saw her.\u00a0 I hope she isn’t in too much pain today, she looked ok when I left this morning but I bet she is VERY ready for her meds by the time we are home.<\/p>\n

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Dieting:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a few words because this is a monster post already – this week has been eye opening at how differently I had been eating from my calorie restriction days.\u00a0 This is a good thing in 2 ways – first of all, there was a REASON I was not losing weight.\u00a0 It’s not just this mystery.\u00a0 Second, I adapted from loss to maintenance without barely noticing.\u00a0 Naturally.\u00a0 That is good.\u00a0 However – it’s definitely weird knowing I have planned out my calories on some of the lower days to the T and cannot have another snack.\u00a0 I have been able to shut off the “I deserve” switch and stick to the plan, which is also good.\u00a0 Journalling the food I ate and how I felt around the time I ate has been enlightening as well.\u00a0 Thinking before shoving things down my cakehole?\u00a0 It’s been a while…<\/p>\n

The real test will be this weekend.\u00a0 Can I keep it in check without my rigid weekday schedule?\u00a0 I’ll let you know Monday.\u00a0 Anyone trying to be angelic this week?\u00a0 How ya doin’?\u00a0 Any crazy athletic feats lately?\u00a0 D’awww-worthy pet stories?\u00a0 Hit me up.<\/p>\n

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Ack, how has this week gone by already?\u00a0 I mean, I’m grateful for the weekend and all but day-um.\u00a0 It’s like I blacked out and woke up and it’s Friday.\u00a0 Oh well.\u00a0\u00a0 Get ready for a cavalcade of random here. Sunset Du-Loop Wrap Up: So I didn’t have the pictures until yesterday, or I would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paUhDu-uC","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1898"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1901,"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898\/revisions\/1901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/adjustedreality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}