Thoughts running through my head
-Shaving my head bald was awesome and I kinda want to do it again
-The bast part of shaving my head for St. Baldricks was bonding over bald heads with a patient...warmed my cold heart
-Running after a long time off is really hard
-I have lost my momentum and motivation
-My house is a mess
-I need to paint and want to do it before my friends, B & D, come to visit.
-I can't wait for both of my trips coming up
-The thought of climbing a lighthouse, learning to paddle board and sunrise yoga has me excited but seriously scared at the same time.
-Asthma is a bitch
-What I learned about asthma is that the problem isn't necessarily with breathing in, it's breathing out... the air you are able to breathe in gets trapped in the airway so you are not actually breathing out what you breathed in. Today I experienced this on my run. I only took 1 puff of my inhailer and I should of taken 2. I had trouble breathing out and had to slow myself down to help with my breathing.
-Trying to find abdominal muscles is hard... but I'm working on it
-I'm totally engrossed in the TV show White Collar
-I find it hilarious that a friend tells me a bear is chasing her to make her run.
-I am very proud of all of my running friends and I am happy they are in my life
-I decided a while ago to let things go especially if there is nothing I can do about it... if it's in the past you need to let it go... holding a grudge is only harming you. It is giving a person more time in your brain then they deserve. If I was the one that did something wrong then I apologize and move on... if the other person can't move on then that is their problem.
-I have decided that Bang is my running guru and that Rose is my running advisor.
-Looking at stars in a place that has no light pollution is one of the coolest things in the world and I am glad I was able to experience this with my sister more than once.
-Sister road trips are always fun...even when we have no idea where the hell we are on a dirt road that went no where but got us to a road.
-I want another tattoo but I don't know what I want... so many things
-My kitting friends are great and I'm sooo happy to have them in my life and I can't wait to welcome our first RKG baby into the group :)
-How come no one shoots off their butt when they hide a gun in the back of their waist band.
I'll leave you with that final thought :)
I hope you have a good rest of your week, thanks for listening to my ramblings.
~Melanie
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
My first DNF
Tomorrow I will receive my first DNF, which in the running world stands for Did Not Finish. In all reality I am not even starting.
Tomorrow I was supposed to run the Tobacco Road Half Marathon. Due to illness I was not able to train and I do not want to risk injuring myself by trying to finish it. Let me just say having asthma blows a big one. It takes me longer then the average person to get rid of a virus once it attacks my lungs. It finally came down to my Dr. prescribing me a steroid inhaler.
This race would of been perfect for me. It is built with a slow runner in mind. The only time limit is to finish that full or half by 2pm.
So instead of running the race I am going to go cheer on my friends and everyone that passes me :)
Another thing that I am hoping for is some inspiration/motivation. Along with getting sick I have completely lost my motivation. I know seeing all of these fabulous people running will cheer me up.
My plan is to start where I should of started. I am going to start the Couch to 5K program this coming week. I downloaded an app on my phone. It's a 9 week program where at the end you should be able to run all of a 5K. I have a couple of friends that will be joining me on this journey. One day I would like to work my way up to another Half Marathon.
I hope you have a lovely week!
Melanie
Tomorrow I was supposed to run the Tobacco Road Half Marathon. Due to illness I was not able to train and I do not want to risk injuring myself by trying to finish it. Let me just say having asthma blows a big one. It takes me longer then the average person to get rid of a virus once it attacks my lungs. It finally came down to my Dr. prescribing me a steroid inhaler.
This race would of been perfect for me. It is built with a slow runner in mind. The only time limit is to finish that full or half by 2pm.
So instead of running the race I am going to go cheer on my friends and everyone that passes me :)
Another thing that I am hoping for is some inspiration/motivation. Along with getting sick I have completely lost my motivation. I know seeing all of these fabulous people running will cheer me up.
My plan is to start where I should of started. I am going to start the Couch to 5K program this coming week. I downloaded an app on my phone. It's a 9 week program where at the end you should be able to run all of a 5K. I have a couple of friends that will be joining me on this journey. One day I would like to work my way up to another Half Marathon.
I hope you have a lovely week!
Melanie
Sunday, March 10, 2013
I shaved my head for St. Baldricks
Hi Everyone,
This past weekend I shaved my head for the St. Baldricks foundation.
I have wanted to do this for a few years. I finally thought about comitting to it and raising the money this past July. I work with great kids that are going through cancer. One in particular touched my little heart and I really wanted to do this for her. She loved that I was doing this. And when I saw her on Monday she rubbed my head and gave me a big hug. Loosing your hair because of cancer is a hard thing. For most people your hair is a big part of your identity. Taking that away is hard. But choosing to do it can be very freeing.
I have raised over $2,000!! I don't know the exact total because they have not added what I turned in on event day. Thank you to EVERYONE that helped me raise this much!
And a BIG THANK YOU to all of my friends that showed up to the event to support me!
This was an AWESOME experience. It was slightly scary but freeing experience. I was not at all freaked out. I was ok, I had my game face on. Once it was finally my turn, turn the guy put my hair in 3 pony tails so I could donate it. (4th time donating my hair) He cut off the pony tails and then shaved half of my head before they decided to use that moment to raise more money for me to turn in. The announcer guy came over and said if I didn't get at least $50 more dollars then they were going to leave my head half shaved and my barber was going to take a brake. Awesome people standing in the crowd started handing up money and eventually he finished shaving my head.
Here is a picture of me just after I got off of the stage
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I must say being bald is pretty awesome! It's a little cold but it is great! A week later I now have a tiny little bit of hair.
If you have the balls (been told I have a pair after this) shaving your head is a great experience.
I hope you all have a lovely Sunday!
Melanie
This past weekend I shaved my head for the St. Baldricks foundation.
I have wanted to do this for a few years. I finally thought about comitting to it and raising the money this past July. I work with great kids that are going through cancer. One in particular touched my little heart and I really wanted to do this for her. She loved that I was doing this. And when I saw her on Monday she rubbed my head and gave me a big hug. Loosing your hair because of cancer is a hard thing. For most people your hair is a big part of your identity. Taking that away is hard. But choosing to do it can be very freeing.
I have raised over $2,000!! I don't know the exact total because they have not added what I turned in on event day. Thank you to EVERYONE that helped me raise this much!
And a BIG THANK YOU to all of my friends that showed up to the event to support me!
This was an AWESOME experience. It was slightly scary but freeing experience. I was not at all freaked out. I was ok, I had my game face on. Once it was finally my turn, turn the guy put my hair in 3 pony tails so I could donate it. (4th time donating my hair) He cut off the pony tails and then shaved half of my head before they decided to use that moment to raise more money for me to turn in. The announcer guy came over and said if I didn't get at least $50 more dollars then they were going to leave my head half shaved and my barber was going to take a brake. Awesome people standing in the crowd started handing up money and eventually he finished shaving my head.
Here is a picture of me just after I got off of the stage
I must say being bald is pretty awesome! It's a little cold but it is great! A week later I now have a tiny little bit of hair.
If you have the balls (been told I have a pair after this) shaving your head is a great experience.
I hope you all have a lovely Sunday!
Melanie
Saturday, February 23, 2013
I ran today
Hi friends!
After a long time (3 weeks) I laced up my running shoes and did a 4 mile fun run with one of the local running stores, Bull City Running. My friends Bang and Rose signed up to do this a few weeks ago but it was cancelled due to weather and it was rescheduled today. It was fun to get out with other runners. We had a good time and Bang ran her fasted 4 miles ever. Rose did the 10K and did a great job too!
We ran on the ATT (American Tobacco Trail) and it is a GREAT trail! It's flat and awesome. They recently paved this part and left a bit of dirt on both sides of the pavement if you would still like to run on the dirt (it's better for your joints if you do). This trail is the same trail that we will be running our half marathon on. It's going to be great! It's sooo flat!
My run was hard, not gonna lie. It's really hard to get back to where I was comfortable running. Before my running hiatus I was running 2:1 minute intervals and some times 3:1's. Today I stuck to 1:1's. The first 2 miles were painful. My ankles hurt because I tend to run on the outsides of my feet. But once they warmed up it was not that bad. I did want it to be over after those 2 miles but I finished and did great on my time.
So if you have had to have a running hiatus for any reason just know that it might hurt to get back out there it will be ok and you can work through it.... you've done it before :)
Also in ONE week I will be shaving my head for the St. Baldricks foundation!!!! I can't believe its a week away! If you would like to donate click on the link is above!! I am $130 away from raising $1,500. Please donate if you can.
I hope you have a great rest of your weekend!!
4 more miles will need to get done tomorrow... hopefully it wont be bad.
Melanie
After a long time (3 weeks) I laced up my running shoes and did a 4 mile fun run with one of the local running stores, Bull City Running. My friends Bang and Rose signed up to do this a few weeks ago but it was cancelled due to weather and it was rescheduled today. It was fun to get out with other runners. We had a good time and Bang ran her fasted 4 miles ever. Rose did the 10K and did a great job too!
We ran on the ATT (American Tobacco Trail) and it is a GREAT trail! It's flat and awesome. They recently paved this part and left a bit of dirt on both sides of the pavement if you would still like to run on the dirt (it's better for your joints if you do). This trail is the same trail that we will be running our half marathon on. It's going to be great! It's sooo flat!
My run was hard, not gonna lie. It's really hard to get back to where I was comfortable running. Before my running hiatus I was running 2:1 minute intervals and some times 3:1's. Today I stuck to 1:1's. The first 2 miles were painful. My ankles hurt because I tend to run on the outsides of my feet. But once they warmed up it was not that bad. I did want it to be over after those 2 miles but I finished and did great on my time.
So if you have had to have a running hiatus for any reason just know that it might hurt to get back out there it will be ok and you can work through it.... you've done it before :)
Also in ONE week I will be shaving my head for the St. Baldricks foundation!!!! I can't believe its a week away! If you would like to donate click on the link is above!! I am $130 away from raising $1,500. Please donate if you can.
I hope you have a great rest of your weekend!!
4 more miles will need to get done tomorrow... hopefully it wont be bad.
Melanie
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Flogging Molly
If you know me then you know my LOVE for Flogging Molly. To put it simply they are just a good time. If you listen to them on CD or You Tube you might not get it, but once you see them in concert it's a whole new ball game.
Bob Schmidt the Banjo player and I.
Nathen Maxwell the bass player and I. He pulled down my shirt and then opened up his to show off his tattoos. It was super funny. That's also his new hat by the way, he was quite proud of it. He also told me that my tattoo was awesome and that those were great words to put on my body.
You can read my blog post about seeing them last year.
They are and always will be special to me because Cristy and I would go see them every time they were in Vegas before I moved to NC. If you don't know Cristy was a best friend and she passed away 1.5 years ago. So they have a special place in my heart and I tattooed their lyrics on my left shoulder. My tattoo is from "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" and it says "Wherever I am you'll always be more then just a memory" It was the last song they sang at the concert. Towards the end of the concert I went up front with Bang and didn't get too crushed. I got a great video of this song but I have no clue how to load it to this but once I do I will. I cried when they sang it. Crying and singing is hard to do. I loved that Dave King (lead singer) said that the song was about friendship :)
I hope you have a good week.
Melanie
You can read my blog post about seeing them last year.
They are and always will be special to me because Cristy and I would go see them every time they were in Vegas before I moved to NC. If you don't know Cristy was a best friend and she passed away 1.5 years ago. So they have a special place in my heart and I tattooed their lyrics on my left shoulder. My tattoo is from "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" and it says "Wherever I am you'll always be more then just a memory" It was the last song they sang at the concert. Towards the end of the concert I went up front with Bang and didn't get too crushed. I got a great video of this song but I have no clue how to load it to this but once I do I will. I cried when they sang it. Crying and singing is hard to do. I loved that Dave King (lead singer) said that the song was about friendship :)
I hope you have a good week.
Melanie
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Starting over
Hello bloggy readers,
I apologize now for what will probably be a rambly post.
So I have been toying around with a lot of thoughts that have been going through my head. I have been re-evaluating running and how I feel about running. I enjoy running but its very hard to move this much weight around. What I have been thinking a lot about is making a plan after my second half marathon to go back to the basics of running and train for a 5k but at the same time excersice to loose weight. I have been running to run... does that make sense? I have been running to train for running. I have not been doing my best to loose weight and I am hoping that going back to where I should have started will help me loose weight and become a faster runner.
When I decided I was going to do a half marathon I went from barely working out to running 6-12 miles on every Saturday leading up to my first half marathon. I went from never running to running a lot and beating up my body. After long runs I was done for the day. I was exhausted and I felt like ass for the rest of the day. Eventually my body got used to it and it wasn't as painful, but it really was hard on my body. And after my 8 miles that I ran in below freezing temps yesterday I realized that I had my moments that I was thinking "yeah I can do this" and a few minutes later to feeling like this is the worst idea I have ever had. Running is definitely a mental game. What I am hoping for is loosing weight and that it will help change my out look on running. That one day it may become easier.
I want to start over. I want to run, weight train and take some group classes at my gym. I took weight training when I was in high school and I really did love how I felt during that time. I felt strong. I feel strong now but I only really feel strong in my legs. I want to work on the rest of me. I would like to do another half marathon but I think I will take a year before I decide to do it again. Or I might change my mind and do one sooner... you never know when I get an idea in my head. I would like to run a mile without stopping and eventually a 5K without stopping and hey maybe one day I will be able to run 13.1 miles without stopping.
What made me think about all of this is making the decision to rejoin my running group again. I have decided to not join them this spring. But maybe next spring I will be ready again.
I would love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts :)
I hope you have a great week!
Melanie
I apologize now for what will probably be a rambly post.
So I have been toying around with a lot of thoughts that have been going through my head. I have been re-evaluating running and how I feel about running. I enjoy running but its very hard to move this much weight around. What I have been thinking a lot about is making a plan after my second half marathon to go back to the basics of running and train for a 5k but at the same time excersice to loose weight. I have been running to run... does that make sense? I have been running to train for running. I have not been doing my best to loose weight and I am hoping that going back to where I should have started will help me loose weight and become a faster runner.
When I decided I was going to do a half marathon I went from barely working out to running 6-12 miles on every Saturday leading up to my first half marathon. I went from never running to running a lot and beating up my body. After long runs I was done for the day. I was exhausted and I felt like ass for the rest of the day. Eventually my body got used to it and it wasn't as painful, but it really was hard on my body. And after my 8 miles that I ran in below freezing temps yesterday I realized that I had my moments that I was thinking "yeah I can do this" and a few minutes later to feeling like this is the worst idea I have ever had. Running is definitely a mental game. What I am hoping for is loosing weight and that it will help change my out look on running. That one day it may become easier.
I want to start over. I want to run, weight train and take some group classes at my gym. I took weight training when I was in high school and I really did love how I felt during that time. I felt strong. I feel strong now but I only really feel strong in my legs. I want to work on the rest of me. I would like to do another half marathon but I think I will take a year before I decide to do it again. Or I might change my mind and do one sooner... you never know when I get an idea in my head. I would like to run a mile without stopping and eventually a 5K without stopping and hey maybe one day I will be able to run 13.1 miles without stopping.
What made me think about all of this is making the decision to rejoin my running group again. I have decided to not join them this spring. But maybe next spring I will be ready again.
I would love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts :)
I hope you have a great week!
Melanie
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Crossing Things Off the List
Hello,
So in the last week I have been able to cross a few things off of my 32 by 32 list.
I added 3 things to the list since my last post of the list. I added take a photography class, go to 13 concerts in 2013 and get another pic with another member of Flogging Molly and my tattoo.
In the last 7 days I can now cross off 2 more things and 1 concert.
I took a photography class on Thursday to learn to use the other settings on my camera. I learned a lot and I learned I really need a tripod and more lenses. The class also refreshed what I had learned in my black and white photo class that I took in college. When I took that class I used my dad's SLR. It was a fun class. I will find some of those pictures and post them.
On Wednesday some friends and I went to see The Devil Makes Three (the link is to their you tube of "Old Number 7"). They opened for Flogging Molly last year and we enjoyed some of their songs. The concert was fun but we also realized that a concert in the middle of the week when you have to go to work the next day is not the best of ideas for the next day. I will be going to another concert in a few weeks so hey 2 in 2 months is pretty good.
Yesterday I took my first pottery class. It was everything I hoped it would be. I loved it. I was not particularly good at it but I think I got that hang of some of it. It was so fun. It was mesmerizing at times and it was fun to get all messy and be one with the clay. It was good for the first class to realize that one wrong move and fuck the whole thing up. But it's ok. We are learning and were not going to be keeping anything we made that night. It was fun to be in a class with my friend Meg. I can't wait to go back and utilize open studio time. And thank you to my friend Julie for posting on FB "The theme song from the movie Ghost is playing in my head right now...Hahaha!" I knew someone would mention it. :)
I have been a total slacker on the running front. Work has kicked my but and I wish I didn't use that as an excuse but sometimes weekends on call are easy as pie and sometimes they are not. I got my but kicked this past weekend. I am setting my alarm for the beyond ass crack of dawn and going to the gym right when they open to run 3 miles on the treadmill. I am hoping to get 2 miles in before Zumba starts and then get the last mile in after Zumba. But if I am actually hitting my groove I will prob keep running. It will be my first run on a treadmill. I'm not gonna lie I am a little apprehensive but I need to do this.
17. Take a pottery class.
18. Take a photography class to learn what my fancy camera can do.
So in the last week I have been able to cross a few things off of my 32 by 32 list.
I added 3 things to the list since my last post of the list. I added take a photography class, go to 13 concerts in 2013 and get another pic with another member of Flogging Molly and my tattoo.
In the last 7 days I can now cross off 2 more things and 1 concert.
I took a photography class on Thursday to learn to use the other settings on my camera. I learned a lot and I learned I really need a tripod and more lenses. The class also refreshed what I had learned in my black and white photo class that I took in college. When I took that class I used my dad's SLR. It was a fun class. I will find some of those pictures and post them.
On Wednesday some friends and I went to see The Devil Makes Three (the link is to their you tube of "Old Number 7"). They opened for Flogging Molly last year and we enjoyed some of their songs. The concert was fun but we also realized that a concert in the middle of the week when you have to go to work the next day is not the best of ideas for the next day. I will be going to another concert in a few weeks so hey 2 in 2 months is pretty good.
Yesterday I took my first pottery class. It was everything I hoped it would be. I loved it. I was not particularly good at it but I think I got that hang of some of it. It was so fun. It was mesmerizing at times and it was fun to get all messy and be one with the clay. It was good for the first class to realize that one wrong move and fuck the whole thing up. But it's ok. We are learning and were not going to be keeping anything we made that night. It was fun to be in a class with my friend Meg. I can't wait to go back and utilize open studio time. And thank you to my friend Julie for posting on FB "The theme song from the movie Ghost is playing in my head right now...Hahaha!" I knew someone would mention it. :)
I have been a total slacker on the running front. Work has kicked my but and I wish I didn't use that as an excuse but sometimes weekends on call are easy as pie and sometimes they are not. I got my but kicked this past weekend. I am setting my alarm for the beyond ass crack of dawn and going to the gym right when they open to run 3 miles on the treadmill. I am hoping to get 2 miles in before Zumba starts and then get the last mile in after Zumba. But if I am actually hitting my groove I will prob keep running. It will be my first run on a treadmill. I'm not gonna lie I am a little apprehensive but I need to do this.
Here is my updated list.
32 by 32 list so far
1. Paint my 2nd bedroom
2. Hang the MANY frames laying around my house
3. Find pictures for frames in #2
4. Knit my mom a wrap/shawl
5. Finish my sweater from 2011
6. admit to my blog/everyone how much I weighed when I started this journey.
7. Get a new tattoo
8. See another National park with my sister
9. take a trip with my childhood friends B and D
10. clean out my closets.
11. follow my half marathon training plan.
12. Run the Tobacco Road Half Marathon.
13. Volunteer for a race
14. Shave my head for the St. Baldricks Foundation
15. pay off my CC bills.
16. Learn the different strokes in swimming
19. Attend 13 concerts in 2013
20. Get another picture of a Flogging Molly band member with my tattoo.
I hope you have a good rest of your week!
Melanie
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