How to poo in a portapotty

I used to be the girl that did not poo in public. I rarely even peed in public. I worked at an overnight job for

3 years and remember getting a call that my uncle died, going to the bathroom to cry and thinking "This is the first time I have ever seen this restroom". I am not a lover of public restrooms. At all. When I started running, this all changed.I mean, it had to. I can't believe that I talk about poo and all things poo-related so freely. Sometimes I feel like a 12 year old boy... I have to explain to people in advance what atrocities may occur if I use their personal bathroom after a race or why I may disappear for a prolonged period of time immediately following a race. I have run twice with my cousin J and he has heard ALL about my issues. He taunted me outside the portapotty at the Turkey Trot and after the Capital City Quarter he asked, very seriously "How do you poop in a portapotty?". I thought I should answer him. Here goes... Using the portapotty is completely different than using a toilet in a public restroom. There is a chance that the toilet in the public restroom has been cleaned. There is usually no poo piling up in the toilet awaiting your arrival. There are handy dandy seat covers to put down to make your experience more pleasant. And most importantly you can flush the toilet and wash your hands. The portapotty is a means to an end. That's it. Nothing comfortable about it. And if you are a turtle runner like myself, the chance of you getting a clean potty are slim to none. Someone will have already had their way with the portapotty stall you are destined to use. The first thing you should do is come prepared. Know that the toilet paper provided for you will not be two ply and will likely not meet your cleaning needs. Not even temporary cleaning needs. I run with a CamelBak that has a pocket. I keep wet wipes in it for such occasions. Secondly, keep up with your squats in the gym, at home, at work on your lunch break, in church in the choir stand....Squat. Squatting to pee takes about 2 minutes at the most. Squatting to poo could take a lot longer. Make sure you are prepared to get a good workout in for the time you are confined to that tiny little stinkpot. If all else fails, you can grab the bottom of the door for stability or sit on the seat. If you sit on the seat, you may feel disgusting afterwards. God only knows what you have just introduced to your nether regions. In the event that you must sit on the seat, first try to paper it. If you do not have time for that and you go all in, make sure you are hosed down by Hazmat teams before you return to your home. Or you could take a shower. No matter what....Portapotty pooing is gross. No one ever warned me about any of this. Hopefully, if you have never experienced it, this will prepare you for it. Happy Pooing!!!

2013 Capital City Quarter Marathon-Columbus, Ohio

First time having my name on the bib! Nice touch...

I drove to Columbus on the night of May 3rd with plans to run the Capital City Quarter Marathon with my cousin(J) and his cousin-in-law (L). I planned to leave at about 8pm and arrive at about 10:30pm. If you have ever met me, you know that this did not happen. My daughter had a soccer game and my son had a track meet. After both activities were done, I had to take them out to eat. I didn't hop on the road until about 9:30 which means I did not arrive at my cousin's house in Columbus until about midnight. I had packed my running gear and I laid everything out, plugged in my phone and hopped in the bed. I was beyond ready for a good night's sleep. My alarm went off at about 6am. I grabbed my phone and immediately noticed that my battery was on 2 percent. It had not been charging all night!!! I got up and got ready and started charging my phone in the car. We were stopped in traffic for about a half hour trying to get off the freeway to park so that gave me plenty of time to charge my phone enough to run with music and have my running apps on. We arrived at the race just in time to hop into our corral and start the race. L is a much faster runner than J and I and he took off without us. J and I ran together for the first mile but I felt pretty yucky and encouraged him to run ahead of me. The course for this race was great. I am not a Columbus native so I was able to see a bit of the city. There were many spectators and bands along the race route. I can honestly say that had I been forced to run without music, I would have been entertained throughout the run. I had to stop running at about mile 3 to untie my shoe and wriggle my toes a bit. They were pretty numb. As I untied my shoe, I made a mental note that I needed to look into replacing my running shoes. I found a partner for the next mile and a half but she started walking and I had to keep moving. At about mile 5 I ran into another lady who was running about the same pace as I. I ran with her until the end. My toesies were pretty numb but there were a few factors that played into me not stopping. 1. My cousin had thrown out an arbitrary goal of finishing in under 1:15. I knew at that point I was under 1:15. 2. There were people lined up against barriers for what seemed like the last mile of the race cheering, watching and holding you accountable. 3. This woman I was running with was an awesome running angel who was keeping a great pace. L finished in about 58 minutes. J finished in about 1:06. I finished in 1:12:31.

L, me and J with our medals!!!

Pretty fancy, huh?

My tummy was churning during the run but I was able to scarf down a bagel, a banana, a water and a chocolate before hitting the portapotty. These fancy portapottys that look like bathrooms on wheels are pretty convenient but everyone can see into it. Now, they can't see you using it, but they could see (for example) you telling the girl waiting that she might not want to use the stall you were just in. Embarrassing!! And this visual could potentially prompt questions from said person such as "How do you poo in a portapotty?" I have decided to answer that question...but in my next post. Anywho...When I got back to J's house my tummy was ready for round 2 and 3 and 4 and 5. This run was pretty rough on my tummy. When I finally managed to pull myself together enough to shower and get dressed to get on the road back to Cleveland, J offered me some Pepto Bismol. I never take medication like this. I figured it couldn't hurt. I took it and bought more when I got home. I took it every four hours or so after the run and did not have the same issues I usually have the next day. How could I have never tried tummy medication? It seems so obvious! I don't know if this is THE answer but it provided relief on this day so I am pretty excited about this new discovery. Now on to the Cleveland Rite Aid 10K on May 19th. I will have new shoes and Pepto on hand...

Two workouts and a funeral

Two weeks ago I ran 2 days in a row. I was on a roll and I had big plans for my training. But, on that Wednesday, I got a call from my sister telling me that my father had passed away. I took the news relatively well. I told her that I was sorry for her loss and then explained that I was at work and that I would call her back later. I thought I was OK. The person who made me was gone, but I had never met him. My immediate thought was that this was not my loss. I felt sad for my sister who was raised by my father and had a relationship with him. I was adopted at the age of seven. I spent several years in foster care prior to my adoption. The very few memories I have of my biological family include my older brother and sister and an older set of twins who I believe I ate peanuts with. These memories do not include my parents. As I left work that day, I thought about the situation. I had made a decision to not meet my father. I felt that I was in control of the situation. It hit me that I never communicated this to him. He had made the same decision. That realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t stop crying. I felt like a child again. An unloved child. This person had made a choice twice in life to not love me. I didn’t really know how to put into words what I was feeling nor did I want sympathy from others so I didn’t really tell too many people of his passing. The people I told were tremendous and reaffirmed my belief in family being more nurture than nature. I talked to my best friend, Shelly whose response was “You take rejection well, Renessa”. I thought that was a little awkward but I got that she was trying to say that I have handled this same situation with another parent before and handled it well. I talked to a fellow adoptee Rebecca who put into words what I was feeling and let me vent. My nephew Bradley said “He missed out on knowing one of the greatest, most intelligent people in the world. You are who you are not because of the people that made or raised you but because you over come everything that comes your way”. How could you not love this boy? He made me cry…When I talked to my sister/friend Theresa, she let me cry like a blubbering baby. No interruptions. Just listened. And talked. And was there. And then I reached out to my counselor friend. She was like The Big Guns. I love her because she is really a great listener and a great counselor. [If you need to talk to someone, her name is Karryl Lindsey of Cornerstone Marriage and Family Counseling in Cleveland Hts., Ohio (216) 320-0440]. After all this support, I felt that I could handle going to the funeral without any emotional outbursts. I drove there alone and while I was on my way, I got a text from my older sister (my biological mother’s daughter) asking was I coming to the funeral. She was there. Waiting for me. To be a support. I appreciated her presence there. The funeral was the usual. What a great man. He truly loved his family. He’s in a better place. I met a sister that I had never met before. I saw a sister that I had only met once before. We have so much in common. We need to try harder to stay in touch. I also met my sister’s three children who were an absolute delight. Yes, even at a funeral these kids were awesome! How is it possible for one person to give birth to two children who are gifted artists? Like truly amazing artists! The two older boys (the artists) are college students and the youngest is an athlete and a musician. All of them are articulate, polite and charming. I saw in the older boys the kind of young man I hope for J1 to become. I decided to write about this because sometimes when we are immediately faced with adversity, we are unable to see that there is a way out, that there are supports available to us and that sometimes, even in bad situations, there can be positive outcomes.

30 minute workout

I have been using the GymPact app for about 83 workouts. It has motivated me to not skip Trips to the gym. They have recently added the option to workout at home. Your phone senses your movement. I wear my phone in an armband and get moving. You are required to move for at least 30 minutes within a one and a half hour time frame. I have been using this option on my elliptical at home. Last night I decided to try something new. I tried very hard to drag myself to the gym but that didn't happen at all. At about 10:45, I decided to just workout at home, but what to do??? I decided to make it up along the way. I ended up really liking the workout. I need to work on the order of things. Here is what I did: 3 sets of 20 push-ups (I can only do 20 at a time), 3 sets of 20 full sit-ups, 60 squats, 60 walking lunges, 60 jump squats, 60 jumping jacks, 60 high knees, 60 butt kicks and 60 seconds of running in place between each workout. This worked out nicely as a cool down between each set but also kept my heart rate elevated. I will be working on perfecting this workout over the next few weeks because I was pleasantly surprised at how great I felt afterwards and I feel that it would be beneficial to incorporate it into my workout.

Exiting the comfort zone

I have been looking for additional workout opportunities lately. I perused the websites of  two Barre classes in the Cleveland area. They are both too expensive for my budget. I am a new employee at University Hospitals so I decided to check out their discounted fitness opportunities. They offer a discount at 121 Fitness on the CWRU campus. With the discount, the cost for a monthly membership was 4 times what I pay at my current gym. I decided that I would just look in to taking a couple classes at the gym. While looking over their webpage, I happened upon a free running group. There are many reasons that I am not a running group type girl. The two most important ones are 1. I am socially awkward. I do not do well in social settings with people that I do not know. You should assume that if you invite me somewhere where I do not know at least one individual personally, I will bail on you. In the event that I am forced into one of these situations, I will replay my awkward conversations over in my mind to evaluate just how weird I may have come across to the people that I spoke with. NUMERO DOS: I am a slow runner. I am always anxious about being the slowest runner. This fear is often reinforced by my performance in races where 90 year olds, men running in Tevas pushing strollers or hugely pregnant women pass me *insert sad face here* I decided to try this group out anyway...When I arrived at the meeting spot, I was immediately intimidated. Everyone looked like a runner. I mean, they all looked like they were about to dust me. The group leader introduced himself to me and we headed out from the gym to the CWRU track. This run was about one mile. I would have preferred a nice jog but the group was RUNNING! I kept up with a gentleman in the back. When we got to the track, people introduced themselves to me. It made me no less nervous. I had no idea what to expect. I kept track of my run on my NikePlus app. While moreover than not the times are pretty accurate, the first mile was not as accurate. I let the timer run during some of the group leader's instructions. If I remember correctly, the workout was a 1600, a 1200, an 800, a 400, two 200s, a 400 and an 800. The group leader noticed that myself and 2 other runners were slower and altered the workout a bit for us. I ran an 800 instead of the 1200 and at the end I was a little tuckered out and ran a 400 instead of the 800. When the group ran back to the gym, I followed suit. I stopped running about a quarter mile away from the gym. I wish I had realized how close I was!! I would not have stopped!!My total mileage for Saturday was 4.7 miles. My fastest mile Saturday was 8.55. I find it easy to run for prolonged periods of time at an easy, comfortable pace. This run on Saturday was challenging and forced me out of my comfort zone socially and physically. I am nervous to run with the group again when they run on the street. I may just be running by myself as I am a lot slower than everyone else. I did enjoy the track workout though. I am always excited to see what new things my body can do. Rolling up on forty does not mean that my life should slow down. It means that I may have to try new things and push a little harder to get the results I want. I am prepared to do this. And I will roll into 40 veeeeeeeery slowly. I have 2 more years!

Early Morning Workouts

This week has been very interesting. I decided that in order to fit my workouts into my new schedule, I would need to get up at 5am a couple of days during the week and head to the gym. My goal every week is to work out 5 days out of seven. 3 of those days are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I needed to fit 2 early morning workouts in this week to reach my goal. I didn't make it to bed until late on Sunday night, so an early morning Monday workout was out. On Monday night I made it to bed by 9:30 and planned for a 5am start. I woke up at 3am. Ughhhh! I could not go back to sleep and toyed with the idea of rolling over and skipping this workout. I decided to go for it! I made it to the gym at 5:45 and ran 3.5 miles. I was super sluggish all day and realized I may need a later bed time. I thought I would have a difficult time staying up on Tuesday night but I had a burst of energy and was able to get some cleaning done and stay up until 10:30. I made it to the gym at about 5:30 and worked on legs for 40 minutes. This day was great. I was energized all day! My goal next week is to hit the gym for 3 early morning workouts. I think it's doable as long as I get enough sleep and don't push myself too hard in the morning. I am not yet sure if I am a fan of the 5am workout. I will definitely keep you guys informed!

See that time there at the top???????

Accomplishing goals...

In December of 2012, I cleaned out my cubicle. I packed up 4 and a half years of pictures, notes and junk and took it home. I had not found a job but I was determined to do so. I set a goal at the beginning of the year to not be employed at my job on Sept 2, 2013 (The 5th anniversary of me starting my job).  I was working for an insurance company as a social worker but was not doing any thing remotely social work related. I had also been assigned a new supervisor whom I had no respect for. I needed a new job so I started looking for a social work position.  Last month I was hired by a hospital system here in Cleveland, Ohio working in an outpatient HIV/AIDS clinic. People consistently ask me about how difficult my job is. This line of questioning is confusing for me. I don't find that I am working with a difficult population or that it is depressing. Daily I see the advances in care for persons with a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. I see hope and perseverance. I see people who would have had no chance had they been diagnosed in the 80s living for decades with the diagnosis now. I see people dedicated to research to find treatment and answers. I see that fewer babies are being born with HIV due to aggressive treatment. I am so excited to work in a position where my mission is to help people who genuinely need it and appreciate it. Friday was the end of my 3rd week of work at my new job and I am optimistic about this opportunity. The one draw back to my new position is that I am getting used to new hours. I work until 5, and despite the fact that I live 15 minutes away from work, it takes about an hour to get home. It has been difficult to fit my workouts in the way I used to do. I would really like to get up in the morning and run, but I have not been able to actually do that. I plan to try this week. I will run during The Joes 30 minute music lessons on Monday and Wednesday. I will have to remember to pack my gym bag so that I am prepared and cannot use not having a chance to get dressed before lessons as an excuse. I am going to run outside at least one morning this week.I will do my usual weight training in the gym. I have been consistently squatting 100 pounds. I squat 5 sets of 8. I have also been pressing 400 pounds on the leg press consistently. I have discontinued starting the leg press on lower weights and have been doing 10 sets of 10 on 400 pounds. It is now time to switch machines as 400 pounds is the heaviest weight I can press on this particular machine. This is pretty exciting for me. I have made a lot of changes so far this year. I look forward to many more! This will be a year of change for me!!!