Hallie Richter

Sophie’s Choice

Hallie — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:33:43 +0000

I just finished reading the novel "Sophie's Choice." It was long, tiring and a bit boring at times. I read it thinking it was supposedly a great movie and won awards and what not, so its got to be great. No, No, No it was not great. The book was way too wordy, over descriptive at times. The story it good, but the reading was painful. I would never ever recommend this book to anyone. That being said, it is an old book, and the movie did win awards, so who am I to critic it so harshly. Perhaps I should now rent the movie for a comparison.

5K Completed!!

Hallie — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:24:48 +0000

Well, I ran my first 5K last Saturday. I have to admit, I did not run the entire thing. I knew I wasn't going to be able to, so I did not stress that goal, just finishing is fine with me. I ran about 2/3 of the race I think. I was pretty much the slowest person, so I really need to up that level before the next race.

Overall it was a really great experience, minus a few glitches. At one spot in the race there was no one standing there indicating which way to run, so of course I ran the wrong way. Once I figured it out I had to double back and ended up not getting an accurate time. And that is another glitch....no times! They said they would post the times on their website after the race but it is almost a week later and still no update. How am I supposed to beat my time for the next race when I don't know what it is?? That is probably the worst part of all!

The running was really hard and actually a lot harder than my practice runs have been. I have a trail near my house and have been using that to run on. it is well shaded, which this run wasn't. It was all on pavement and very very hot. A lot of sun and almost no shade save for a few seconds here and there.

I am still using my podrunner podcast to continue to progress with my running lengths of time and I have a Gymboss to use when I have done with the podcasts. I am on week 5 of my 9 week training and moving along really really well. Things are getting harder every week, but I don't feel like I am going to die like I did in the beginning.

Strangest part.....I have not lost any weight. My husband swears my shape has changed, but I can't tell. I am pushing forward.

New Toy

Hallie — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:16:52 +0000

I ordered a new toy to help me with my running, and it arrived today!

This thing is called the Gymboss. It is an interval timer to help me run/walk in the intervals that I want. I can set my own pace. So far, I am pretty impressed with it! My friend Tricia recommended that I try it, and for $20 I couldn't resist it. My first 5K is this Saturday, so I shall put it to the test then. This should help me to maintain throughout the entire race. I'm excited!

Laugh and Dash

Hallie — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:53:08 +0000

So my first 5K run is this Saturday in Oxford. I plan to run in the Laugh and Dash. This run benefits the K9 Animal Rescue League in my area. This will be my first ever 5K. I am so looking forward to it, and a little nervous at the same time. I've been training for four weeks now, so I still cannot run the entire run, but I'm hoping to run half of it.

I've been getting a lot of great tips and hints from my friends on facebook, so I feel pretty well prepared for the run. My goal is to complete in under 40 minutes! Wish me luck!

Training Continues

Hallie — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:21:34 +0000

I have decided that I will indeed attempt the 5K on June 5th. I am excited. I've been training for only 2 weeks now, but I feel stronger already. What I could barely do last week, I'm surpassing this week, easily. I hope I can keep it up.

I did find a wonderful podcast that is helping tremendously!!! Podrunner Intervals is this amazing podcast for runners. There are three different series of podcasts, but I'm using the interval training ones to help me build up to the level I need to be at. The super cool part about this podcast as that the music is selected by beats per minute, so I know I'm running at a decent pace. He give you intervals, run/walk/run/walk etc. Each week the music builds the length of the run. At the end of 9 weeks I should be able to run a 5K and finish!.

I run 3 days a week and strength train 2 days a week. I walk as often as I can just to keep burning the calories too. I understand that I won't be able to completely run the 5K in June, but it will give me a beginning time to beat for the next run!

Goofy Sock Puppet

Hallie — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:54:20 +0000

for fun...

Goofy Sock Puppet

Warren’s Toe Up Socks

Hallie — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:52:00 +0000

I made these socks for my husband, size 13 shoes. I wanted to give him a snug fit, but worried about the calf being too tight, so I increased the size of the calf a bit.

Warren's Toe Up Socks

Short Christmas Stockings

Hallie — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:48:05 +0000

Having to start my blog over....again, is a bit of a pain. I forgot that I need to repost all of my patterns so that they are still available on Ravelry. Here's Goes.

This pattern was a special request for a customer. She wanted to send Christmas stockings to her son and his family in Japan, but they only had so much room, so they had to be short.

Short Christmas Stockings

Time for Goals

Hallie — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:33:38 +0000

OK, like so many of us I tend to flounder and struggle when I don't set goals. Here I am trying to get into better health and lose weight but I haven't set any goals or vocalized them. I've decided to run a 5K. That's not too big a goal, but it gives me something to work towards also.

There is a 5K schedule locally on June 5th. That doesn't give me much time at all to work up to running it, but I suppose it could give me a baseline time to improve upon right?

Here's some races I found:

July 10 Grandma K's Orchard Run
August 5 39th Annual Stony Creek Distance Run
August 7 advoKATE

So, I started training last week, just easing into it really. This week I've bumped up the pace a bit. Running, 3 days a week, Strength training 2 days a week, and walking as much as possible.

Gardening Has Begun

Hallie — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:40:24 +0000

Well, it is finally that time of year. I've spent the past couple of days cleaning our my flower beds. I hate this work, really really hate it. I like planting, but hate the cleaning of the beds part. I know one must be done before the other can start, but it doesn't make the chore any more enjoyable. I just tackle it for a couple of hours a day. I actually have one bed cleaned, 3 more to go.

I am home with a sick child today. We've been watching tv all day, boring! LOL I don't mind it, but I am a bit sick of the cartoons, to be honest. She was watching the smurfs earlier, and that took me back a bit. Hard to believe how quickly she is growing up; another year or two and she'll be done with cartoons. Then I'll probably miss it, lol.