Spousal Pride AKA Boston Blacklight Run

I think one of the most fun parts about being married, is when you're proud, like reeeeallly f-ing proud, of your spouse. This most DEFINITELY happened this past Saturday, when my Mister ran his first official 5k: the Boston Blacklight Run.

Us post race.

Here's one of the things that makes Hood and I work as a couple: we are yin and yang...polar - yet complimentary - opposites. Al set out to do Couch to 5k with quiet determination. He was steadfast, he was consistent, he did not bitch, he did not whine, he did not brag, he did not boast. All I had to do was buy him the running shoes. See... opposites!

Let me back track a bit. It wasn't just Al & I running, we were joined by Mr. & Mrs. H-Bomb who made the trip down from Manhattan so we could have a fun time all running together. It was Mrs. H-Bomb's first 5k as well; while Mr. H-Bomb put us all to shame, completing a half marathon a few weeks earlier.

Before I get started on the actual race experience, I need to list my playlist for the run. I take great pride in these and really enjoy making them. Here you go....

1. It's Time by Imagine Dragons
2. Let the Groove Get In by Justin Timberlake
3. Soul Man by The Blues Brothers
4. Hearts on Fire by John Cafferty
5. Applause by Lady Gaga
6. Murder by Justin Timberlake
7. Love Shack by The B-52's
8. Can't Hold Us by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
9. Work B**ch by Britney Spears

The race, altogether was, interesting. It was dark...in a field/some sort of industrial complex. Nothing was actually clearly marked. This went from the registration area to the actual coarse itself. I would have been REALLY happy if things would have been more clearly marked. (Both where things were to go to AND the actual race path itself.

I really, REALLY wish there would have been some more race officials around  the entire coarse. See, Mr.  & Mrs. H-Bomb had an agreement to run together as to that what works for me. Al and I... nope. Only if we wanted the race to end in the non-tears-of-joy tears. This left both him and I running alone.

There was one part of the course the ran alongside the edge of the property that ran adjacent to a lot of bushes, shrubbery, and tall grass. I kelp thinking, "you know...this would be a prime place to hide in the bushes and abduct someone...." (Blame growing up with a father who had been both a cop and an Army medic.) So I ran in a straight line all the while scanning the bushes. Then there was another moment where a turn took us through a bank of parked school buses, and I mentally remarked "Wow! This sure is Halloweeny." (Translation: "This looks like a great place for someone to hack me to bits.") But still, I kept running.

I think it was the lack of informing runners how uneven and pothole riddled the terrain was that ended up being my biggest complaint.

Most surreal moment, and Mrs. H-Bomb can confirm it....a woman on the race course, wearing a race shirt and bib....SMOKING! ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME!?!?!?!?!

The end of the race was a flat out mess: having to wait to cars to let out, dodging participants that were done with their waves and milling about, along with a complete breakdown with there the marked coarse was for about the last .35 of a mile.

It was the missed marking that made me think I didn't run a TRUE 5k, but when I crunched some numbers, I think I would have made the 5k in 42 minutes...2 minutes and some change faster than my August race. More on why I was so keen to get to the finish in a second.

Do I think I'll be running the Black Light Run again? Ummm....no. Did I have fun? Absolutely! Getting brightly colored flower thrown at you (sometimes VERY hard) as you run past...maybe it's because on the inside I'm a 5 year old...HIGHLY SATISFYING.

Now, I wanted to get to that finish line quicker because I wanted to see Al as soon after he finished as I possibly could. I'm so proud of him!!! I remember how emotional he was with I finished my first 5k on Spectacle Island, and I think I was equally as emotional for him.

There was a big party afterwards but we elected not to stay. We decided that a Tex-Mex feast at Border Cafe was much more out speed.

It was super nice to have running buddies in Mr. & Mrs. H-Bomb. I sure did miss having one once Reed Making Warrior moved to LA.

So what's next? For Al - continuing to run and finding what running App works for him. Also possibly running a December 5k with myself and Inky Lady.

As for me, I run my next 5k in a mere twelve days I'll be home in SETX running the Compassion Color 5k with my sister, my Mom (she'll be walking) and a few other friends from home.

A-one, two-hoo, threee....

Also, now that I've got three (and very soon to be four) 5k's under my belt...well, I thought it's time to embark on 5k to 10k. It'll be nice to have my BWJesque Drill Sargent in my ears again. I've already done the first run and do the second tomorrow. This time I've decided to commit to running two times a week instead of three, given that swimming is still my biggest priority exercise wise. I know I thrive well on a challenge, on having a goal. I'll be done with the program in late February, so I'm pretty sure that finding a 10k in New England in late February will be my biggest challenge.

On Setbacks and Being Human

What? You mean I'm actually human!?!?! What!?!?! But I digress....it's been a little over two months since my last NDC#5 entry & I apologize. Perhaps this entry will explain some of that.

Damn it! You mean I'm NOT super human. Well, damn....

Life has been lately, to put it mild, harried. Sometimes life just gets like that I get it. However, when it affects my weight loss journey, I've got to write about it here. I also feel that it's important for me to talk about it here because so far my weight loss journey has been full of successes. I guess I was a bit naive to think that I wasn't going to have any set backs. I mean seriously, self...you've lived through enough life to know if you've been doing something seriously for almost a year, there's GOING to be some sort of set back. Thank you life for reminding me that even how one handles life is a work in progress.

The past two months have been a bit of a whirlwind for me. Starting back to school has been both a joy and an enormous stresser, but more on that later...I'm trying my damnedest to be concise and topical.

During this whirlwind of stress, I stopped logging my food on LoseIt. OK, fine. I was doing pretty good at keeping my weight at a standstill. I wasn't loosing but I wasn't gaining. This I could live with for the time being. So onward I trudged, life would get better. This currently wasn't the number one concern in my life at the moment, I could deal.

Then life didn't relent, I started to get exhausted. I looked at all the things in my life that could give a bit, I chose my work out routine. I went from working out from 5-6 times a week to MAYBE 2. This was a mistake. Not only did it affect me physically, it also affected me mentally. For me, swimming is better than therapy, and cutting down on my time in the pool was now adversely affecting me

Then I stepped on the scale last Friday. 7 pounds gained. F%CK!! Are you kidding me life!?!?! I gritted my teeth and tried to breathe. Breathing wasn't working. I was trying to cut myself some slack, but I did was feel like a lazy sack of sh$t. Great. Awesome. Lovely. What's that? Oh...it's symptoms of depression just knocking on my souls door.

Even though I know that I deal with depression, and other things, and feelings of complete inadequacy....even though I know that it's part of my truth, I CONTINUE to feel like a complete...I don't know what the word is exactly...everything I could say seams much too much cliche.

My name is Kathleen and I am human.

UGH! That statement makes me shutter.

I don't want to be human, I was to be extraordinary.

What do I find these two things to be mutually exclusive?

Back to less esoteric things.

After stepping on the scale and seeing that 7 pound gain, I vowed to get back to working out 5-6 times a week again. Since Friday, 4 pounds have managed to melt off. I also know I need to cut it on the comport eating.

Are these sort of gaining setbacks "normal"? I mean, I really detest the word "normal", but I can't think of a better word for this case? "Customary"?

I know that in the end, I'm just stewing in things right now. I'm also really, really, REALLY tired. Luckily, I've been given the opportunity to rest today, so that should be somewhat better.

There has to be a lesson in this, for both me and for those that read my blog. I know that in the midst of good work, there can be lulls and there can be setbacks. The point is that you get out of them. I KNOW this. I'm not naive, I'm not out of touch with reality. Maybe I just want the time to feel a little sorry for myself. That's OK too. Yet I'll still fight as to not let myself fall into a full fledged depression. That turns into a real battle then.The good thing is I have excellent resources in place.

Maybe being human isn't all that bad. That's what we are all after all. I'm pretty sure I CAN be both human and extraordinary.