Progress and Plans

Hello, all!

So my knee has still be bothering me, and instead of running I've been doing low-impact stuff, like yoga and biking and weights and walking. The knee region seem to be improving slowly but surely, and I guess I just have to keep being patient. It's frustrating, but as long as I'm still getting my sweat on, it's not so bad.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I am doing a lot of traveling for work in March and won't be in town very much. Next week, I'm going to a conference in Miami which will be pretty busy. Spring Break I'll be on a Llama Trek in New Mexico. And at the end of the month, I'm going to Galveston for four days. Whew! I'm going to bring my exercise band thing because Sonnie once pointed out to me that it's lightweight and easy to pack, and do what I can in my hotel rooms. Plus, hiking around with Llamas should be a good workout. And maybe by the time I'm back to regular training, my knee will be healed. Here's to hoping!

I'm so far planning on tackling the two mile run in Tyler at the end of March, so long as the knee can take it, and I want to do the Running of the Horns in April for sure. Good luck to everyone and happy running!

i'm gonna earl...

- Warmed up with a 20 minute game of racquetball. Is it still called racquetball when you play by yourself?

- Ran a mile at 10 min 46 sec even though every joint in my being was screaming bloody hell at me.

- Weight trained for about 25 minutes and felt pukey afterwards.

I feel fine now but overall it wasn't a great day at the gym for me.

Pass me the m&m's and lets call it a day.

Norma

I was taking a shower when Norma started talking to me about running. There is something very strange about trying to have a normal conversation while scrubbing your private parts, but if it didn't bother her why should it bother me? Anywho ... Norma is the 70 year-old runner who kicks my ass every morning. She only started running 6 months ago!

She told me that she started out by running a few minutes and before she knew it she was running a mile. Now she's up to 6 miles and she ran her first 5K last month. She recommended that I get myself an ipod. When I told her that I do have one, she told me about podrunner where I can download free music from a DJ! I checked it out. I don't like it, but I'm going to try it anyway. Who knows? Maybe a little techno and competition from a 70 year old is just what I need to be able to run more than 2 miles without stopping. Or maybe I need more smack talk from Jeff ... we'll see.

Happy running!

once you start.

After last years training I dropped down to 198. After a summer of sweat and blood and 8 min. miles I maintained my flatbelly svelteness until my birthday... something happened... I ate cake and BOOM the cromagnon fat storing primitive man in me bashed skinny Jeff on the head and that was IT. 3,254 mini halloween candies, 2 thanksgiving turkeys, 56 pumpkin pies, 583 christmas cookies, 8 christmas parties, #$%*& super bowl, and valentine day )crap); bang I weighed 229 this morning. I could eat 2 of you.

I say all this to let you guys know once you stop running your body gets angry and your metabolism goes nuts. This lifestyle of running is not for the half hearted.

I ran 2 miles this morning in 20 min. while singing purple rain at the top of my lungs... beat that kealy stink pants.

push it...push it real good...

When I was getting changed into my work out clothes this afternoon I had it in my mind that I would be doing an outdoor run. The weather is gorgeous and plus I need to start hitting the outside and getting used to adapting to weather and concrete again. I cannot forever stay in my bubble called the Rec Center.

After pulling on my shoes I started to think that I wanted to lift weights, as well. I mean a mile or two of running will not last the duration of my one hour lunch and I didn't feel like using the rest of the time by walking.

So, after debating back and forth with myself I headed for the Rec Center.

I ran two miles at 22 min 38 sec. After catching my breath and wiping the sweat from my eyes I decided to run again. I ran one mile at 11 min 7 sec.

I am spent y'all.

As I eat my Lean Cuisine Panini (damn these are good) my hands are shaking from the effort it is taking me to lift this slice of goodness to my lips. Did you take note of that? My hands are shaking, y'all. Thank goodness I didn't weight train after my run because if I cannot even lift a slice of panini to my mouth then damn!

I have a feeling I will be sleeping by 9 tonight. Ha!

Long time, no bloggy

Hello pals,

I thought I'd check in, since I have mostly just been a commenter.

I have to confess: I have slacked as of late, but for good reasons. 1)My ankle has been freaking killing me and 2) umm, that 31 minutes of glory I was so proud of was like a one-time fluke?

I got in a mile with Sonnie and Nathan on Saturday (I was finally feeling like I could stay and do a bit more with them, but I had to get ready for work. Grr.) On Sunday, I hit the treadmill and was able to maintain a jog for 20 minutes, but when Sonnie came over and we discussed my treadmill speed of 4.9, we discovered together that that was 12 minutes and something per mile, which means I was not really pushing myself to what I even *knew* I could fairly easily do. Oops.

But hey--20 minutes of lame-o jogging, plus about 20 minutes of very brisk walking while I watched these forensic scientists solve murders/ Charred fingertips: yeck!

And I sweated buckets, so I felt some satisfaction in that. Good job, me!

Hopefully, this lame-o will be prepared for the 2-mile Aazalea Trail in Tyler...while Michelle is running circles around me in the 10K. I'll only be embarrassed if she beats me to the finish line. Ha!

By the way, I am planning on running my 5k at the Running of the Horns in Austin. I need to get registered. Anyone else decide on their races yet?

blue ball

Sunday was supposed to be like my easy day at the gym. I had set up a time to meet up with a girlfriend to play racquetball. Two minutes into the game of chaosball I was sweating big time. After an hour of play (which went by really fast compared to tennis) I felt good and was a sweaty mess.

I said my goodbyes to my girlfriend and then scooted up next to M while she was on the treadmill. She too looked like she had sweated a puddle. We both agreed it was time to hit the hot tub and boy oh boy was that a treat. The day was almost just a tad too warm for hot tubbing but we suffered through the warm bubbly treat. We did take a dip into the pool to cool down only to find our way back to the hot tub.

By the time I changed into some street clothes to go home I felt so wonderfully relaxed.

Now this morning was another story as I rolled out of bed and onto my feet. Holy crap! My legs from my feet to my hips are so darn sore. I feel like I had done like step aerobics yesterday and all of this came from racquetball. I sure did underestimate the power of chasing around a little blue ball.

Confessions

I really have my sights set on the Tyler 10K. Anyone? Anyone? Why not? So what if I end up walking the last mile or two, right? I think. And how do you know when you're really ready anyway? I've worked up to doing pretty well at 3 miles, but I'm not very fast. Is the goal to be able to run the whole time without stopping or to blow through it and make everyone eat your dust?

My knee is really HURTING when I go out for a long one. I tried to reconstruct last Saturday's triumph and didn't do so great. I mapped out a 4.6 route again, but ended up on backwoods roads that were like the stadium hill and I couldn't make it to the tops without stopping, and then had big scary dogs (not chained) running up to me and snarling, so I had to stop and walk and keep my eyes averted from them but scanning the tree line to see which one I could climb if I was about to get attacked. So, it took me about an hour (too much walking) and my knee now looks like it has a bump on the outside of it. Did I injure it? What do I do now? I like all those links Sonnie put on. I really need to learn more about stretching and strengthening on non-running days. I wish I had a personal trainer!

Gimps R Us

I am proud to share that Mary had shaved off some more time from the one mile run. We completed our one mile this morning at 10 min 59 sec. Even with Mary's bum ankle and my old lady hip we kept truckin' on and made it to the finish line.

It seems that many of us have injuries and it's a bit reminiscent of some of our shared history with roller derby. Ha! It's funny, though, that most of us have gotten injured just from running. At least with roller derby we had impressive stories of body checks or smashing into walls and railings. Running will get a person into cardio shape but it will take its toll on the body. We need to keep vigilant about making sure to take care of our bodies since running is so jarring to the body. I found some handy links to look at.

A link for yoga poses before your run:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-409--12426-0,00.html

Here is a link to some yoga moves that are great to do after a run:

http://www.ehow.com/how_10380_yoga-cooldown-after.html

Running will tighten up the muscles in your legs and as we know yoga is a great tool to lengthen those muscles.

This is a good one for me since I usually experience hip pains:

http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article64094.html

The basic suggestion is ice therapy directly onto the hip and also massage.

And one more link...just a basic injury prevention link from Runner's World...I really like this site:

http://www.runnersworld.com/channel/0,7119,s6-241-0-0-0,00.html?cm_re=HP-_-Homepage%20Channel-_-Injury%20Prevention

Have a great weekend!

Girlsss...

Let me just start by saying (without my sarcastic or condescending tone) how very proud I am of all of you. I have read over a few of your posts and feel a slight surge in my estrogen levels, soon to be countered by giant flashes of testosterone (that's what happens when I run). As a couple of you know I am an avid runner and will happily give my 2 cents.

I would like to start with a few things that helped/help me.
1. good shoes: wear a potato sack and spend $$ on the shoes.
2. goals: I use the nike+, I can set goals, challenge friends, and keep up w/ miles ran while listening to my favorite hall and oats songs?
3. network of people: nothings better than taunting someone or cheering for someone or just a little healthy competition. (kealy is slow)

Huzzah!

Hey Ladies!

I went to the gym all by my lonesome yesterday, but I was determined to put on a good show, and I had the image of Michelle *accidentally* running over four and a half miles to inspire me. No excuses for this Wannabe 5K-er! I started my workout by hitting the weight machines again, but I was still sore from Tuesday so I used less weight and only worked my muscles for about 20 minutes. Then I warmed up by walking the track briskly for 10 minutes, and then I started running.

I didn't really pay attention to how fast I was going, but I knew I wanted to do two miles so I paid really close attention to my breathing and every time I felt a side stitch coming on I would slow it down and breathe deep. I almost gave up a few times, but I really wanted to be able to report good news on the blog this morning, so I pushed it. I practically sprinted my last lap and I finished out my two miles in... 20 minutes and 20 seconds! WOW! I was so happy I felt lightheaded. But then I realized I was lightheaded because I was about to pass out, so I did a good long cool down and then I was okay.

Afterwards, I met Nathan at the rock wall and he convinced me to climb two routes. I got to the top of the first one, but on the second route I only made it half way up the rock twice. Next time, I will climb first, and then run. Or just run and then nap.

I'm not ready

Why do I have such a hard time letting myself rest? My friend who I go to yoga with canceled (again). Pfunk and I decided to hit the machines instead. I teach the yoga class, so I would be the only person there. That's just plain silly. So ... I am physically hurt and I still tried to run on the treadmill today. WTF is wrong with me?! Now my leg is throbbing and wrapped in a heating pad.

That's it. I'm grounding myself! I am not allowed to go to the gym or mountain for two whole days. If I try to sneak out on myself, I'll give myself a good talkin' to and take away some of my privileges. I'll probably feel real guilty and apologize to myself later, but I have to be tough or I'll just take advantage of myself.

Staying on track...

30 min - elliptical trainer
10-11 min - one mile run

I felt great on the elliptical trainer today. My coworker and I were just chatting away and the time flew by. Well, really, we were venting to each about work related stuff and whenever we start to rant and rave about the office we always laugh at how much harder we tend to pick up our workout and sweat. It's definitely a great destresser.

I hit the indoor track and started to make my rounds for my one mile run. I was in great spirits but my body was hating life. My hips felt creaky and my legs kept trying to tighten up on me. Ugh. That is so annoying.

I hate feeling mentally amped only to find my traitorous body unwilling to play. I completed my one mile run. I didn't have my stop watch on today so I don't know the exact time it took me. I'm just glad I didn't stop after the fifth lap. I was so tempted but I sucked it up and kept going.

This upcoming week I start my cycle so I hope afterwards I will feel more inclined to routinely run two miles instead of just the one. But hey...every time I complete just the one mile I feel great even if my body says differently. Before the 8th of January I wasn't running a mile 2 to 3 times a week. So, I will not hold my head in shame and will continue to look straight ahead at the progress that I am making each day.

My First 5K!

Was rained out!

We were in Dallas anyway last weekend, so I'd looked around for a 5K. I found one very close to our friends' house and started to get excited and nervous about it. The early registration was over, so I was going to have to pay on the day of... so since it was rained out, I'm kind of glad that I didn't preregister! I'm a cheapskate!

My friend described a route I could run on my own that would be about a 5K, but I misunderstood what "up the street" meant and I ran the other direction. I was supposed to turn around at Old Denton Rd. and head back, but I never got to it! My knees started getting tight so I walked about 20 yards to lengthen my stride and stretch them out, then got to the next street and turned back. I was going really slow and was getting soaked by every car speeding up to splash me (jerks!). When I got back I wasn't gone for the usual 35 minutes it takes me to do 3 miles, but, rather it had been 50 minutes! I was shocked. Am I really that slow? But, then, when I told them where I had run, they said I'd gone the other way and that was probably closer to 5 MILES! What?? So, we drove that route later on and it was 4.6 miles. Sheesh! My friend said that was the way to train for a marathon -- run 2-3 miles every day, then do a big run on the weekend. A marathon??? Me??? "Such as, and, the Iraq..."

Ouchie

I didn't go to the gym on Monday. The sun was out and I somehow talked two teenage girls into going for a hike. It took us about 1-1/2 hours. It was an incredible day. We could see all the way to a Three Sisters, which is about a 3 hour drive from Eugene!



The girls and I had a great time, but I slipped on the way down. The next morning I woke up with the most amazing pain in my calf. I went to the gym in the morning and could only warm-up on the elliptical. At work, squatting down to work with the kids made me wince.

The good news is that Phoenix is now inspired to train for soccer and wants to go run with me at the gym. I'm so excited to have a running partner. I wish that she wanted to go in the morning before school with me, but I'll take what I can get. We went last night and I was able to run for about 5 minutes before my calf started burning again. I switched to the elliptical. I have yoga tonight and tomorrow I'll jump back on the treadmill and see how I feel. Hopefully, we'll have some more beautiful days soon. There are so many mountains and buttes to tackle here!

Sore-a-saurus

Yesterday I was ambitious. Instead of simply meeting Mary and Sonnie at the rec center for our Tuesday night run, I decided to go to the gym an hour early and use the weight machines. I was nervous about going by myself, which is silly, but all the Frat boys, Sorority girls and strange machines can be intimidating. I ignored my fears of being made fun of and looking like a wimp, pushed on, and ended up doing a bunch of upper body exercises. Today, my shoulders and chest are killing me. I don't have the biggest chest, but every time I walk across the library I feel my boobs bouncing around boy, does it hurt. Sorry if that was too much information!

(Also, I have been using the website Kealy recommended, and it's really interesting to see how my diet aligns with their recommended servings. Like, even though I'm a vegetarian, I am always over on protein by about 10 grams and carbs by about 50. I'm not too concerned about this, since I'm not really trying to lose weight and instead want to build muscle, so extra protein is good. But I really don't see how I could cut my carb intake and still live a full and happy life. I don't think I want to live in a world where I can't have cereal for breakfast. Also, my calorie intake is pretty much right where it should be, so whatever.)

As for our run, it was okay - we didn't push ourselves too hard but we stuck to the track for just about an hour. I'm going to try to bust out another two mile run on Thursday night - wish me luck!

Hot in Here

Monday:

30 min - brisk walking
11 min 36 sec - one mile run
20 min - walking

Even though Mary and I beat our 12+ minute mile run together neither of us were really feeling the run. We were both feeling a lack of excitement as we completed each lap needed to get to one mile.

I guess we all have our "off" days and Mary and I just happened to share having the same "off" day. Luckily, though, we kept going regardless of the sweltering temperature of the gym. Damn, it was hot in the gym last night.

I'm Moving to the Rec Center

Yesterday Nathan and I went to the Rec Center and spent a solid five hours there. During that time, I:

• Used the rock climbing wall and climbed two routes. I haven't climbed in at least a year and my forearms are killing me today.
  
• Used the rowing machine for five minutes (rowed half a mile!) and did some weight machines for my legs.
  
• Played two games of raquet ball, badly. It was my first time, and we were playing doubles with Amy and David, and I am not very good at games involving balls.
  
• I decided to see how fast I could run a mile. Nine minutes and 40 seconds! Wow! But, like I told Sonnie, I have to trade endurance for speed - there was no way I could have kept that pace up for more than a mile. I barely finished as it was and very nearly died after.
  

I slept like a rock last night and am feeling slightly sore and very healthy today. After a bad week at work, a long day at the rec center is the perfect way to purge your bad mood and prepare for yet another Monday.

Whee!

Moanday

I cannot believe that it is already Monday.

Chrissy has already posted about our great workout on Saturday. I'm not wearing my watch with the stop watch on it so I cannot see what our exact time was in running two miles. It has been a long time since I had last run two miles straight and it had left me feeling exhilirated.

I cannot wait to trydo it again.

**We did our two mile run in 24 minutes and 7 seconds.

BAM!

This morning Sonnie and I met at the rec center. We started our routine by walking briskly for 30 minutes, and then we decided to see what we could do in the way of jogging. At the rec center, there is an indoor track on the second floor, and seven times around the track equals one mile. We were jogging and chatting away, and before I knew it, seven times around had already slipped by. So we decided to keep going... and going.. and going... and we ran TWO MILES! It took us just over 24 minutes, which is not bad, and I was feeling strong until the last three laps. Then, the only thing that made me push on was knowing how good it would feel to come to our blog and write about such an amazing feat!

I don't think I have ever run two miles nonstop like that in my life. In elementary school, I was in remedial gym. True story. At any rate, I feel great and happy and I can't wait to run again. But first, I have to finish my workout mixes...

Nada, zip, zero!

I'm so ashamed. I have not ran in almost a week!

Combination period and food poisoning. After going so strong for so long, I'm scared to go back. I have to go out of town today to visit my ex-boyfriend's mother (don't ask), so it'll have to wait until Monday. Luckily, I have Monday off! I'll have all day to warm-up and cool-down. I also got this really cool new mixed CD from Sonnie in the mail. I've already uploaded it to my ipod and can't wait to test it out. Thanks, Sonnie!

We are the Champions

Tuesday Afternoon:

30 min - elliptical trainer
30 min - walking

Tuesday Evening:

15 min - walking
10 min - jogging
10 min - walking
11 min 1913 sec - 1 mile run
14 min - walking
10 min - stretching

Tuesday evening was a good run for me, Chrissy, and Mary. As a team Mary and I shaved off time from our one mile run from 12 min 32 sec to 11 min 1913 sec. Chrissy ran her first mile with Mary and I and kept up wonderfully.

We continue to progress each and every time. I have the blisters to prove it. :)

I'm Back!

Hi Ladies and the Random Gent,
I know that I've been quiet on this blog, and I blamed it on my mysteriously injured knee, which made it painful to walk, never mind run. But as Sonnie pointed out to me, I am more than just my knee, and I could have been writing about the other fitness goals I've been working on. Like the fact that I can now do 15 real push ups in a row (I want to do 50), and all the stomach crunches I've been doing first thing in the morning, and yoga! Twice a week! (Well, usually.) At any rate, I seem to be back in the swing of things, with just a minor soreness in the knee area. So cheers to that!

Yesterday I went to the rec center with Mary and Sonnie, and we ran and walked on the upstairs track. After we warmed up, we jogged for ten minutes. Then we walked some more, and then we were going to jog another ten minutes, but we ended up pushing it to eleven and change because we were so close to doing a complete mile. And we did it! Which means I have officially run my first straight mile! True, I'm a bit behind the rest of y'all, but hey - I was excited! And out of breath. I need to work on breathing properly, and also slowing down. I start running faster and that means I'll start burning out sooner. Patience, Chrissy, patience.

<3

New Poll

I'll try to keep up with these things a little more regularly!

Hard-Earned Blister

I had a particularly scream-worthy day at work today, so Matt and I decided to hit the rec center to help me expend a little of my rage in a healthy way.

So on tired legs and a sorta sore ankle, I walked ten minutes of increasing speeds up to 3.9 before taking it to a 4.8 and jogging for 25 minutes. Then I watched Wheel of Fortune and I have to ask: do people really have to buy that many vowels? These are not that hard of puzzles, people. Oh well--tonight's winner walked away with over $53K in cash and prizes, including a new Prius and a trip to Mexico. All I walked away with is a sore-er ankle and a lot less rage. But for tonight, that was enough.

P.S. About that blister...it's rapidly growing on my right foot. Oww. I hope it stops. I need this foot for stuff. But no matter what, I'm not stopping running. I'm just getting warmed up!

Burn Baby Burn

Saturday:

Met up with Mary at the Rec Center. We decided we would bust out a mile on the upper level indoor track to see where we were.

30 min - brisk walking
12 min 32 seconds - 1 mile jog
18 min - brisk walking

Sunday:

Day Off

Monday:

15 min - brisk walk
10 min 39 seconds - 1 mile jog
20 min - walk a lap/sprint a lap
5 min - stretch

After running the mile today I was absolutely depleted. I cannot say that I put my all into the first 3 or 4 laps but by the time I hit the 5th lap I picked up my speed considerably and was feeling the burn in the lungs. I also experienced a bit of foot pain since I was breaking in new shoes today.

I have a blister to show for my work out today and a great feeling of accomplishment. I think the 10 m 39 s mile is even better that my run time when I had done it for Kinesiology in my junior year where I had to pass the mile run for one of my activity classes.

When I first began my slow jog around I was thinking to myself, "I'm going to keep going after the seventh lap." I was thinking that I would go slow and be able to run more than a mile without stopping. I guess I was unaware that once the techno picked up on my mp3 player that my brain and body switched over to, "it's time to burn this track up and see what we can really do."

Record-Setting Sunday

I beat my old record today! I jogged a total of 31.5 minutes today, with 29.5 at a speed of 4.8 and challenging myself the last two minutes at 5.4. I feel great! I probably could have done more, but didn't want to go overboard. Sunday at noon must be the high time of my biorhythm! I also credit Sonnie for helping me figure out where the heck the headphone jack was for my individual tv. Hillary Clinton was inspiring me until CSPAN had technical difficulties and then I watched Along Came Polly on USA.

Time flies (and so do my feet!) when I'm having fun. :) Yay!

P.S. My overall distance with warm-up and lengthy cool-down was almost 4 miles, but my distance run (jogged at a very modest pace) was 2.2 miles! Woohoooo!

I'm copying Kealy. Check out the new shoes I got yesterday. That's right...that shoe is resting on a globe, baby! You can't mess with all terrain shoes.

Fast as I want.

How fast do you think I can run in these bad girls?

I got my tax refund and went crazy. New pants, new shoes, new socks, and new bras!

My fitness pal

I found this website the other day and thought that ya'll would like to check it out. You can enter your fitness activity for the day (as well as your food intake). It's free and a good way to keep track of your exercise. I wish that it had cool graphs, but I'd probably have to pay for those.

Side note ... has anyone received their Run Your Brains Out CD yet?

Just a Tip

Okay, this is just a tip about shoes in case you didn't know.

If any of you are jogging/walking in old worn out shoes then you are in the wrong. Your body will not be very happy with you.

For most people replacing their exercise shoes will take place every six months. For very light exercisers I think replacing your shoes 8 months to a year is probably okay. For the average exerciser six months is usually a good time to buy new shoes.

Now for the heavy exercisers probably every 4 to 5 months is a good time frame to follow.

It's hard to keep up with how long you've had your shoes and what I usually do is take a pen and write the month and year of when i bought my shoes somewhere on the sole on one of the sides of my shoes. I used to write it on the bottom and of course over time it would wear away.

So...puuuuh-leeeeeez! If you are wearing old beat up shoes that you've had for years do your body a favor and replace those sorry suckers for a new pair that have actual shock absorbers. :)

xoxo, s

Exercise Log

Monday:
30 min - Recumbent Bicycle
30 min - weight resistance (upper body)

Tuesday afternoon:
30 min - Treadmill (10 min of walking/20 min of jogging at speed 5)
30 min - weight resistance (lower body)

Tuesday evening:
30 min - Treadmill (5 min of walking/20 min of jogging at various speeds between 5 and 6.2/5 min of walking at an incline between 8-10)

Wednesday:
30 min - Recumbent Bicycle
30 min - weight resistance (upper body)

Thursday:
Day off due to office luncheon

Thank you!

I wanted to thank everyone for letting me join in on this. I feel great! My body is changing and most days I am happier and I have more energy.

I also wanted to update on what I've been up to lately.

I'm starting 3 minutes of running followed by 1 minute of walking after my period comes and goes. I am achy, tired, and bitchy and don't feel like it right now. Instead, I have been walking at a fast pace (3.9) with an incline or using the elliptical. I feel like I'm going to explode, so I hope it comes soon. After chatting with Sonnie the other day, I realized that I was not using the elliptical to my full potential. I usually start out with a resistance of 7 and stay at about 4, alternating pedaling backwards and forwards. I was hardly breaking a sweat. This last week I switched it to a resistance of 8-9 and an incline of 10-15 while only pedaling backwards for warming up and cooling down. Now I am a sweaty mess. Sonnie helped me become a sweaty mess.

I'm also going to attempt one day next week to jog and hide the clock like Mary did. I doubt that I'll be able to do 18 1/5 freakin' minutes, but I'm going to try.

Ciao!

Period vs. Woman

Well this last week basically the summary of my exercise is like this:

Period-3 points
Sonnie-3 points

A tie.

Yes, I took three days off in a row! I'm okay with that, though, because sometimes you just have to listen to your body and lay off when it says to do so.

I got back on track on Saturday. Mary and Chrissy weren't able to meet me at the rec center on Saturday so I hit the ole' neighborhood with the pups. They were troopers and put in an hour with me. The pups slept well for the rest of the day and I felt good and back to normal.

Let the Road Be Your Treadmill

Groovy. I think that is my next t-shirt idea.

I'm up to running 2 miles now! This week I'll keep at it, then next week BAM! it up to 2.5 miles. This is getting a little crazy. But, it's all on flat easy Raguet, so any sort of hill is going to kick my butt. This evening, Neal and I took the kiddos to the pond to feed the ducks and then into the stadium. He suggested I give those hills a try. Yikes! I really should. I can't imagine the average 5K having no hills!

I've had the thoughts: "So, after the 5 K am I going to keep running?? I mean, I don't want to go back to mush, but could I really keep it going for ... years ... to come?"

That's when my husband smiled and said, "Of course, then do a 10K, then a half-marathon, then a marathon." Easy for him to say! He only walks to work every day! Ah!

My Amazing Weekend Victory

I started the weekend on the worst possible foot as far as training goes. I skipped Thursday to go grocery shopping for Matt's birthday party and then ate a bunch of not-exactly healthy foods Friday night. Then I skipped Saturday with Sonnie to serve/eat French toast with my remaining guests. French toast! It sure was delicious!

Frankly, after that kind of showing, I wasn't expecting a lot from my body today, but as I got on the treadmill at the rec center and punched in weight and age and all that and fiddled with the tv channels and non-matching sound stations, I did something that surprised myself.

I did a five minute warm-up walk. Then I jogged for three minutes (phew! one down). Then I walked for 90 seconds. Then I jogged FOR EIGHTEEN AND A HALF MINUTES. What?! What?! Yes, it's true. I was doing a 4.7 speed/1.5 inclination on the treadmill, so not superfast or superhard, but I made it for a full 18.5 minutes. I probably could have done a bit more, but that was the end of my thirty and I was sweating pretty hard, so I decided to do a much slower cool down.

My inspiration was when Sonnie told me I should just start going sometime and not look at the clock until I couldn't go anymore to see how far I'd gone. I didn't exactly do that this time, but I did make it to five as planned and since that felt pretty good, I went to 5.5. Then 6. Eventually I thought--well heck, I'm pretty close. Just go the whole time. I am so proud of my body! And I'm proud of me! And I am grateful for the infomercial that held my attention so I didn't focus so much on the time as I did the bizarre crescent-shaped meals I saw being prepared in the XPress Cook 101, or whatever it was called.

"Works just like a real oven!" Oh yeah? So does my oven.

Conclusion: I'm still on track, despite some tempting food and a somewhat lazy weekend. Yay!