Shannon B. Chenoweth

It’s been a crazy last couple of weeks. First, the weather went from the nice 70-something-degrees back to the crazy 30s and 40s. This sudden weather change seemed to have caused my right knee to have problems. I have knee pain on and off, but haven’t dealt with it in awhile. So, when I woke up about a week ago with horrible knee pain, I was not pleased. This meant that my C25k training would be put off yet again. But, I knew that I had to rest up for at least a couple of days or I might really injure myself.

Then, as I was feeling better this past weekend and about to again restart my training, I got sick. Sometimes, you just can’t catch a break I guess. A cold hit me like a rock. I went to church Sunday morning, but other than a quick stop at the grocery store, I spent my Sunday in bed resting up with nausea and congestion. This winter definitely hasn’t been one for a good immune system it seems. I was going to try to get out and workout on Tuesday or Wednesday pre-dentist appointment, but my knee pain returned on Monday afternoon along with the continual cold fun.

Yesterday, was my dentist appointment to get a wisdom tooth extracted. I had the bottom one on the opposite side removed in December 2008, so apparently, this tooth was the next that needed to go. It had been bothering me a great deal on and off the last few months. So, of course, once you have oral surgery, no physical activity can be done for at least a couple of days. I’m just now, as I type this feeling better from the surgery. It was a rough experience, having the tooth removed. The dentist had some difficulty with a piece of the root and was trying to get that one piece out. Apparently, it is close to the nerve which was not good. The dentist decided to let it be after a few attempts, telling me that the piece will more than likely find its way out at some point. I don’t recall the extent of the pain I had last time around, but this experience was definitely a rough one. I had horrible jaw pain even all through the night. The dentist had to call in a more powerful pain pill for me even late yesterday. I’m not one who usually likes to take that sort of thing, as I have a pretty high pain threshold, but this pain was just beyond what I could bare. Nothing like trying to drink some water and the pain that comes over you makes you feel as though you might pass out. I’ve already decided that if I need to have the top two wisdom teeth removed, I’m going to a specialist who can knock me out for the surgery, as it is a tough thing to go through. I definitely hope to avoid any further dental surgery for a long long time.

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One Minute Writer Prompt:
You are determined to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games. What event will you ask that they include so that you will be sure to win?

While I firmly believe that everyone is capable of so much more than they allow themselves to try and do, you cannot be sure that you will take home the gold. You can never know what the result will be or how your competitors will perform. Even the best athletes can never determine if they will come out on top on game day. As far as the event itself goes, I would have to say maybe softball. I used to play Little League as a kid and with practice and enthusiasm, I think I could be a good ball player again and do well. If nothing else, I know I would have a good time playing and do my best out there on the field.

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This week will begin week four of my C25k training regime. While I am happy to be proceeding forward, I have to admit that I am also a bit nervous about getting into the longer run intervals. The three minute runs have proven to be challenging at times, so I know the five minute ones will prove to be similar. I am not giving up though, I am going to make it through this training program, even if it takes a couple of weeks longer. It’s a challenge I have taken on and don’t plan to give up on.

Yesterday, I did the final day of week three’s training. I drove out to the lakefront near home for this workout for a change of pace and scenery since I had the time. The weather was nice, not too cold or too windy out which was great. There were quite a number of people out at the parks though. This wasn’t really a problem less for a couple of times when I had to speak loudly over my headphones and say, “excuse me” to get by people taking up the entire walkway.

The workout’s biggest challenge was in the last three minute interval. By the time I get to that point it seems I have to really push myself to keep going. Part of me wants to slow down to that fast walk about halfway into that interval. I have been able to mentally convince myself not to do this and to keep pushing. It isn’t even so much that I’m out of breath, it’s like my body is trying to tell me that I can’t do it. I’m not going to stand for that though, so I keep going, even if I slow down my pace, I keep running. Our minds tend to try to convince us that we can’t do things I think when with some effort we can. For me, it’s not only proving to myself that I can in fact do it, but that with God’s help, I can do anything. I’ve worked hard to lose over 70lbs now and I’m not about to settle for not pushing myself and accomplishing things I know I can do if I just try. The key is getting out there and doing it.

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One Minute Writer Prompt:
Have you ever had 15 minutes of fame? If so, write about it. If not, would you like to?

Well, I’ve sort of had a bit of so-called fame when I was younger. While I was volunteering at one of the local hospitals as a teen, I had an opportunity to be on Good Morning, America and Good Morning, Florida. They were brief appearances, just a few seconds a piece, but it was definitely a fun and interesting experience that I probably won’t forget. More so, it was a neat perk of being a junior volunteer as a kid.

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Just a quick update to say that I’m going to start blogging for one of the Asheville websites. This is a great opportunity and I’m excited about it. My postings there will consist of this and that relating to Western North Carolina. I will be updating my twitter account whenever I post a new blog for the website, so please make sure you are following me on twitter. I will most likely post more about it here again in the coming weeks.

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One-Minute Writer Prompt:
Explain how you feel during a rain or snow storm.

Considering that I’ve never been through a snow storm (yet), I can only describe how I feel during a rain storm. Having lived in Florida most of my life, we get a lot of bad thunderstorms and tornado type weather. Most of these are pretty uneventful, but there’s always a few that can cause those little bumps to appear on your skin. Those really horrible storms are just that, horrible. Power tends to go out and you end up sitting in the dark awaiting the experience to pass by and just be over with. If it’s the summer, you could be sitting in the sweltering heat for hours. Not a good feeling in the slightest. You just hope it passes by quickly.

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Today marked my first day of the third week of my C25k training. Week three consists of the five minute warm-up walk, then one interval of 90 seconds running followed by 90 seconds of walking, then a three minute running interval. This pattern then repeats once more before the final cool down walk.

The training started off pretty good, well less for the discomfort with my new running shoes that is. Right away, the new shoes felt heavy and bulky. It was a weird feeling to say the least. I think I must have started tensing up my legs because I started to have some shin pain during the rest of my workout despite my attempts to relax my body.

I pushed through the pain and discomfort and completed the workout, as I was not going to give up. It was just too bad that my new shoes didn’t get any more comfortable on my feet. Hopefully, this will improve in the coming days. Overall, it was a good workout despite the cold temperatures and uncomfy shoes.

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Today was the Florida Hospital Lady Track Shack 5k race. The race itself began at 7:30am, so I had to get up at 5am to get ready and drive to the site of the event. Once I got there, I had to park about a quarter of a mile from the location. Once I walked up to race site, I quickly found my name on the board and checked in to get my number, d-chip and shirt.

Before I knew it, the race began. I decided to start the race with a jog. I jogged for about a minute and then went down to a fast walk. I spent most of the race speed walking, but did get up bursts of running here and there. I wanted to run more, but didn’t want to push myself too much since I’m still new to running.

Once I hit the two mile mark, the road split off. There were runners who were ahead of me were now passing by to my left. This was quite an inspirational sight to see, other women pushing themselves to get to that finish line. This really got me moving even more. I took off running and ran for as long as I could before slowing back down. After walking for another two or three minutes, I burst into another running interval. I was going to run as much as I could to the end.

I was back to my speed walking when I realized the finish line was in sight. My yearning to reach it took over and I ran. The end itself was probably about two minutes away, but I knew I could pull the strength from inside of me and do it. And, I did. I ran all the way to that finish line. I am proud to say that when I crossed that line, I was running. That felt better than anything I can accurately describe.

My final finishing time was 48 minutes and 18 seconds according to my D-chip. The race was never about beating anyone for me, just finishing it and knowing that I did the best that I could possibly do. I did this, so to me, this 5k was a great success and I am very happy I did it.

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The 1930s were a neat decade. No, they weren’t easy times for a lot of folks, but there was definitely a good deal of creativity around. This is especially true for films of that time. I already consider myself a fan of old, classic movies, but I honestly haven’t seen a good deal of them. That is going to change though this year. I am planning on watching as many classic old films as I can this year.

The way I plan on doing this is by decade. This makes sense to me for two reasons. For one, it allows me to semi-organize my film viewing escapades, and secondly, it gives me a chance to see the evolution of the film from the 1930s onward. I believe this will really allow me to appreciate the movies even more. It’s a very “film school” line of thinking.

Here is just a partial list of the films of the 1930s I plan on watching:

1. M
2. City Lights
3. Modern Times
4. Dodsworth
5. It Happened One Night
6. Trouble in Paradise
7. One Way Passage
8. Downstairs
9. Bringing up Baby
10. Angels with Dirty Faces
11. King Kong
12. Top Hat
13. The Thin Man
14. The Big House
15. I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
16. Night After Night
17. The Old Dark House
18. The Invisible Man
19. Morning Glory
20. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

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One-Minute Writer Prompt:
What hobby are others passionate about, that you can’t imagine wanting to do?

Stamp or coin collecting. While I can sort of see the attraction, I would find it far too monotonous and boring to do for my personal taste. I suppose it’s a good hobby for those who are obsessive compulsive, always wanting things in a certain order or what have you. That’s not to say that people who enjoy either hobby are obsessive compulsive, that is just my opinion or thinking on it. The hobby of collecting this or that is something I used to do with comic books. After a few years though, I got over it and decided while I love comics, the hobby itself required too much space and time, of which I had neither. I like to believe that anything you take on should be done fully and done right, so I now no longer collect anything really. Helps cut down on excess stuff in my home if nothing else.

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