This has been a crummy week. Last week, Nicholas came down with a horrible tummy thing on Thursday and then Sunday Cindy had it. I stayed home with the kids on Monday, ran very l ittle that night and bam! about 4:30 a.m., I was awake wishing I could die rather than continue the violent retching that had begun. Missed work Wednesday, Thursday, Friday... finally able to eat on Friday and dang it all if I didn't get up and run 13.12 miles with the group this morning.
That's right ~ I did. Those days of purging all the crud from my system actually left me feeling better than I had pre-illness and today's run, while slow, was a good one. My legs are going to hurt so badly tomorrow. Good thing we're not doing much but going to the Texans' game and then home to the Brownie troop meeting.
Life is good again.
Running towards fitness and never, ever, away from a challenge!
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I haven't had time to blog in what feels like ages. I haven't made time to run in that long either. Everything is catching up with me and there's no way I can slow down the time between now and the marathon, so.... some stuff will just have to wait while I train.
I did run with the group on Saturday. We were slated to do 12 miles but the turnaround was filled with debris from Hurricane Ike; we cut it short and thought we'd made it up on the extra distance to the restrooms. As it turns out, we didn't. The run ended up at a distance of 11.67 miles: 2 hrs 56 minutes. That's not going to be good enough for the <6 hour target for the full marathon. It was really humid, somewhat hot, and toward the end, my legs (hip flexors mainly) were causing me serious pain so I walked more than I planned. I can counter that negativity by saying that prior to Saturday, I'd done one 3 mile walk/run (mostly walk) in 2 weeks. I think that was it. I did run 9 miles two-Saturday's before but then I didn't do much of anything else. Well, I did loads of stuff, just not running/fitness-stuff. Considering that, I'd say that even finishing the almost-12 miles was an accomplishment.
We have 10 miles on the plan for Saturday and I'm looking forward to it. I will try to finish in 2 hrs 15 minutes. This week I've already logged 6+ miles. Sunday, Dakota and I did almost 3 miles of a fast walk with a little bit of running ~ just to stretch my legs and to get her accustomed to pacing herself. Monday all the kids and I went for a 1.5 mile walk to the track, around it once and back home. After they went to bed, I did another 3-ish miles on the treadmill. Overall, it felt good and my legs were strong. Consistency this week will make it all that much easier on Saturday.
Gotta run now ~ work is still a priority. Happy running!
I did run with the group on Saturday. We were slated to do 12 miles but the turnaround was filled with debris from Hurricane Ike; we cut it short and thought we'd made it up on the extra distance to the restrooms. As it turns out, we didn't. The run ended up at a distance of 11.67 miles: 2 hrs 56 minutes. That's not going to be good enough for the <6 hour target for the full marathon. It was really humid, somewhat hot, and toward the end, my legs (hip flexors mainly) were causing me serious pain so I walked more than I planned. I can counter that negativity by saying that prior to Saturday, I'd done one 3 mile walk/run (mostly walk) in 2 weeks. I think that was it. I did run 9 miles two-Saturday's before but then I didn't do much of anything else. Well, I did loads of stuff, just not running/fitness-stuff. Considering that, I'd say that even finishing the almost-12 miles was an accomplishment.
We have 10 miles on the plan for Saturday and I'm looking forward to it. I will try to finish in 2 hrs 15 minutes. This week I've already logged 6+ miles. Sunday, Dakota and I did almost 3 miles of a fast walk with a little bit of running ~ just to stretch my legs and to get her accustomed to pacing herself. Monday all the kids and I went for a 1.5 mile walk to the track, around it once and back home. After they went to bed, I did another 3-ish miles on the treadmill. Overall, it felt good and my legs were strong. Consistency this week will make it all that much easier on Saturday.
Gotta run now ~ work is still a priority. Happy running!
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
No time for updates, except to say I had a great time at the Nike Human Race 10k in Austin, and just last Saturday I ran 9 miles with KatyFit. It was fun and I felt like I could have gone farther. Very odd, but good since we're running 10 miles this Saturday ~ assuming the hurricane doesn't smack us.
If it does, at least it will get cooler. This place is still like a sauna.
If it does, at least it will get cooler. This place is still like a sauna.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Ya know, it's absolutely freaking unreal that every single time I write about a new outlook and feeling good about just being out there and "oh, going slower than the slowest little turtle out there isn't *that* bad" .. every single time... I end up going into some sort of illness inducing depression and I skip a week of workouts. What the heck is that about ?
So last week was a wash. It sucked. I did next to nothing from Sunday through Saturday. Granted, on Saturday morning/Friday night I woke at 1:00 a.m. with a migraine that I'd had most of the day and I didn't get back to sleep until about mid-morning when Joel returned from his cycling. He was sweet enough to let me rest most of the day but dang that headache just wouldn't dissipate. On Sunday, I woke up and ran out to the neighborhood track (paved 1k) and did just under 3 miles. Holy cow but it was hot at 8:00 a.m.!! Again I ask, what is that about?? Will it ever cool off in this godforsaken climate??
I was scheduled to run 8 miles. This was the long run before the Nike Human Race 10k coming up this Sunday. Well, 8 miles didn't happen. However, lest you readers think that I bailed after "just under 3 miles", allow me to set the record straight. I came home, told Joel he could head out for a ride before it got too far beyond 100 degrees, and I cranked up that treadmill. Another 3 miles and I was done. So I didn't do the full 8, but I did almost 6. Talk about intervals!
Tonight I ran a 5k on the treadmill. I'm still terribly slow. The finishing time (on the treadmill, in a climate controlled environment, with a treadmill fan blowing on me!) was 35:36, which by the way, is just one second slower than my fastest [treadmill] 5k ever (35:35).
They (the infamous *they* who decide these things) should just let me run all my races on treadmills. Under climate controlled conditions. With loads of water and a tv at my disposal.
It wouldn't be as pretty as it was on Sunday morning. Our little park is actually looking much better these days and I enjoyed seeing the neighbors, but I can't wait for it to cool off.
Check back with me when I begin whining about the cold rainy days. It's certain to happen.
Until then, I run... and run... and run.
So last week was a wash. It sucked. I did next to nothing from Sunday through Saturday. Granted, on Saturday morning/Friday night I woke at 1:00 a.m. with a migraine that I'd had most of the day and I didn't get back to sleep until about mid-morning when Joel returned from his cycling. He was sweet enough to let me rest most of the day but dang that headache just wouldn't dissipate. On Sunday, I woke up and ran out to the neighborhood track (paved 1k) and did just under 3 miles. Holy cow but it was hot at 8:00 a.m.!! Again I ask, what is that about?? Will it ever cool off in this godforsaken climate??
I was scheduled to run 8 miles. This was the long run before the Nike Human Race 10k coming up this Sunday. Well, 8 miles didn't happen. However, lest you readers think that I bailed after "just under 3 miles", allow me to set the record straight. I came home, told Joel he could head out for a ride before it got too far beyond 100 degrees, and I cranked up that treadmill. Another 3 miles and I was done. So I didn't do the full 8, but I did almost 6. Talk about intervals!
Tonight I ran a 5k on the treadmill. I'm still terribly slow. The finishing time (on the treadmill, in a climate controlled environment, with a treadmill fan blowing on me!) was 35:36, which by the way, is just one second slower than my fastest [treadmill] 5k ever (35:35).
They (the infamous *they* who decide these things) should just let me run all my races on treadmills. Under climate controlled conditions. With loads of water and a tv at my disposal.
It wouldn't be as pretty as it was on Sunday morning. Our little park is actually looking much better these days and I enjoyed seeing the neighbors, but I can't wait for it to cool off.
Check back with me when I begin whining about the cold rainy days. It's certain to happen.
Until then, I run... and run... and run.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Last week's workouts
Running
11 Aug: 35 min/easy DONE! 5k
12 Aug: 30 min / DONE! 2.51 mi.
14 Aug: 30 min / DONE! 2.63 mi.
16 Aug: 7 miles / DONE!
Pushups
11 Aug: 15/12/12/10/max DONE! 18/12/11/10/12
13 Aug: 16/14/14/12/max
15 Aug: 20/15/15/12/max
NOTE: I'm repeating this week 3 due to doing too many pushups in the P90 Sculpt 1/2 workout on the off days and screwing up my timing and recovery. Will just do extra squats and lunges and curls during the pushup section in the future.
Running
11 Aug: 35 min/easy DONE! 5k
12 Aug: 30 min / DONE! 2.51 mi.
14 Aug: 30 min / DONE! 2.63 mi.
16 Aug: 7 miles / DONE!
Pushups
11 Aug: 15/12/12/10/max DONE! 18/12/11/10/12
13 Aug: 16/14/14/12/max
15 Aug: 20/15/15/12/max
NOTE: I'm repeating this week 3 due to doing too many pushups in the P90 Sculpt 1/2 workout on the off days and screwing up my timing and recovery. Will just do extra squats and lunges and curls during the pushup section in the future.
Edited to add: I almost forgot!! I saw a rainbow Saturday morning. If I hadn't been running slower with M, I would have missed it. I am so thankful for that!
Saturday was weird. I woke up on time to meet the girls for a 6:00 a.m. 7 mile run. But I think I wasn't quite fully awake. See, I put on the wrong shoes, but I didn't realize it until we were a few meters into the run and I thought "better turn that nike+ thing on ~ don't want to miss out on logging this great run!" And guess what? It couldn't find my sensor. Know why? That's right. There was no sensor. I'd put on my Nike's but had my sensor in the shoe wallet on my Asics. Okay, so I'm a spaz.
So we were rocking right along ~ Trish and I discussing how we're going to continue motivating ourselves and each other ~ and I looked at my garmin and saw that we'd only gone 1.37 miles. What the hell? It felt like we'd been running forever. That's when Trish said we'd gone almost 2.5 miles and were 35 minutes into the run. My garmin showed a 20 minute run thus far. Clearly I was more of a spaz than could have been anticipated that morning and somewhere along the way I hit the stop button. That meant my nice 7 mile run wasn't even going to record properly on my garmin. Could I not catch a break??? just a little one???
Anyway, off we went to the turnaround point where we stopped to stretch. I felt surprisingly good. We had jogged at a slow enough pace that it felt comfortable for that "long-slow-run" day. Here's where things got a bit hinky though.
A few of the group came up as most of us had finished stretching. Rather than head off with the larger group I stayed behind to stretch with one of the gals and then we took off. She was struggling a bit so we went slower than I might have done alone and certainly slower than the rest of the group. We had a really good talk about motivation and continuing to run even when you think you suck. For instance, going that slowly felt to both of us like "wow, we suck at this" but one could argue that just being out there qualified us for as non-suckers. Or something like that. During the course of our conversation, we realized that we both tend to try to overdo things. From having been athletic in the past, it's a struggle to admit that a few decades and couple of babies later and we're no longer capable of the same things. That doesn't, however, mean we need to lie down and give up, right?
Giving up seems to have been what we've both done in the past. We made a pact that we wouldn't get down on ourselves for moving slower than others, and instead, we'll consider it a victory to continue.
Okay, that all sounds good but at the end of the run I felt like the 7 miles had been easy. Partly because of the squats and lunges I'd done during the week ~ my legs felt strong. But also because we moved so slowly on the way back that I felt like the second half of the workout was negated. I mean, you can't actually cover 3.5 miles and have it count for nothing, can you? And there was no way in the world I was going to leave her behind. Even though the path is well-lit and there were tons of people out there, you just don't leave someone behind. Especially when that someone is mentally struggling to continue.
So I'm glad I hung back with her. I was able to get to know a really nice person by doing it, and it's the sort of thing that I would have wanted someone to do for me. Knowing how I can't just accept things as-is, I worry that this could be something I allow to become a repeat event. The only downside to that is my not being fully prepared to run the marathon in under 6 hours. If I go too slowly on the Saturday runs, will I be able to pull it together on the big day? I mean, I like helping others but I didn't volunteer to coach. I'm actually out there trying to improve my own running and ..... wow, I sound like a witch, don't I?
I think that I'll just have to step up my weekday runs so that if our group coaches aren't able to accommodate all the runners in our group, I can do it again, if needed. That way I can meet both goals ~ improve my running and maintain my ability to face myself in the mirror.
Saturday was weird. I woke up on time to meet the girls for a 6:00 a.m. 7 mile run. But I think I wasn't quite fully awake. See, I put on the wrong shoes, but I didn't realize it until we were a few meters into the run and I thought "better turn that nike+ thing on ~ don't want to miss out on logging this great run!" And guess what? It couldn't find my sensor. Know why? That's right. There was no sensor. I'd put on my Nike's but had my sensor in the shoe wallet on my Asics. Okay, so I'm a spaz.
So we were rocking right along ~ Trish and I discussing how we're going to continue motivating ourselves and each other ~ and I looked at my garmin and saw that we'd only gone 1.37 miles. What the hell? It felt like we'd been running forever. That's when Trish said we'd gone almost 2.5 miles and were 35 minutes into the run. My garmin showed a 20 minute run thus far. Clearly I was more of a spaz than could have been anticipated that morning and somewhere along the way I hit the stop button. That meant my nice 7 mile run wasn't even going to record properly on my garmin. Could I not catch a break??? just a little one???
Anyway, off we went to the turnaround point where we stopped to stretch. I felt surprisingly good. We had jogged at a slow enough pace that it felt comfortable for that "long-slow-run" day. Here's where things got a bit hinky though.
A few of the group came up as most of us had finished stretching. Rather than head off with the larger group I stayed behind to stretch with one of the gals and then we took off. She was struggling a bit so we went slower than I might have done alone and certainly slower than the rest of the group. We had a really good talk about motivation and continuing to run even when you think you suck. For instance, going that slowly felt to both of us like "wow, we suck at this" but one could argue that just being out there qualified us for as non-suckers. Or something like that. During the course of our conversation, we realized that we both tend to try to overdo things. From having been athletic in the past, it's a struggle to admit that a few decades and couple of babies later and we're no longer capable of the same things. That doesn't, however, mean we need to lie down and give up, right?
Giving up seems to have been what we've both done in the past. We made a pact that we wouldn't get down on ourselves for moving slower than others, and instead, we'll consider it a victory to continue.
Okay, that all sounds good but at the end of the run I felt like the 7 miles had been easy. Partly because of the squats and lunges I'd done during the week ~ my legs felt strong. But also because we moved so slowly on the way back that I felt like the second half of the workout was negated. I mean, you can't actually cover 3.5 miles and have it count for nothing, can you? And there was no way in the world I was going to leave her behind. Even though the path is well-lit and there were tons of people out there, you just don't leave someone behind. Especially when that someone is mentally struggling to continue.
So I'm glad I hung back with her. I was able to get to know a really nice person by doing it, and it's the sort of thing that I would have wanted someone to do for me. Knowing how I can't just accept things as-is, I worry that this could be something I allow to become a repeat event. The only downside to that is my not being fully prepared to run the marathon in under 6 hours. If I go too slowly on the Saturday runs, will I be able to pull it together on the big day? I mean, I like helping others but I didn't volunteer to coach. I'm actually out there trying to improve my own running and ..... wow, I sound like a witch, don't I?
I think that I'll just have to step up my weekday runs so that if our group coaches aren't able to accommodate all the runners in our group, I can do it again, if needed. That way I can meet both goals ~ improve my running and maintain my ability to face myself in the mirror.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Yesterday was a great day. It was a bit too hectic at work, as is normal, and I even had to bring work home, but I didn't let that interfere with other priorities. Other priorities being: 1) eat clean and 2) exercise.
I swear, this is such a huge feat for me that I should make it a public announcement: I ATE ALL OF WHAT I PLANNED TO EAT AND ONLY WHAT I PLANNED TO EAT, AND I DIDN'T BINGE ALL DAY (OR NIGHT)!!!!
Silly? Sure. But a huge accomplishment nonetheless. See, I had this plan to go home and fix salmon and I actually did it. Often in the past, I'd have that plan, get home, realize I had tons of work to do and wanted to carve out time to exercise, so I'd either skip dinner altogether and find myself too exhausted to have a good workout or binge on cheese-its & bbq sauce (yea, weird, but it's my thing) and find myself too queasy to have a good workout. So not only did I fix the planned healthy meal, I was so glad to find out it was quite delicious!
It's been a long time since I've tried to plan my meals and log them and eat according to a 40/40/20 distribution of macronutrients. I seem not to be one of those people who can just make good choices at each meal and have it all balance out at the end of the day. It's safe to say I'm not there yet, although I still remain hopeful.
Today looks to be another good day, even if it will be another long and busy one. More later on an interesting e-mail I received from TrainingPeaks.
I swear, this is such a huge feat for me that I should make it a public announcement: I ATE ALL OF WHAT I PLANNED TO EAT AND ONLY WHAT I PLANNED TO EAT, AND I DIDN'T BINGE ALL DAY (OR NIGHT)!!!!
Silly? Sure. But a huge accomplishment nonetheless. See, I had this plan to go home and fix salmon and I actually did it. Often in the past, I'd have that plan, get home, realize I had tons of work to do and wanted to carve out time to exercise, so I'd either skip dinner altogether and find myself too exhausted to have a good workout or binge on cheese-its & bbq sauce (yea, weird, but it's my thing) and find myself too queasy to have a good workout. So not only did I fix the planned healthy meal, I was so glad to find out it was quite delicious!
It's been a long time since I've tried to plan my meals and log them and eat according to a 40/40/20 distribution of macronutrients. I seem not to be one of those people who can just make good choices at each meal and have it all balance out at the end of the day. It's safe to say I'm not there yet, although I still remain hopeful.
Today looks to be another good day, even if it will be another long and busy one. More later on an interesting e-mail I received from TrainingPeaks.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
This week was certainly not my best effort. Although effort wasn't the problem as much as being unable to breathe or think due to the cold/fever-ish stuff I picked up at last week's group run. Yuck.
So due to feeling like crap, I did Monday's run r-e-a-l-l-y slowly and skipped Tues & Thurs, did Friday's pushups and Saturday mornings long run. Long, slow run. Very slow and no shame in that!
The pushups were a bigger challenge than I expected. Well, first I still couldn't breathe and had just taken more Advil Cold & Sinus (this stuff workeds, but I still had no energy and was worried about not recovering from whatever it was). But also, it was a total of 47 pushups, I think. That's quite a bit for someone who hasn't done any in months. It felt pretty great to finish and even better to realize that my biceps were twitching for the next 30 minutes. Sort of a "wow ~ I did something!" moment. I loved it!
So due to feeling like crap, I did Monday's run r-e-a-l-l-y slowly and skipped Tues & Thurs, did Friday's pushups and Saturday mornings long run. Long, slow run. Very slow and no shame in that!
The pushups were a bigger challenge than I expected. Well, first I still couldn't breathe and had just taken more Advil Cold & Sinus (this stuff workeds, but I still had no energy and was worried about not recovering from whatever it was). But also, it was a total of 47 pushups, I think. That's quite a bit for someone who hasn't done any in months. It felt pretty great to finish and even better to realize that my biceps were twitching for the next 30 minutes. Sort of a "wow ~ I did something!" moment. I loved it!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Training Plan for Week of: 4 Aug 2008
Running (looks like an easy week)
Running (looks like an easy week)
- 4 Aug: 25 minutes run/jog / 25:26; 2.15 miles (treadmill)
- 5 Aug: 30 minutes run/jog / skipped ~ ill
- 7 Aug: 20 minutes run/jog / skipped ~ ill
- 9 Aug: 6 miles long, slow run / 1:30:00 ; TH Park
- 4 Aug: W2D1: 9, 8, 6, 4, max / 9, 8, 6, 4, 9
- 6 Aug: W2D2: 11, 9, 7, 7, max / skipped ~ ill
- 8 Aug: W2D3: 10, 10, 8, 8, max / 10, 10, 8, 8, 11
Other Stuff
- 6 Aug: Muscle Breakdown spinning dvd / skipped ~ ill
- 8 Aug: Recharge spinning dvd / skipped ~ ill
- 10 Aug: Recharge spinning dvd
Week 1 of Hundred Pushups Challenge
- W1D1: 7, 7, 5, 4, max / 8, 7, 5, 4, 9
- W1D2: 9, 8, 6, 5, max / 9, 8, 6, 5, 10
- W1D3: 10, 8, 8, 5, max / 10, 8, 8, 5, 8
Day 1 of Week 2 of the Hundred Pushups Challenge. Despite having a cold/sinus thing from hell, the pushups went rather well. Jogging for 25 minutes went less well, but I didn't expect much. Still 2.15 miles, as medicated as I am, I'll take it.
I've decided I need to be a bit more clear on what I'm doing with this challenge. I need to better track my training, and although I do track it on Training Peaks, I don't keep up with all the little details. One day they might matter. I suppose the best way to track it is to do a post at the beginning of the week with the plan, and return to it to update/edit as the week progresses.
Okay, off to do that now!
I've decided I need to be a bit more clear on what I'm doing with this challenge. I need to better track my training, and although I do track it on Training Peaks, I don't keep up with all the little details. One day they might matter. I suppose the best way to track it is to do a post at the beginning of the week with the plan, and return to it to update/edit as the week progresses.
Okay, off to do that now!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Well, I'm keeping up with my weekly training schedule. It's nothing too ... what's the word I'm looking for? Too ambitious maybe? My goals are reasonable. I'm not trying to break any records ~ good thing, too! I'm simply following the KatyFit plan, and it seems not to be too much of a jump from doing little bits of not much to what I'm doing now.
Nothing is hurting too badly, anyway. Nothing more than my left Achilles' tendon, although I find that icing it after a Saturday run is sufficient to keep it from flaring up too wildly. This getting older business sucks. I suppose it would suck even more if I didn't do anything to try and improve my fitness level.
So, Monday was day 1 of the Hundred Push-Up Challenge for me. O U C H !!! Actually, I did not so great on the initial test, but I was able to complete the full day of pu's without any problems. (I guess that's what happens when you're on the slow/weak person's program!) It's a Mon-Wed-Fri thing, so I look forward to trying this again tomorrow. I could definitely feel a soreness in my chest while I was jogging tonight. That's good, right?
I heard tonight about an alleged hazing incident at a local high school. All I can see is that I don't look forward to my daughter growing up. Too many young girls (not all obviously, but the ones you hear about on the news) have no sense, less class, and a dire need to have their butts whipped. What the hell are they thinking to pee in their undies and put them on someone's head?? Someone you're going to be cheering with all year long. Someone who is likely to be on your shoulders at some point... Someone who could easily have an OOPS! moment in the near future.
Clearly I'm about revenge. It'll be interesting to see how this is managed. The girls are all said to be away at cheer-camp right now, so nothing happens until later. District policy is supposed to specify that anyone participating in "hazing" will be removed from the team and not allowed to participate in other extracurricular activities. hmmmmm I hope that if these girls really did do this that the punishment is applied fairly and not ignored because of *who* they are. (note: I say that without knowing a single thing about who these girls might be.. it's the principle of the thing in my opinion.) I guess we'll see what happens soon enough. Until then, yuck!
Nothing is hurting too badly, anyway. Nothing more than my left Achilles' tendon, although I find that icing it after a Saturday run is sufficient to keep it from flaring up too wildly. This getting older business sucks. I suppose it would suck even more if I didn't do anything to try and improve my fitness level.
So, Monday was day 1 of the Hundred Push-Up Challenge for me. O U C H !!! Actually, I did not so great on the initial test, but I was able to complete the full day of pu's without any problems. (I guess that's what happens when you're on the slow/weak person's program!) It's a Mon-Wed-Fri thing, so I look forward to trying this again tomorrow. I could definitely feel a soreness in my chest while I was jogging tonight. That's good, right?
I heard tonight about an alleged hazing incident at a local high school. All I can see is that I don't look forward to my daughter growing up. Too many young girls (not all obviously, but the ones you hear about on the news) have no sense, less class, and a dire need to have their butts whipped. What the hell are they thinking to pee in their undies and put them on someone's head?? Someone you're going to be cheering with all year long. Someone who is likely to be on your shoulders at some point... Someone who could easily have an OOPS! moment in the near future.
Clearly I'm about revenge. It'll be interesting to see how this is managed. The girls are all said to be away at cheer-camp right now, so nothing happens until later. District policy is supposed to specify that anyone participating in "hazing" will be removed from the team and not allowed to participate in other extracurricular activities. hmmmmm I hope that if these girls really did do this that the punishment is applied fairly and not ignored because of *who* they are. (note: I say that without knowing a single thing about who these girls might be.. it's the principle of the thing in my opinion.) I guess we'll see what happens soon enough. Until then, yuck!
Friday, July 25, 2008
I ran 30 minutes on the treadmill last night. Nothing phenomenal about it ~ just getting the minutes in to increase my endurance. I'm working on lengthening my stride on the treadmill so that I'm working harder and hopefully, better mimicking what I'd be doing if I ran outside.
I've scheduled a very early morning run on Saturday with the girls. 5 miles. It'll be nice to get out and run with them while it's still somewhat cool. The group is meeting later for the same distance, but I prefer completing the run earlier this weekend.
Not much else going on here, except that I learned about this neat little Hundred Push-up Challenge I'm thinking of doing. It should be quite difficult, very challenging, and lots of fun.
Work is so crazy right now that I can't even think to blog. My mind is a blank because it's so filled with work stuff. Since I don't blog about that, I'll end this now.
I've scheduled a very early morning run on Saturday with the girls. 5 miles. It'll be nice to get out and run with them while it's still somewhat cool. The group is meeting later for the same distance, but I prefer completing the run earlier this weekend.
Not much else going on here, except that I learned about this neat little Hundred Push-up Challenge I'm thinking of doing. It should be quite difficult, very challenging, and lots of fun.
Work is so crazy right now that I can't even think to blog. My mind is a blank because it's so filled with work stuff. Since I don't blog about that, I'll end this now.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Patricia, if you're reading, I ran again today! 35 minutes, well 34:36, and I did 3 miles. yay me! Last night's run was super slow because I took the doggie out with me. She had fun, but she stopped and sniffed a lot, too. Tonight was quicker because I was in a climate controlled environment with a/c and a fan ~ yes, I ran on the dreadmill.
Gotta love the t/dreadmill; it makes my overall average speed look much less pathetic.
Tomorrow is a night off, but think I'll try to do yoga or pilates or something useful. Hunter also has to film an audition for a Target commercial. Wish her luck!
Gotta love the t/dreadmill; it makes my overall average speed look much less pathetic.
Tomorrow is a night off, but think I'll try to do yoga or pilates or something useful. Hunter also has to film an audition for a Target commercial. Wish her luck!
Monday, July 21, 2008
So I haven't blogged in a while... again. I have been running, minus the business trip to Toronto. It would have been great to run there, and I did take my stuff with a plan to do just that ~ run. Then there were the long hours of work and then the long hours of networking and then the multiple glasses of wine and/or vodka. It just didn't add up to a landscape that said "put on your running shoes & go!"
Actually, it did but I felt obligated [read: weak] to do the social thing with the boss I only see rarely and the team members from other places. The course I attended was great. I can't wait to begin instructing. But I needed to run, and I didn't.
I paid for it on Saturday morning. Trish was unable to join us as she's still in Cali, so Tina asked that I run with the front of the group, while she ensured that we didn't lose any stragglers off the back end. That worked out well as our group is full of different paces and fitness levels. I felt badly because we had one woman who had to get to work fairly quickly and so she needed to run faster than the group was going. If I'd gone with her, the bulk of the group would have been left behind. What I did was keep an eye out for her going on without us and one of the guys ran up with her (safety, and all that). It worked out well. We all finished slowly, but we finished and I felt good in the end.
Only note on aches/pains is that this is the second Saturday in a row that my left Achilles tendon has felt tight and painful (not excruciating, just not good) toward the end of the run. Then it gets worse throughout the day. I avoided much of the "later in the day" pain by first taking the kids and the rottie to the park then returning the rottie to the house and taking the kids to the pool. We hung out there all afternoon and had a blast. I also think the water & stretching worked to relieve some of the pain. Oh yeah, and the ice I put on it. That didn't hurt.
At this point, I'm not worried about it but I am going to keep an eye on how it feels. The goal is to do this stuff without getting hurt. Doing it is not enough ~ it must be that I'm doing it pain-free.
Next event is 8/31/2008 ~ HR10k in Austin ~ woohoo!
Actually, it did but I felt obligated [read: weak] to do the social thing with the boss I only see rarely and the team members from other places. The course I attended was great. I can't wait to begin instructing. But I needed to run, and I didn't.
I paid for it on Saturday morning. Trish was unable to join us as she's still in Cali, so Tina asked that I run with the front of the group, while she ensured that we didn't lose any stragglers off the back end. That worked out well as our group is full of different paces and fitness levels. I felt badly because we had one woman who had to get to work fairly quickly and so she needed to run faster than the group was going. If I'd gone with her, the bulk of the group would have been left behind. What I did was keep an eye out for her going on without us and one of the guys ran up with her (safety, and all that). It worked out well. We all finished slowly, but we finished and I felt good in the end.
Only note on aches/pains is that this is the second Saturday in a row that my left Achilles tendon has felt tight and painful (not excruciating, just not good) toward the end of the run. Then it gets worse throughout the day. I avoided much of the "later in the day" pain by first taking the kids and the rottie to the park then returning the rottie to the house and taking the kids to the pool. We hung out there all afternoon and had a blast. I also think the water & stretching worked to relieve some of the pain. Oh yeah, and the ice I put on it. That didn't hurt.
At this point, I'm not worried about it but I am going to keep an eye on how it feels. The goal is to do this stuff without getting hurt. Doing it is not enough ~ it must be that I'm doing it pain-free.
Next event is 8/31/2008 ~ HR10k in Austin ~ woohoo!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Today I woke up early to run before going to work. I knew I'd return home late after the HOA Board meeting and I wanted to be certain I didn't have any excuses to avoid my run. It turned out to be a good thing. My legs didn't feel too tired. They weren't too sore while I was running. I did simple 3/1 repeats and was able to maintain a faster pace due to more frequent walking breaks. I hate doing 3/1's. They feel like failure to me. HUGE, HORRIBLE, CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. (yes, I know I tend to be a bit dramatic at times)
However, compared to overstressing myself and not being able to finish what I start, I'll have to accept that I am not at the level I want to be just yet. That sucks, but it's the truth, and one thing I've learned is that no matter how ugly the truth is, it's still the truth. It doesn't change just because it's not pretty enough.
I head out on a business trip next week. It's to a new place, so I'm excited about that. Also, I have a new camera and I'm anxious to test it. New places are usually good for that sort of thing.
I'm tired now so I'm going to curl up with with chocolate, a good book, and Nicholas and go to sleep. He's already in our bed and asking if he can share my pillow. Between him and Joel, I can't decide who is giving me the biggest puppy dog looks and fussing the most for me to come to bed. It's cute and sweet. I think I'll go now.
However, compared to overstressing myself and not being able to finish what I start, I'll have to accept that I am not at the level I want to be just yet. That sucks, but it's the truth, and one thing I've learned is that no matter how ugly the truth is, it's still the truth. It doesn't change just because it's not pretty enough.
I head out on a business trip next week. It's to a new place, so I'm excited about that. Also, I have a new camera and I'm anxious to test it. New places are usually good for that sort of thing.
I'm tired now so I'm going to curl up with with chocolate, a good book, and Nicholas and go to sleep. He's already in our bed and asking if he can share my pillow. Between him and Joel, I can't decide who is giving me the biggest puppy dog looks and fussing the most for me to come to bed. It's cute and sweet. I think I'll go now.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Today I received an email from the KatyFit coach with a bunch of info for use in preparing to start training. It's embarrassing to admit how excited I was to get it. Apparently it doesn't take much to get me all worked up these days.
So, off I rushed to download the entire season's training plan and after reviewing it my thoughts were somewhere along the line of, wtf was I thinking? Then I shocked myself by thinking, I should have signed up for the half.. the half would have been easy. Oh yeah, says the woman who turtled through a 5k with an official time of 41:12. Easy-peasy as my colleague would say.
Once I reminded myself that this is not only a challenge, but in fact is also a birthday present to myself (the whole achievement thing), I moved on to my next fear ~ there aren't enough really LONG runs in there. Okay, pardon me but really, what do I know about this other than what I read? I barely know enough to know what's crap and what's good advice. Why on Earth would I question guidance from a national training organization?
Yep, you guessed it. I have already begun lining up excuses for failure. What's remarkable is that I only just realized that fact. I thought I was simply being a know-it-all and difficult, as I'm often prone to be. So tomorrow, when Joel asks why I was up typing after I logged my training data into the system, I'll be able to say I was having a lightbulb moment.
Speaking of those moments when you realize something profound, or less than profound, I'm anticipating another one soon. I've been eating everything that can't run from me and I don't know what the motivation behind that could be. Whatever it is, it isn't fun and it needs to end in a hurry. I've been under stress at work, but that's not anything new and it's good stress. I'm completely wigging out about something else but I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. By putting it out there into the Universe, I hope to release it.
I won't be a slave to that which won't show itself, ya know? That sounds a bit like a taunt, although it's not meant to be. No good reason exists to fret and agonize over something that's vague and lacking in clarity. Enough real horror is present to obsess about, if I choose to do it.
I choose not.
So, off I rushed to download the entire season's training plan and after reviewing it my thoughts were somewhere along the line of, wtf was I thinking? Then I shocked myself by thinking, I should have signed up for the half.. the half would have been easy. Oh yeah, says the woman who turtled through a 5k with an official time of 41:12. Easy-peasy as my colleague would say.
Once I reminded myself that this is not only a challenge, but in fact is also a birthday present to myself (the whole achievement thing), I moved on to my next fear ~ there aren't enough really LONG runs in there. Okay, pardon me but really, what do I know about this other than what I read? I barely know enough to know what's crap and what's good advice. Why on Earth would I question guidance from a national training organization?
Yep, you guessed it. I have already begun lining up excuses for failure. What's remarkable is that I only just realized that fact. I thought I was simply being a know-it-all and difficult, as I'm often prone to be. So tomorrow, when Joel asks why I was up typing after I logged my training data into the system, I'll be able to say I was having a lightbulb moment.
Speaking of those moments when you realize something profound, or less than profound, I'm anticipating another one soon. I've been eating everything that can't run from me and I don't know what the motivation behind that could be. Whatever it is, it isn't fun and it needs to end in a hurry. I've been under stress at work, but that's not anything new and it's good stress. I'm completely wigging out about something else but I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. By putting it out there into the Universe, I hope to release it.
I won't be a slave to that which won't show itself, ya know? That sounds a bit like a taunt, although it's not meant to be. No good reason exists to fret and agonize over something that's vague and lacking in clarity. Enough real horror is present to obsess about, if I choose to do it.
I choose not.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Today I turtled through the Run Wild 5k at Uptown Park Plaza. Seriously, I wonder if I could have been slower if I tried. I wasn't the slowest person out there, not even in the slowest 20 actually. However, my hr was so flippin' high that I was actually scared at the end. I didn't hurt at all, but I'm not stupid and I know when I need to slow down and get my hr under control.
I wonder if it was because I was dehydrated; I didn't take as much care as I should have to properly hydrate this week. Frankly, I had far too many diet cokes this past week. I also got in little exercise. Joel is home this week, my new manager was in town, and I wanted to spend my evenings with the kids. That all combined to result in no workouts during the week. 6 miles on Saturday, 3 miles on Sunday followed by walking all day at SeaWorld, then nothing until this morning.
It's no wonder I felt horrible.
Tomorrow I meet Tina & Trish early to do another 3 or 4 miles. At least it won't be 100 degrees at 5:30!
I wonder if it was because I was dehydrated; I didn't take as much care as I should have to properly hydrate this week. Frankly, I had far too many diet cokes this past week. I also got in little exercise. Joel is home this week, my new manager was in town, and I wanted to spend my evenings with the kids. That all combined to result in no workouts during the week. 6 miles on Saturday, 3 miles on Sunday followed by walking all day at SeaWorld, then nothing until this morning.
It's no wonder I felt horrible.
Tomorrow I meet Tina & Trish early to do another 3 or 4 miles. At least it won't be 100 degrees at 5:30!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
6 miles today, and a big old OUCH this evening. Nothing more than being sore from having not run much more than 2 miles at a time in a couple of weeks. So Tina had a swim meet with kids this morning and Patricia ended up with a delayed flight from the west coast, and I ran alone. Me and the hundred other folks who were out there ~ running, cycling, and I even saw one guy inline-skating. I miss doing that. I wish I'd known about this trail/park when I first moved here.
I was worried that running alone ~ without another person willing to turtle along with me ~ would make it difficult for me to do the full run that I'd planned. Instead, I had my iPod with me and just let the music set the pace. That and the HR readings from the new Garmin305 I splurged on. Not only do I know for real how far I've run now, but I also know I can find my way back if I'm ever foolish enough to get off course. Having a screwy calibration, care of my calibrating the Nike+ on a treadmill was likely to be detrimental to training for this marathon. With the extra .20miles it added for just about every real mile I ran, well, just do the math on that. I'd never train as much as I should, and then the 26.2 would end up feeling like 30+ or something.
The kids and Joel are playing KungFuPanda on the Wii as I type this. It's cute and they're just cheering daddy on! I think we may end up at the movie soon. Hunter's seen it but Nicholas, Joel & I have not. hmmmm what else.. tomorrow we head out for a day trip to SeaWorld. We had such a great time there week before last with Dakota and them that we're taking the little ones for the day. The season passes definitely look like they'll be getting used this year. I plan to get up and do a short recovery run with the girls early and then come home, clean up, and head out for the 2+ hours in the car. Nicholas has been asking all week to go back on the "rollercoaster boat" and the "dolphin rollercoaster". So it looks like we're going. I'm looking forward to it.
Oh, and I'm all excited because I signed up for a 5k on the 4th of July and I can't wait to do it! Also, I just signed up for the Nike+ Human Race 10K something or other in Austin... woohoo!
On the new shoe front, below is the link to the pair I have. I'm still not sure if I love them or need to trade them in for something more suitable. They're really comfy, but the heel feels low. I wonder if that won't become a problem on a long run. Since I want to consider returning them, I don't want to take them out for a longer (for me) run. I should have gone to a running store. The folks at the particular Sports Authority from which I purchased them had no clue about the shoes they were selling, other than the price. Oh well... lesson learned.
Nike Zoom Hayward 3.0 If anyone has info/opinions/etc on these shoes, please post a comment. Thanks!
I was worried that running alone ~ without another person willing to turtle along with me ~ would make it difficult for me to do the full run that I'd planned. Instead, I had my iPod with me and just let the music set the pace. That and the HR readings from the new Garmin305 I splurged on. Not only do I know for real how far I've run now, but I also know I can find my way back if I'm ever foolish enough to get off course. Having a screwy calibration, care of my calibrating the Nike+ on a treadmill was likely to be detrimental to training for this marathon. With the extra .20miles it added for just about every real mile I ran, well, just do the math on that. I'd never train as much as I should, and then the 26.2 would end up feeling like 30+ or something.
The kids and Joel are playing KungFuPanda on the Wii as I type this. It's cute and they're just cheering daddy on! I think we may end up at the movie soon. Hunter's seen it but Nicholas, Joel & I have not. hmmmm what else.. tomorrow we head out for a day trip to SeaWorld. We had such a great time there week before last with Dakota and them that we're taking the little ones for the day. The season passes definitely look like they'll be getting used this year. I plan to get up and do a short recovery run with the girls early and then come home, clean up, and head out for the 2+ hours in the car. Nicholas has been asking all week to go back on the "rollercoaster boat" and the "dolphin rollercoaster". So it looks like we're going. I'm looking forward to it.
Oh, and I'm all excited because I signed up for a 5k on the 4th of July and I can't wait to do it! Also, I just signed up for the Nike+ Human Race 10K something or other in Austin... woohoo!
On the new shoe front, below is the link to the pair I have. I'm still not sure if I love them or need to trade them in for something more suitable. They're really comfy, but the heel feels low. I wonder if that won't become a problem on a long run. Since I want to consider returning them, I don't want to take them out for a longer (for me) run. I should have gone to a running store. The folks at the particular Sports Authority from which I purchased them had no clue about the shoes they were selling, other than the price. Oh well... lesson learned.
Nike Zoom Hayward 3.0 If anyone has info/opinions/etc on these shoes, please post a comment. Thanks!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
I'm still not consistent about posting, but I'm getting better about running. Go me!
I managed to leave my iPod at home tonight so I couldn't officially track my 2 mile run through Nike+. I did add it to the BTT tracker, but it won't count in my challenges. That's a shame. Every slow mile that I slug through should count, I think.
My laptop battery is almost drained. It's late, and I'm tired. There's not much to say except that I'm still enjoying running. Yoga took a backseat this week to work, which is crazy. I did manage to get in some cross-training on the elliptical trainer. I think I'm almost ready to try spinning again or possibly, just maybe, swimming.
Then again, maybe I'll just stick to running and whatever you call what I do on the elliptical machine. Swimming seems like too much mental effort, or I could just be a wuss.
I managed to leave my iPod at home tonight so I couldn't officially track my 2 mile run through Nike+. I did add it to the BTT tracker, but it won't count in my challenges. That's a shame. Every slow mile that I slug through should count, I think.
My laptop battery is almost drained. It's late, and I'm tired. There's not much to say except that I'm still enjoying running. Yoga took a backseat this week to work, which is crazy. I did manage to get in some cross-training on the elliptical trainer. I think I'm almost ready to try spinning again or possibly, just maybe, swimming.
Then again, maybe I'll just stick to running and whatever you call what I do on the elliptical machine. Swimming seems like too much mental effort, or I could just be a wuss.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Yoga rocks.
Went to a fantastic 60 minute class mid-day. I was a bit sore from this week's running and in need of relaxation and stretching, and the class did not disappoint. Lots of static positions, a whole bunch of stretching, and even some visualization thrown in there for good measure. I so enjoy it when the instructor doesn't just approach yoga as an athletic endeavor, but one for the mind, body, and soul.
So what do I do when I feel all rejuvenated and inspired? I rush home after work, feed the kiddos a quick dinner, pile them into the car, and go to Bally's where I proceeded to spend 20 minutes on the StairMaster (not the stepper but the actual stair-climbing torture device) and then 40 minutes on the elliptical machine. It just feels so good to be active again. I know I still have a long way to go, but this is so much better than the whole couch-potato image I was sporting.
yuck. That visual was just icky, wasn't it?
The weight loss effort is going well. I'm down about 15lbs. R E A L L Y S L O W P R O G R E SS but I am happy that the scale is moving in the right direction. It could be a lot worse if I wasn't losing, or gaining. I think it's helpful that I'm attempting to make better choices about food. Instead of just starving myself and then binging on crap, I'm probably half starving myself and then eating healthy foods. It's a start, right?
Occasionally I feel a panic attack coming on when I think about 26.2 miles. At this point, 5 miles seems like a killer. 10 is a "holy shit, how will I do that?!" moment. 26.2????
I am SO going to do this. Not only am I determined, but I'm also excited. I really can't wait! The weight loss will be a perk, not to mention that it will make it easier to finish the run, but beyond that, just running this marathon will be such an accomplishment.
Went to a fantastic 60 minute class mid-day. I was a bit sore from this week's running and in need of relaxation and stretching, and the class did not disappoint. Lots of static positions, a whole bunch of stretching, and even some visualization thrown in there for good measure. I so enjoy it when the instructor doesn't just approach yoga as an athletic endeavor, but one for the mind, body, and soul.
So what do I do when I feel all rejuvenated and inspired? I rush home after work, feed the kiddos a quick dinner, pile them into the car, and go to Bally's where I proceeded to spend 20 minutes on the StairMaster (not the stepper but the actual stair-climbing torture device) and then 40 minutes on the elliptical machine. It just feels so good to be active again. I know I still have a long way to go, but this is so much better than the whole couch-potato image I was sporting.
yuck. That visual was just icky, wasn't it?
The weight loss effort is going well. I'm down about 15lbs. R E A L L Y S L O W P R O G R E SS but I am happy that the scale is moving in the right direction. It could be a lot worse if I wasn't losing, or
Occasionally I feel a panic attack coming on when I think about 26.2 miles. At this point, 5 miles seems like a killer. 10 is a "holy shit, how will I do that?!" moment. 26.2????
I am SO going to do this. Not only am I determined, but I'm also excited. I really can't wait! The weight loss will be a perk, not to mention that it will make it easier to finish the run, but beyond that, just running this marathon will be such an accomplishment.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Sometimes I wonder how a few select people make it through the day without just keeling over from the sheer magnitude of the combination of ignorance and ego. And then I come home and run and feel a bit better. Thank goodness I have Friday off.
The more I run, the more I realize that running is beginning to provide me with the sense of calm I've needed for a while. I still have a long way to go towards finding peace, seeking joy, and all that kum-bah-yah crap, but I'm enjoying the journey.
Tonight's run felt good; I felt stronger than I have in ages. The reasoning behind it is a mystery to me, but I'm appreciative nonetheless. I'm looking forward to Saturday's run with Tina and the other KatyFit'ers.
Tomorrow I'll try to make it to a mid-day yoga class, but the work may get out of control. I think I should rename "yoga" to "physical therapy". It is, after all, the prescribed route for physio-ing my shoulder injury so it's not entirely untrue. Besides, they have the BEST yummy salads I can bring back for lunch.
The kids had so much fun at Bally's the other night that I'll try and make time to get up there after work with them. I hope to get in some cardio that evening, even if it's just elliptical training or the stair machine. It wouldn't kill me to do some resistance training, but I'm still hesitant about my shoulder. Think I'll stick with yoga for a bit until I know my arm isn't going to go all painful on me again.
I suppose that's it for now. It's time to see if I can convince Nicholas to get back in bed. The kid just doesn't require any sleep. I don't know how he does it!
Toodles!
The more I run, the more I realize that running is beginning to provide me with the sense of calm I've needed for a while. I still have a long way to go towards finding peace, seeking joy, and all that kum-bah-yah crap, but I'm enjoying the journey.
Tonight's run felt good; I felt stronger than I have in ages. The reasoning behind it is a mystery to me, but I'm appreciative nonetheless. I'm looking forward to Saturday's run with Tina and the other KatyFit'ers.
Tomorrow I'll try to make it to a mid-day yoga class, but the work may get out of control. I think I should rename "yoga" to "physical therapy". It is, after all, the prescribed route for physio-ing my shoulder injury so it's not entirely untrue. Besides, they have the BEST yummy salads I can bring back for lunch.
The kids had so much fun at Bally's the other night that I'll try and make time to get up there after work with them. I hope to get in some cardio that evening, even if it's just elliptical training or the stair machine. It wouldn't kill me to do some resistance training, but I'm still hesitant about my shoulder. Think I'll stick with yoga for a bit until I know my arm isn't going to go all painful on me again.
I suppose that's it for now. It's time to see if I can convince Nicholas to get back in bed. The kid just doesn't require any sleep. I don't know how he does it!
Toodles!
Monday, May 12, 2008
I still love running.
It's still kicking my tail. Tonight was surprisingly easy given that I spent last week in Chicago doing nothing but working, eating & having my limit of 1-2 glasses of red wine per evening. I'm lucky I didn't gain 10 lbs.
Saturday's run is schedule to begin earlier to accommodate the heat and increasingly longer distances. Fortunately, I'm still not going that long. I'll get there, but not quite yet.
I'm sort of excited about going this week because it looks like Joel might go with me. He put forth a half-hearted effort once before when I tried to get him involved in what I enjoyed, but that's all become clear in the past few months as to why he never really gave it a shot. Now that we're moving beyond those problems, I hope he can find enjoyment in the things I like, as I'm trying to do the same for him.
We'll see. I am looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.
It's still kicking my tail. Tonight was surprisingly easy given that I spent last week in Chicago doing nothing but working, eating & having my limit of 1-2 glasses of red wine per evening. I'm lucky I didn't gain 10 lbs.
Saturday's run is schedule to begin earlier to accommodate the heat and increasingly longer distances. Fortunately, I'm still not going that long. I'll get there, but not quite yet.
I'm sort of excited about going this week because it looks like Joel might go with me. He put forth a half-hearted effort once before when I tried to get him involved in what I enjoyed, but that's all become clear in the past few months as to why he never really gave it a shot. Now that we're moving beyond those problems, I hope he can find enjoyment in the things I like, as I'm trying to do the same for him.
We'll see. I am looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday morning began early with a run with Tina. It was so nice to see her again. We started at the cop-shop and ran/walked for about 3.55 miles assuming my calibration on the iPod is correct and 4.00 miles, assuming it isn't. For the sake of my sore muscles, I'll claim it isn't.
I had forgotten how much more difficult and straining it is to run outdoors on actual pavement versus running inside a controlled environment on a treadmill. Holy cow my shins are killing me! I wouldn't say I've got full-out shin splints, but my legs hurt in places they haven't felt anything in ages. I definitely will be adjusting the treadmill to a 1% incline to mimic the effort required for outdoor running. Otherwise, all these weekday miles won't amount to anything when it comes to conditioning myself for the big run in January.
I'll post more later, but although Sunday was a nice slap of the reality of the difficulties I can anticipate during this journey on which I've embarked, it was also a nice change from the slothlike existence I've led while trying to fix problems that weren't mine to own. Maybe I'll try to focus on the things I can control, like stepping onto that treadmill/track/trail 5 days a week and having the mindset to approach it as a means of finding joy, rather than something that's necessary to lose that next pound. Forget maybe, that sounds like a plan to me. And it's a nice perk that the pounds are falling off all on their own. It's a shame Joel likes big girls. It's a shame I accepted being one because I thought that would make a difference. But it's absolutely brilliant and fabulous that I'm getting my self-image re-established and my body back after those years of letting both just waste away.
Life is still good. It's just different.
I had forgotten how much more difficult and straining it is to run outdoors on actual pavement versus running inside a controlled environment on a treadmill. Holy cow my shins are killing me! I wouldn't say I've got full-out shin splints, but my legs hurt in places they haven't felt anything in ages. I definitely will be adjusting the treadmill to a 1% incline to mimic the effort required for outdoor running. Otherwise, all these weekday miles won't amount to anything when it comes to conditioning myself for the big run in January.
I'll post more later, but although Sunday was a nice slap of the reality of the difficulties I can anticipate during this journey on which I've embarked, it was also a nice change from the slothlike existence I've led while trying to fix problems that weren't mine to own. Maybe I'll try to focus on the things I can control, like stepping onto that treadmill/track/trail 5 days a week and having the mindset to approach it as a means of finding joy, rather than something that's necessary to lose that next pound. Forget maybe, that sounds like a plan to me. And it's a nice perk that the pounds are falling off all on their own. It's a shame Joel likes big girls. It's a shame I accepted being one because I thought that would make a difference. But it's absolutely brilliant and fabulous that I'm getting my self-image re-established and my body back after those years of letting both just waste away.
Life is still good. It's just different.
Friday, April 25, 2008
I'm running again, and I'm loving it. Of course the Nike+ thing is having issues and not showing all the running I've done recently, but I imagine it will synch up eventually. At any rate, I'm running. I'm running because 1) I love it and 2) it's cheaper than therapy and 3) I've signed up to run in the Chevron Houston Marathon in January 2009. I've run the Half-Marathon once previously, but this will be an entirely new experience for me. More or less, this is in honor of my turning 40 this year. I wanted to do something exciting, yet something that didn't wreak more havoc on my already crazy life. Running is good for you, right? So that's what I'm doing.
I'm running again. A lot. And I love it.
I'm running again. A lot. And I love it.
Monday, February 11, 2008
February is here already. So is my new ring! (historically, over the short course of our marriage, I have gotten new jewelry in February; what's not to like about that??)
I so enjoy this month in case you couldn't tell. The kids are excited about Valentines' Day. Hunter and I finished preparing her project for school this weekend (a special box to store the valentines' stuff) and Nicholas has picked out an adorable Ratatouille card to give to Cindy, along with some yummy chocolates. J and I have a wonderfully romantic evening planned, while the kids are going to be enjoying a carnival at the Club. What a fabulous investment that's turned out to be! Not only is the gym well-equipped, I've still not found much of anything that's better than the wet sauna these days. It's great for the skin, not to mention the waistline.
We had a great weekend, filled with too much shopping as per the norm when J is home. We also spent a wonderful day at the zoo on Sunday. Unfortunately they are working on the cats' exhibit and we didn't get to see the kids' favorites ~ lions & tigers. The weather was so gorgeous that all the other animals were out playing and/or sunning themselves.
I haven't decided yet which was the better purchase, membership to the zoo or the Children's Museum. J was extremely interested in getting both in 2007, and in beginning to do more things as a family. It's all obvious now, but regardless of the motives, it's been a great thing for our family. The kids have enjoyed both immensely and they're always asking to go back. There's not much that's better than knowing you can provide a good foundation for your kids and set a positive example. We are so fortunate that they're both growing up to be good citizens, environmentally conscious, forward-thinking (way too creative for their own good!) and respectful of themselves and others.
Have I said lately that life is good? It most certainly is!
I so enjoy this month in case you couldn't tell. The kids are excited about Valentines' Day. Hunter and I finished preparing her project for school this weekend (a special box to store the valentines' stuff) and Nicholas has picked out an adorable Ratatouille card to give to Cindy, along with some yummy chocolates. J and I have a wonderfully romantic evening planned, while the kids are going to be enjoying a carnival at the Club. What a fabulous investment that's turned out to be! Not only is the gym well-equipped, I've still not found much of anything that's better than the wet sauna these days. It's great for the skin, not to mention the waistline.
We had a great weekend, filled with too much shopping as per the norm when J is home. We also spent a wonderful day at the zoo on Sunday. Unfortunately they are working on the cats' exhibit and we didn't get to see the kids' favorites ~ lions & tigers. The weather was so gorgeous that all the other animals were out playing and/or sunning themselves.
I haven't decided yet which was the better purchase, membership to the zoo or the Children's Museum. J was extremely interested in getting both in 2007, and in beginning to do more things as a family. It's all obvious now, but regardless of the motives, it's been a great thing for our family. The kids have enjoyed both immensely and they're always asking to go back. There's not much that's better than knowing you can provide a good foundation for your kids and set a positive example. We are so fortunate that they're both growing up to be good citizens, environmentally conscious, forward-thinking (way too creative for their own good!) and respectful of themselves and others.
Have I said lately that life is good? It most certainly is!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Hunter's cheer squad won 2nd place on Saturday. Joel and Nicholas did all sorts of fun boy stuff around the house. They really get into working through that honey-do list! The house is looking great after all their work!!
Life is good. I know who I am and what I want. I have the love of friends and family. More importantly, I have their respect, and I deserve it. I'm proud of that fact and of the decisions I've made in my life that keep me deserving of their respect.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Today's Workout
25 minutes run/walk (while watching LSU kick some Buckeye butt!!)
My legs felt much better this evening, although I'm still the slowest thing around. For some unexplained reason, the kids were really difficult tonight. It might have been because Joel flew out to Cali to work again. I think they became accustomed to having him at home; I know I did. This, of course, is evidenced by my still sitting up blogging this instead of being curled up next to him sleeping blissfully. I don't sleep well when he's gone, which makes it more difficult to get up and workout. I suppose I need to get over that.
Aiming for yoga in the morning and then Sculpt 1/2 in the evening. Hunter starts her new night for gymnastics and I'll pick her up there so I can see the gym. She's been going with the cheer squad, but I want to check the place out, too. She seems to be learning a lot and she loves it, but I feel odd not having done any prior research on the gym. I do trust her cheer coach and she's got a daughter who's taking lessons there also, so I know she wouldn't knowingly put the kids in a potentially harmful position but still... it's my responsibility, ya know? It's not anyone else's and I couldn't forgive myself if something went wrong.
Have a great Tuesday, everyone!
judi
25 minutes run/walk (while watching LSU kick some Buckeye butt!!)
My legs felt much better this evening, although I'm still the slowest thing around. For some unexplained reason, the kids were really difficult tonight. It might have been because Joel flew out to Cali to work again. I think they became accustomed to having him at home; I know I did. This, of course, is evidenced by my still sitting up blogging this instead of being curled up next to him sleeping blissfully. I don't sleep well when he's gone, which makes it more difficult to get up and workout. I suppose I need to get over that.
Aiming for yoga in the morning and then Sculpt 1/2 in the evening. Hunter starts her new night for gymnastics and I'll pick her up there so I can see the gym. She's been going with the cheer squad, but I want to check the place out, too. She seems to be learning a lot and she loves it, but I feel odd not having done any prior research on the gym. I do trust her cheer coach and she's got a daughter who's taking lessons there also, so I know she wouldn't knowingly put the kids in a potentially harmful position but still... it's my responsibility, ya know? It's not anyone else's and I couldn't forgive myself if something went wrong.
Have a great Tuesday, everyone!
judi
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Friday's Workout:
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workout)
Saturday's Workout:
45 minutes run/walk
Sunday's Workout:
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workout)
30 minutes run/walk
Tonight's run was more like painfully lugging my lard butt through every step. It was next to impossible. I don't know if I hadn't recovered from yesterday's treadmill time yet or what, but I had a rough time getting moving beyond a walk at first. At any rate, I finished 30 minutes, some jogging but more walking than I'd planned.
Early day tomorrow, so off I go!
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workout)
Saturday's Workout:
45 minutes run/walk
Sunday's Workout:
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workout)
30 minutes run/walk
Tonight's run was more like painfully lugging my lard butt through every step. It was next to impossible. I don't know if I hadn't recovered from yesterday's treadmill time yet or what, but I had a rough time getting moving beyond a walk at first. At any rate, I finished 30 minutes, some jogging but more walking than I'd planned.
Early day tomorrow, so off I go!
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Today's Workout
Elliptical ~ 30 minutes
Sweat 1/2 (Power 90®)
Ab Ripper 100 (Power 90®)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At lunch I went to the club and did another glute focused elliptical workout. Sheesh, but that really works ya! At home after dinner, I did the P90 workout, including the abs. Thank goodness dinner was relatively light or it would have been much tougher. As it was, I felt strong throughout the workout and finished feeling like I could have done more.
Today was day 8 of the 90 day Power 90® program. 82 more to go.
Elliptical ~ 30 minutes
Sweat 1/2 (Power 90®)
Ab Ripper 100 (Power 90®)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At lunch I went to the club and did another glute focused elliptical workout. Sheesh, but that really works ya! At home after dinner, I did the P90 workout, including the abs. Thank goodness dinner was relatively light or it would have been much tougher. As it was, I felt strong throughout the workout and finished feeling like I could have done more.
Today was day 8 of the 90 day Power 90® program. 82 more to go.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Today's Workout
Yoga ~ 60 minutes (a.m.)
Run/walk ~ 40 minutes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm feeling better about working out again. I go back to work tomorrow, rather than today like I thought until viewing my crackberry at 6:00 a.m. and finding out I scheduled a day off! But back to my original train of thought ~ tomorrow will be the real test ~ can I continue to prioritize working out while trying to accommodate everyone else who jockeys for my time? Damn it, I better be able to do it. Other people do. It's not rocket science. It's not like I don't know what to do. And it's not like it isn't important.
On a totally unrelated topic, we had fun with the kiddos tonight. Nothing major other than watching them tickle each other and giggle uncontrollably for the longest time. They are so silly and so precious and we are so blessed!!
Yoga ~ 60 minutes (a.m.)
Run/walk ~ 40 minutes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm feeling better about working out again. I go back to work tomorrow, rather than today like I thought until viewing my crackberry at 6:00 a.m. and finding out I scheduled a day off! But back to my original train of thought ~ tomorrow will be the real test ~ can I continue to prioritize working out while trying to accommodate everyone else who jockeys for my time? Damn it, I better be able to do it. Other people do. It's not rocket science. It's not like I don't know what to do. And it's not like it isn't important.
On a totally unrelated topic, we had fun with the kiddos tonight. Nothing major other than watching them tickle each other and giggle uncontrollably for the longest time. They are so silly and so precious and we are so blessed!!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Today's Workout
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workouts)
Run / walk ~ 30 minutes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's the first day of the New Year, and I suppose I should say something about resolutions, goals, and the like. Nothing too profound, of course, but here goes..
1) Seek joy in all that I do, or don't do it.
2) Practice consistency in my personal life. I'm consistent and reliable professionally, but I don't believe I've offered the same qualities in my personal life.
3) (and here's what we all expect to read!) ~ lose 40 lbs ~ 1 lb per week ~ before the big 4-0 gets here in October '08.
Back to work tomorrow. Hope it's a great day for everyone out there!
Sculpt 1/2 (Power 90® workouts)
Run / walk ~ 30 minutes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's the first day of the New Year, and I suppose I should say something about resolutions, goals, and the like. Nothing too profound, of course, but here goes..
1) Seek joy in all that I do, or don't do it.
2) Practice consistency in my personal life. I'm consistent and reliable professionally, but I don't believe I've offered the same qualities in my personal life.
3) (and here's what we all expect to read!) ~ lose 40 lbs ~ 1 lb per week ~ before the big 4-0 gets here in October '08.
Back to work tomorrow. Hope it's a great day for everyone out there!
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