First 5K!

It all started with a simple FB message from my cousin Pam inviting me and our cousin Krystal to run a 5K with her. This was something I had been wanting to do for a long time so once I knew I wouldn't have to make an appearance at work I signed up. At first I didn't really think about it. After all I had been doing a 5 or 6 mile once a week. Then I started to feel really crappy again. Pretty much the whole month of May was a wash. I worked ridiculously long hours and ran very little.

May was also the month that I decided to try medication for the mild form of Lupus that I have. My doctor informed me that it has a very successful record, few side effects, but it can take 4-6 weeks to start working. At this point I was just so sick and tired of being sick and tired I was ready to try something.

The week before the race I was still feeling like garbage. At this point I resigned myself to the fact that it would take me about 36-40 minutes to finish the run depending on what happened with my legs. Sometimes they are good, sometimes not so good. I even thought about dropping out of the whole thing so I would not embarrass myself!

Luckily, I hadn't signed up by myself and backing out wasn't an option! All of the sudden 2 days before the run I started to feel better, much better. I even had a root canal which caused my mouth to hurt but overall I was feeling good. I was starting to get excited for my first run!

Saturday began warm, with a cool breeze, and slightly overcast skies. Great shuffling weather! I got up, walked the dog, and we hit the road. Of course I made James come to be my official photographer. I had no idea how many people were going to be there or how long it would take me to get my number. As a result we arrived on scene about 40 minutes before the start. I now know that this is way to early for me. The people there with me were stretching, running around, and doing all kinds of serious runner things. All of the sudden I felt out of place because I didn't have a cool warm-up routine! I picked up my goody bag and proceeded to exit the pavilion when I saw a big map on hot pink poster board. omg was I supposed to memorize this?! Was the course that hard that it needed a map? no, I can just follow other people. but what if i'm dead last and there are no other people? Those were the crazy thoughts running through my brain. Soon enough I wised up and decided that I didn't need to figure out how to read or memorize the map. We took some pictures and then it was about time to line up!

I met up with Pam right before the start.

We decided to start together because the beginning is fun and then we would part ways if I had to walk or was really slow haha

I was so excited when the race went off! We actually ran at the same pace which was great. Pam said that many people start off way to fast and we would get to pass them at the end. I sure hoped so! The first mile flew by, I felt fantastic. I told myself to just keep going and then the second mile was behind us. Only 1 mile left!

This was the fun part. The last mile started about where the finish was and looped around. I knew this from all of my time reading the map. I was almost done and started to get really excited. There was a guy playing a trumpet and lots of people cheering. We saw Pam's friends going into the final few yards a good 10 minutes ahead of us! They were serious runners. We started laughing because the mom's with strollers who started a full 5 minutes after us were not far behind! Then we noticed women running while carrying kettle bells, also not far behind!
Towards the end Pam ran ahead to try and beat her time from last year. I saw James on the side lines taking pictures and cheering. I was tired but decided to push myself in the home stretch. Pam was right, I started passing tons of people! this was great!

I did it! I was beaming as ran across the finish line!

My official time was 33:39. Which was great for me! Since I started running again the best I had done was 36. I finished in the 800's out of 1300.

I have to give a BIG thank you to Pam! I would not have signed up for a 5K if it wasn't for her. Plus, I know that the reason I did so well was because we ran together. Thanks Pam!!!!

From Short Sleeves To Snow

When you live in the Northeast, or anywhere with seasons, you have to come to terms with running in all different types of weather, sometimes in the same week. This Winter/Spring has not disappointed. One week I ran in the upper 50's in short sleeves and wind pants. A few days later I had to shorten my long run because of a snow storm. When I did my long run that week it was in 16 degree weather. Basically, you never know what you're going to get.

Pictures before my run in the snow. It was too wet to take my camera with me.

After my first run of the year in a t-shirt I felt pretty confident that the warm weather was here to stay. Boy was I wrong. The mild temps were short lived indeed with rain, sleet, and snow following close behind. I had no idea that one week I would be running with the sun shinning on my face and the next I would be pelted with wet snow.

In way it is kind of fun. It breaks up the monotony of running around the same places. You really feel the seasons, the weather, and can appreciate them in a way others probably do not. A run in the first warm day of the year brings a type of wonderful joy. It feels like the world is waking up from a long slumber. The air smells fresh and clean. And, just when you think you can pack your hats and gloves away, you wake up to a snow storm. A beautiful dusting of sparkling white powder turning your ordinary back yard into a winter wonderland. I was excited to shuffle around my neighborhood that had transformed into a picture from a fairytale. There was something special about running in the heavy wet snow because I knew (hoped) that it would be the last snow storm I would be running in for several months at least. I really enjoyed myself. Sure it was slippery and wet, but the temps were actually in the 30's which was great. Whereas for months I had muttered under my breath running around ice and snow banks, I knew that this time the ground was too warm to hold the snow and in a matter of days the inches would melt away and therefore I relished slogging through the slush. It was the perfect farewell to Winter even though it is technically Spring. Goodbye Winter we will meet again soon enough!

Super Slow 4 Miles - but it still counts!

This past Sunday I went for my typical 40 minute walk/shuffle and something magical happened. This magical episode happens to all new runners or any runner coming back from a hiatus for whatever reason. I'm not sure how to quite explain this but I'm sure most runners know what I am talking about. It's the moment when everything comes together and you feel like a runner.

It occurred on the way back from my run. I had been doing my standard 3:2 ratio of walking and shuffling and all of the sudden I felt so great that I just didn't want to stop. I was no longer worried about becoming exhausted or that this workout would wipe me out for the rest of the day. I just kept going and felt great. Sure my knees and hips were slightly achy but they felt strong, no wobbles or weakness. That is when I knew that I had arrived back into the world of running!

When I returned home I started making plans and goals for the future once again. I am not ready to divulge them just yet, you will just have to wait for a future post. And don't worry James, I will not train for a marathon (yet). After the Lupus thing he made me promise that I could keep shuffling as long as I "didn't do anything crazy like start training for a marathon". I tend to agree with him for the time being. There are plenty of other goals to shoot for and I formed a loose plan in my mind. First, I am going to add a once a week long run into the mix. And that's about all I have come up with so far hehe.

This week I would do 4 miles at a 2:2 ratio and see how I felt. You see, I have this huge mental block to overcome. I'm scared of pushing myself too much because I don't know what will happen. It's not that I am crazy (well maybe just a little). For those of you who don't remember this whole Lupus thing started about a year ago while I was training for a marathon. One day I went for a normal 10 mile run and the next day I literally could not get out of bed. I have never been the same since. So you can see where I might have a dilemma. Although, I'm starting to come to terms with this and I feel like if I listen to my body and take it slow I will be fine. Therefore, I chose 4 miles as a sort of test. I flirt with 3 on my normal running days and I decided to just go for 4 and see what happened. On the day of my planned run I was actually nervous. What if I hit 3 miles and couldn't go any farther? What if I was exhausted the next day? Could I do this? Because of these questions looming in my mind I brought my MP3 player with me. I'm normally not a fan of listening to music on my runs but I wanted to drowned out the negative thoughts. It was funny because for the first 2 miles I was so distracted by stupid things like my clothes and trying to find a tissue. The route I had planned ended up not working due to the fact that it was covered in treacherous ice. I therefore had to add a make shift loop to get the mileage right. Then I caused my Garmin to fall off. I almost had a heart attack because it shut off and didn't turn on right away. All of this made me angry and I was coming on 3 miles. I guess mentally I thought that I might just pass out or something but physically I actually started to feel great and the last mile was awesome. I DID IT! Not only did I do 4 miles but you can assume from my ramblings that I still feel great. I woke up the next day feeling just like I always do. I did some strength training yesterday and went for another fantastic 40 minute shuffle this morning sticking with the 2:2 ratio. I guess it is safe to say that my confidence is building. I am going to stick with 4 miles as my long run again next week. Better to be safe than sorry!

14 degree shuffle

It's cold out, very, very cold. At 14 degrees it was the coldest day I've shuffled outside so far. Last year I distinctly remember doing a 6 mile shuffle on a 16 degree day. I thought my legs were going to fall off they were so cold. Anyway, I got out all of my winter gear. This is my cold weather attire: knee high socks, knee braces, warm fleecy pants (not a fan of running tights), super tight Under Armor Cold Wear long sleeve shirt, long sleeve high neck looser fitting Nike garment, Under Armor Cold Wear hoodie, gloves, hat, and I tighten and tie my hood. Most importantly I slather my face with Bag Balm which is like Vaseline. I get my keys, shoes, gum, and tissues in place so once I layer up I can get out of the door quickly.

I was thrilled to get out all of my running gear and I even charged up my Garmin. Oh how I missed my Garmin! It was like hanging out with a beloved friend. He's so good at tracking my mileage and time.

Once I got out there I was only cold for like the first 5 minutes. I move my arms really fast and try to quickly generate some heat. The good thing is that I am just so happy to be out there I don't really care how cold it is! The surface conditions were less than ideal. We were hit with a snow storm Thursday into Friday, about 7 inches, so there was limited shoulder space for me to be on. In addition, the sidewalks were treacherously covered in a thin layer of snow and ice. I was relegated to the road for my shuffle and had to keep an eye out for cars on turns.

Overall it was a pretty fantastic shuffle. I stuck with my plan and shuffled 1 minute for every 5 minutes of walking and I did this for 40 minutes. Garmin told me I went for 2.70 miles. I think turtles are faster. I started to feel poorly at the end of my run but I think that was because I had given like 8 viles of blood to be tested this morning. Don't worry mom, the lab tech said that I could workout when I went home but that I should wait an hour and eat something, which I did.

The rest of my day will be comprised of more cleaning, laundry, and maybe a trip to the mall! Stay warm!

i am determined to start running!

I won't keep everyone waiting- Yes, I'm still vegan loving it!

The winter blahs have really been getting to me. Everything is cold, dreary, and boring! I started using my light box this week and I began doing my lame-o Turbo Jam dvd's but nothing was really doing it for me. Then, the other day my cousin Krystal left me a FB post about how I haven't updated my blog in a long time. This comment got me thinking (doesn't happen often!) and I realized that I'm not totally smitten by blogging and in fact don't like it when I'm not running. You see, when I spent hours upon hours a week running I was outside with nothing but my thoughts. I had plenty of time to clear my head and think about what I wanted to write. When I don't have that outlet for thinking I have nothing to write. I would just sit in front of the computer, stare at it, and ultimately log onto FB. All of this made me realize that I absolutely, positively miss and love running. I just do not feel complete without it. Some people run for health or weight loss, I ran because I truly loved it. So I decided today that I was going to start running even if it kills me. Don't worry, I'm taking baby steps. I went for a 40 minute walk, only 8 minutes of that were shuffling, I wore ACE braces on both knees, and I am icing them as we speak. Baby steps. Can I tell you, those 40 minutes were everything that I dreamed they would be! Definitely in the Top Ten things that I have done in the past few months. Sounds weird but it's true. My game plan is to keep that up for 3 days a week and slowly increase my shuffling time. My other days will be XT probably using Wii Active 2 or Turbo Jam. So that's it! All your prayers for a successful entrance back into the running world are greatly appreciated!

A quickie vegan update:
I have been having a great time being vegan! I dropped the 5 pounds I gained over the holidays with no trouble at all. The weight just fell off. Plus, my skin looks great! I have cooked a few things and they actually tasted good. Will I be a vegan forever? No. I will continue through January though and most likely continue to eat like this most of the time. We will just have to wait and see!

Nature Girl Runs on Dirt!

Miles: 10.01

Time: 2:17:47

• ran on some dirt trails, peed in the woods, got a mosquito bite (on my butt), forded a river twice, tripped and rolled like a stunt man, and cut 10 minutes off of my last 10 mile time

This whole adventure started because my friend Heather (a.k.a Bebe), who is a PA, verbally assaulted me for not varying the surface that I run on. You know these medical types, always telling runners that they are going to blow their knees out in ten years. Once (years ago) I even had a doctor tell me that I shouldn't run because it's "bad for your knees". Maybe they're right but the alternative for me is being a couch potato so I'm going to stick with running, thanks. Anyway, while running on my usual trail I spied a very inviting dirt trail that appeared to travel parallel to the paved one. At the same time, there was a guy in my area that I couldn't seem to lose. Normally people pass me and I never see them again, I tell myself this is because they end at one of the trail heads while I keep going. Anyway, the combination of losing this guy and telling Bebe that I ran on dirt practically made the decision for me. I veered off into the unknown! I was having so much fun and feeling so good that I forgot about my walk breaks, I hoped that I wouldn't regret this daydreaming at mile 7. The dirt trail met up with the paved one and I was at a crossroads. Of course Frost was in my mind telling me to take the path less traveled. The only problem was that there was a steep muddy embankment to travel down and a river to ford. On the plus side someone had strategically placed rocks as a make-shift bridge and there was a stick going over the quagmire of muck. I went for it! I tip-toed around the muddiest parts, hanging onto trees (the stick sunk when I stepped on it) and got to the river. Now, I have crossed many a river in my days of hiking, and the trick is to make sure the rocks are stable before you put all of your weight on them. It was a success! I was over the river! I was having a blast. Unfortunately, near one road crossing the path merged with the macadam once again. This is where I realized that it is much faster to shuffle on pavement than dirt. duh

It was around mile 3 something or other that I really had to pee. I just couldn't hold it. Back to my hiking experience, I have no problem going to the bathroom in the woods, what did concern me was that a fellow jogger or cyclist would wander by. The tree cover is not that great yet and visibility is pretty good. But, there was no way I could hold it for another 4 miles until I got back to the bathrooms in the park. I walked way into the woods and found a fallen tree with another tree in front of it which seemed to provide good coverage. I did my business and was back on the trail jogging in record time. This is when I realized that I had a stupid mosquito bite! That's what I get for peeing in the woods.

I became a little sluggish at mile 5 but my GU perked me right up. The trail was getting fairly crowed and I had two different runners tell me "good job" which I found a little strange. Not bad, just weird. On the way back I debated not taking the dirt trail. I was getting tired and didn't feel like dealing with any surprises. Ultimately I chose to go back the exact way I came; basically because I did not want to mess with my mileage. I had already stopped my watch on the pee break and forgot to start it again for like 5 minutes. I was mentally somewhere in la la land when I TRIPPED. It happened so fast but for some reason the thought that I could not fall on my knees popped into my head. I put my heads down and somehow sprung off of them to roll onto my butt. Crisis averted due to my awesome stuntman-like skills. In reality I most likely appeared to be a weirdo rolling in the dirt. I want to say that my fall was due to a rock but I think I really just stumbled from poor shuffling. Whatever the reason I came away unscathed and was back to the river which I crossed like a pro.

My run was sadly coming to an end. I felt great the entire time. I guess all of the swimming and scaling back my mileage due to vacation really helped. I felt like saying I did an "easy" 10 miles. It was not until my run was almost over that I pushed some buttons on my watch and realized that I had gone faster than the last time I did 10. I was shocked. I ended up going an entire 10 minutes faster! That just made the run even better. What a blessing to run an easy 10 on a beautiful day!

hills?!

I did not feel like running in the slightest and therefore decided to run anyway and attempt to do some hill work. Makes sense, right? The most enjoyable part of the whole matter is that I do not even know how to properly preform a "hill" workout. The following is what I did. I did a normal 5 minute walking warm-up then I jogged to a hill. I sprinted up the hill trying to be as light on my feet as possible. Then I walked down the hill. I did this for .90 miles/ 10 minutes but I am not actually sure how many times I went up and down the hill. It was pretty enjoyable and I almost threw up my Panera lunch. I'm not sure why I equate almost losing the contents of my stomach due to physical exertion, but I do. Oddly enough, I do not like sprinting on flat ground. I think this may have something to do with my running form. I feel that I have better form going uphill. I will have to look into this in addition to reading the chapter in my book about running hills. Its not really in my beginner program so I skipped that part of the book. Anyway, I jogged the rest of my 20 minute run and did my usual 5 minute cool down walk. The problem is that my right knee is now feeling weird. It started acting up at work today. I'm icing them now and hoping that both will be fine tomorrow!

vacay is upon us & an easy 6

I wish that I could think of better titles. I think that I used some form of the word "busy" several times already. I should basically just put boring. I mean with a title like that no wonder no one reads this thing!

This week I am supposed to do 11-12 miles for my long run. The problem is that we will be flying out early Saturday and I can't see myself running around a foreign island for 11 miles. I had originally planned on doing the long run today. I think I already wrote about this right? Anyway I had a normal work day, up at 3:15 am and doing a lot of lifting and physical work, ect. Plus, my wobbley knee is still unsteady! Who knows what this is? There is no pain, it just feel wobbly, weak, or unsteady. If I wear an ACE brace/bandage I am fine. weird. After my dad read about the knee on the other post he asked, "what the heck does a wobbley knee mean"? I honestly have no idea! It's just the word that pops into my head when I think about what my knee feels like feels like. Sorry. Anyway, I decided that I didn't want to do anything stupid and wobble my knee worse so I voted for a nice easy 6 mile run. It was great! who thought that almost 2 months ago I would be going for a fun 6 miles. The weather was perfect and it was super easy. I had to wear my ACE buddy and of course by the end my other knee was sore. Oddly enough the original wobbley knee (left) isn't wobbley anymore, just sore. Now I know why people take ice baths after they run! I have been icing every few hours when I am home so hopefully it will be fine for the trip. I am looking forward to getting in a few short runs, lots of swimming, reading, sleeping, eating, and relaxing on vacay! This may be the last post for a while. My phone will most likely not work on the island. James' phone will so maybe I will give a quick update.

busy busy!

Vacay is almost here! YAY! I have to make this a quick post, James is almost done cooking dinner (whole wheat pasta and veggies yum). I love when he cooks! Yesterday I completed my run on the treadmill. I was running errands all day after work and didn't get home until 5 p.m. It was rainy, cool, and I just didn't feel like being outside. Plus, I had last weeks episode of LOST to catch up on. Even with LOST the treadmill was rough. It takes me about 15-20 minutes until I become accustomed to it and by that time my run is almost over.

I did yoga abs and Mrytle today.

I think I may have runner's knee. It feels like my knee is weak. Previously, I had been wearing an ACE knee bandage at work when I knew I was going to be lifting all day or on the latter. I forgot to wear it last week on an especially difficult day and since then it has been weird. I'm just going to ice it, wrap it, and probably only do an easy 8 miles Thursday. I have to do my long run Thursday becuase of vacay. No time to proof read or anything. Hope this makes some sense!

week 7 recap

Week 7 Recap:


April 19 - 25

Training:

Monday: 30 minute. Due to my schedule I literally had no time for anything other than 30 minutes of running. I didn't even have time for a warm-up or cool down.

Tuesday: I went to visit awesome friend Jen and here precious bebes! They live about an hour away which means that I didn't get home until 7 p.m. I still had to get lunch and clothes ready for work and spend some quality time with the hubby and therefore didn't XT. There are no excuses for not cross-training but I'm not upset about it since this never happens. I did dance to songs on Yo Gabba Gabba with a toddler, is that a form of XT?

Wednesday: 40 minutes total (30 running). It was a great day. There were rumblings of thunder, crazy storm clouds, and the air felt electric. What a great day to be a runner.

Thursday: Happy Earth Day!!! My mom would sometimes take this day off of work because it was a special day. I grew up with motto "Earth Day is everyday"
Yoga Abs & Mrytle

Friday: Rest Day! it's funny because when I started training I hated taking a rest day. Now I feel like I need it.

Saturday: 10 miles!! total time 2:27 hours

Sunday: Yoga Abs, Mrytle, and shopping! wait, does walking around retail stores for hours count as XT?

Health:

This week started poorly. My husband and I made lots of poor food choices on Monday. It's still hard for me to not eat junk when he brings it home. I think it was easier when I wasn't training. Now I'm so tired all of the time I will just eat anything. Luckily the rest of the week was better. After my initial weight loss I have just hit this plateau where I eat too much or too little. I wasn't concerned about what I ate in the beginning because I wanted training to be my main focus. I think after vacay next week I will try to plan my meals better. I still 16.2 pounds. How crazy is that? You would think I would have lost a little more after I ran 10 miles yesterday!

10 miles!

10 miles

Start: 7:55 a.m. Finish: 10:22 a.m.

Total: 2:27 hours

I started off feeling good except for my wobbly knee and this caused me to not be so great mentally. I kept thinking that my knee was going to wobble out of place and I was going to be stuck somewhere unable to walk. It sounds cheesy but I started up a mantra "I am strong, my body is strong" to bring the focus to something positive. Hey, if mantras work for Kara Goucher maybe they will work for me! About 2 miles into the run I arrived to a really beautiful place in the woods. There were mini fluff balls floating in the breeze and the light was filtering through the trees and dancing on the stream. It looked like a Fairytail Forest and I was content to drink it all in.

Let me clear up any confusion here. I say that I run on "trails" but it is actually a myriad of paved paths that extend for miles in the woods. I would run on dirt paths in the middle of nowhere but I fear that I may become lost. I am not that confident in my navigational abilities and the "map" on my GPS is meerly a line on a screen. Right now the park suits me just fine and I am usually passed by other people on my run.

After miles I finally came to the end of a trail and ended up running on a busy road with no shoulder. This seemed to break up the monotony of the run but after a half mile I was thrilled to be in the woods again.

On a side note, I am in love with my strawberry banana GU. I feel like a GU addict because I crave its sugary goodness and the boost of energy that it brings. I squeeze out every sweet sticky drop!

I was a tad bit annoyed that I stopped the Garmin for a potty break (there is a decent porta john) in the parking lot of one of the trail heads) and I forgot to restart it which messed up my mileage. Luckily, I knew where I had turned around last week at 4:50 miles and was able to deduce that my watch was about .20 miles off. Furthermore, the battery on the Garmin began to die around mile 7 but ended up having enough juice to keep going for the remainder of the run. The face read "low battery enter". It took me about 5 minutes until I realized that I had to press the enter button to clear the message. Duh!

Serious Closing Message:

Up until last weeks run my long runs were something of a lark. I mean, I had my challenges, we all remember "Poncho Princess", but something changes when your mileage increases and you are out there running for hours. Let's face it, at 15 minute miles I was shuffling for almost 2:50 hours today! I don't care how slow I am going, that's a long time. The mental part becomes as hard as the physical part. It is challenging in the beginning to know that I will be out there for such a time, and towards the end I don't even feel my body (which is kinda cool and weird at the same time). There are highs and lows on every run now. I still love running and I have become much more serious about the whole endever. I ran 10 miles today, I am a runner

8, 9 Miles & Gadgets-Oh My!

April 12, 2010 - 8 miles

I have to backtrack a little here since it has been so long since I posted anything of note. In April I decided that I would splurge and purchase a Garmin GPS watch. From the beginning I have had a strong desire to run in the woods, off-road, or anywhere besides the boring route on the road which I had mapped out using my car. I was going to wait until I had been training for a few months but I honestly felt that I was completely dedicated to my goal in addition to running for life (or as long as my legs hold up). Plus, Amazon had some really fabulous sales on older Garmin models! I was so excited when the package finally came!
What is in the box?

YAY! A Garmin!!

It is huge and the graphics remind me of technology from the 80's, but I LOVE it!

Although I was thrilled about hittin' the trails with my Garmin, I still had hydration concerns. I mean, I'm running 15 minute miles here so 8 miles will take me about 2 hours. There is no way I was going out in the woods without my own water supply. I come from a family of "outdoorsy" people and you never venture out on a hike or whatever without enough water in case you become lost or injured. It just so happened that I was running some errands which took me past REI. I went in for a look around and I found an entire wall of hydration backpacks. Exactly what I wanted! I tried on a few styles and settled on one that holds 2 liters and is equipped with 2 zippered pockets and another thing to hold a jacket or something. Now, I was all set for a run!

I was slightly concerned that I had 2 new gadgets and I was attempting to run in the woods for the first time in a long time. My pack felt great! I was ecstatic to not be holding a bottle or wearing something around my waist. It was a beautiful day and I was happy to be outside. I don't have too much else to write about. I LOVE my pack and Garmin. This was by far the BEST run that I have had since I started. Oddly enough, I didn't really think at all. Normally, I have a running dialogue in my mind which is why I always have fun stories after my long runs. I'm not sure what I will write about now!

My watch is ginormous!

Hydration Pack

April 17- 9 miles

I had a long week but I went to my first Yankee's game on Friday night! I had a great time even though it was rain delayed half way through and finally called off. It was a win for the Yankee's! Needless to say I didn't get very much sleep and decided to run on Sunday. I had a long day Saturday and I awoke pretty tired Sunday. I mustered all of my energy and went anyway. I felt like I was dragging through the whole run but the weather was pleasant and the scenery was great. Once again I was thankfully for the freedom that my hydration pack and Garmin allowed me!

another week almost gone

I cannot believe that it is Thursday already! I have kept up with all of my usual workouts this week. I am glad that I was so dedicated to my training plan for the first month because now it has just become a part of my life. I don't even think about missing a workout even if I am tired (except for last Thursday but it was only a XT day anyway). I feel really great. My hubby and I are going on a vacay in a little over 2 weeks and this is one of the first times that I haven't had to scramble to get into bikini shape. I feel good the way that I am. That doesn't mean that I don't hope to lose a few more pounds before we go, but I am fine if I don't.

I started back up with my yoga abs dvd. My neck is feeling much better so I am trying not to overdo it. Oddly enough, my abs are much stronger now. Although I shake from the effort, I am able to hold all of my poses! The other weird thing that I noticed is that the rest of my body is much stiffer. This may be due to the fact that I haven't been stretching enough after workouts. All in all it feels good to back working on my abs with Rodney Yee

Week 6 Recap

Week 6 Recap: April 12-18

Training:

Monday: 30 minute run + 10 minute warm up/cool down. I keep falling short of 3 miles in 30 minutes. Today I ran 2.95 miles in 30 minutes. Ugh! I don't know what I can't just sprint at the end. I guess I am a little nervous about breaking my shuffle, sprinting, and injuring myself. After all, I obviously don't care about my time anyway (How You Doin 15 minute miles!) I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing.

Tuesday: Yoga Abs DVD, short walk with pup. I had to keep it short today because I am going to see Third Eye Blind in a few hours.

Wednesday: 30 minute run + 10 minute warm up/cool down. I went super slow today. My knee is bugging me a little and I just felt like taking it easy.

Thursday: 15 minute walk, Yoga Abs, Mrytle

Friday: Rest Day and Yankee Game!

Saturday: In order to get my long run in today I would have had to wake up at 5 a.m. My other option was to run on Sunday, since I had nothing else planned. I was up late Friday night and decided that I would only run on Saturday if I was feeling "bright eyed and bushy tailed" This was not the case so I ran on Sunday instead of my usual day. I actually did no form of training today. In fact, I ate and sat at a Bridal Shower for the majority of the day! Congrats Monica & Paul!

Sunday: 9 miles! Start: 7:02 a.m. Finish: 9:12 a.m.


Health:

I've been doing well this week so I guess I can officially blame my carb overload last week to lack of sleep.

Blazin!

WOW is it HOT out! I was not prepared for this kind of heat so soon. I assure you that I am not exaggerating, it is literally 90 degrees! Only a short time ago it was in the 40's. Running in this type of heat is rough. At one time I was happy to be home from work and running by 3 p.m. the latest. Now, I'm not having as much fun running with the blazing hot sun beating down on me. On the plus side, I am really glad that I brought water on my run because I might have passed out without it, and there was a breeze at times. For some reason my 30 minute run felt like hours. I started out okay, actually happy to be running, but became fatigued very quickly. From there on out I just took it nice and slow.

In addition I gave my pup a bath today! He's only 5 pounds and therefore fits nicely in the sink. I love when the weather is warm because I can give him a bath and take him outside to dry instead of torturing him with the blow dryer.

Week 5 Recap and Sleep Update

Week 5 Recap: April 5- April 11

This week was a bit of a mess. By Thursday I was showing full fledged signs of sleep deprivation. For the full info see Background Info: Never Enough Sleep. I have been getting 6 or less hours of sleep for over the past month. Now according to the doctor, some people only need 5-6 hours a night, others need 7-8, I fall into the latter category. Can you tell that I have already had problems with this? I am usually pretty good about catching up on sleep on the weekends or taking a nap during the week but for over a month now I have just been going, going, going and I finally crashed. Early warning signs were the intense starch carb cravings i was having. Of course I think about pizza sometimes but I should have known something was wrong when I actually went out of my way to eat it on a Tuesday, in addition to wanting potatoes and white bread. Later in the week I was literally passing out for a few seconds/minutes at a time and my anxiety was starting to become slightly unmanageable. Not good! Finally, on Thursday I started to have a low grade fever, was barely moving at work, forgetting things, and I even thought I saw my dog run by in the living room in the morning even though he is gated in another room. That's when I knew that I desperately needed sleep. Thursday and Friday I took really long naps and went to bed early. I woke up feeling much better on Saturday and had the best run ever. I slept even more on Sunday and feel like myself again.

Training:

Monday: 30 minute run + 10 minute warm-up/cool down. It was really hot out today and I felt like I was going to pass out by the time I returned home. I guess I overheat easily. I am now going to bring water on every run no matter how short!



Tuesday: 40 minute walk. I was feeling super lazy today and could not force myself to do any form of DVD, ab work, or even my beloved Mrytle. I'm lucky I forced myself out of the door for a walk!



Wednesday: 30 minute run + 10 minute warm-up/cool down

Thursday: maybe walked for 15 minutes and slept

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 8 mile run! I forgot my start and finish times and I accidentally erased them from my Garmin (still working out the kinks) but I believe that I completed my shuffle in 1:52

Sunday: 30 minute walk & Myrtle




Health:

Monday: lets not even talk about what I ate today :/



Tuesday: today was even worse! I picked up pizza and garlic knots. oh well, at least I am still shuffling!


Wednesday: doing much better with my food choices. I did have cereal for dinner but that is better than pizza! I wrote this before I ate a box of Cherrio's

I gained a pound this week! Oh well! I don't even know what I ate for the rest of the week but I now know that the food choices in the beginning of the week were due to sleep deprivation.

Don't Mess With My Routine (3/27)

"My ears hurt mom"

Its chilly out!

It's hard to write about something that happened Saturday but here I go...

6 Miles

start: 9:33 a.m.

finish: 11:05 a.m.

It will most likely take me a loooong time to finish a marathon

I think that I heard my mom say this first, "A woman's work is never done". I am not sure of the origins of this quote but it is absolutely true. Keep this in mind as I continue my story. I have come to look upon my Saturday runs as my selfish time. I have a routine and at this time I have to stick to it. My routine is what keeps me going. If I didn't have it I would most likely have given up on my training plan. After all, I am the master of making up excuses for not doing something.

I won't delve into the details, but circumstances arose in which I was not able to keep with my Saturday running routine. This made me crazy! I kept trying to get out of the door and one thing after another continued to prevent me from doing so. Nothing important mind you, frivolous things that could have waited until I arrived home again or, better yet, been taken care of without my assistance. I finally escaped and had 6 miles to contemplate life. I am VERY blessed and I love taking care of my house, husband, and pup (who has a double ear infection) but is it too much to ask for a few hours Saturday morning to run? I decided that going forward the best course of action will be to wake up really early and be out of the door before anyone else wakes up (hehe). I can't even imagine what will happen if/when we have kids, yikes! Furthermore, I deduced that I cannot flip out if my routine has to be shifted.

The weather conditions took a weird turn this weekend. It was in the low 30's with a crisp wind, which actually turned out to be decent running conditions. Out of the closet came the gloves, hat, and sweatshirt. I was hoping to keep them stored away until next winter, oh well. On a side note, my winter gear matches because of my super generous parents and husband. They gave me gift cards to sports stores for Chirstmas so I wasn't strangled running in a winter coat. Back to my story- My route was planned as a nice 6 mile loop. YAY I finally get to loop it! This is going to sound crazy to some, but running is a meditative/spiritual time for me. I like to pray, de-stress, and just think. In any event, on this run a tropical locale kept popping into my mind. This was probably due to the fact that we just planned a trip to Sint Maarten. Nevertheless, my husband and I both desperately want to live somewhere tropical by the beach, but we keep focusing on all of the difficulties this quest would entail. I had this strong feeling that we were supposed to start planning for this anyway and that everything would work itself out. Maybe some of my future posts will be about planning a move!

My run came to an end without incident. I know, everyone is used to my fun and wacky long runs but they simply cannot happen every week. I was slightly fatigued at the end and I might try out different fuel options going further. I have used GU in the past but I am going to see if I can get away with just munching on some dried fruit or something a little more healthy. There are some pretty weird ingrediants in GU. I don't know how eating dried fruit is going to work though. We will just have to wait and see.

nice run

It was a pretty nice day out. The sun even poked through the clouds for a while. Hey, anything is better than the chilly monsoon we have had for the past few days. Wait, I think monsoons only occur in warm oceans. Either way, it has been bad weather wise and the roads were beginning to flood so I am very thankful that it has stopped.


Today I had a nice run. I'm finally at the point where it is simply fun to run for 30 minutes, even the hilly parts. Everything was working in fine symmetry. Don't get me wrong, I still shuffle and my form is atrocious but I felt strong and at ease. I really pushed myself up the last hill and was not embarrassed of the people gazing as they drove by. Usually, I feel that I must look like some type of female Frankenstein clodding around in running shorts but today I may have passed for someone who was trying to jog. All in all a good day.

Blah

I am feeling really don't feel like doing anything, no cooking, cleaning, or blogging! I'm in a very blah mood. Don't worry I have already done my workout for the day. I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes (while talking to my mom), Mrytle, and some lower ab work with a medicine ball for like 10 minutes. I would have done my yoga abs dvd but my neck is out and ab work will only aggravate it. What exactly does it mean when I say that my neck is out? It means that I have a nagging pain in my neck and I cannot turn my head to the left. I can turn it to the right though! I'll give you a brief boring history of my neck/back problems. I was in minor car accident about 2 years ago. My car was rear-ended while I was stopped and waiting to make a left turn. The jerk, I mean kid, who hit me was in his 20's and didn't have a driver's license! I didn't sue him because the car only had minor damage and I thought that my neck would be fine in a week. Little did I know that I would have neck/back problems for the rest of my life. Anyway, after my husband and I were married last September I was put on his insurance. woohoo! I was finally able to go to physical therapy and it was fantastic, but now I am back to square one. The sad part is that I'm not really surprised. I have been keeping up with my PT exercises and my back has been awesome, it's just my neck that is messed up. I'm sure it is because of the core work I've been doing and that fact that I simply cannot seem to find good stretches for my neck. My mom is doing some research into yoga poses that help one's neck and maybe that will help. I sure hope so!

Week 4 recap

Week 4- March 29-April 4:


Training:



Monday: 28 minute run + 10 minute warm-up cool down. I miscalculated my turn around time in addition to running back way faster than I went out, thus making the run 2 minutes short. I was over 5 minutes off and had to run around to try to make up some time but still ended up being 2 minutes short. I had an off day.

Tuesday: 30 minutes walking on treadmill, Mrytle, 10 minutes ab work with medicine ball. my neck is out!!

Wednesday: 30 minutes running, just shy of 3 miles + 10 minute warm-up/cool down


Thursday: 30 minute walk, Mrytle, lower ab crunches (neck is still bad), took Guy for a nice walk


Friday: Good Friday. Rest day


Saturday: 7 miles

Start: 7:33 a.m.

Finish: 9:09 a.m.

Its still going to take me forever to finish a marathon!

Sunday: Happy Easter! I am very sad to say that I did no form of workout what so ever. I did not even take my poor pup on a walk. I am very dissapointed in myself and will never let this happen again

Health:

lbs: 116.2 (I cheated and weighed myself Saturday in preperation of the upcoming festivites)

measurements:

Thighs: 20.5

Hips: 31

Waist: 25

As you can see I have lost at least an inch from every measuremnt: thighs, hips, and waist. Pretty awesome!

Monday: wow what can I even say about today. I didn't sleep well and 3am came all too quickly. I ate Doritos before I ran and I am going to have a bagel for dinner. Oh well, tomorrow is another day

Tuesday: still not doing so great today. I had a few cookies but I was running around all day at work so I think that I needed the sugar. I don't feel like putting any type of meal together so your guess is as good as mine as to what my dinner will be.

Wednesday: I possibly ate half a box of Cheerios! I seriously have a problem with cereal. NO more cereal in the house!


Thursday: I am back on track. My poor husband went to have cereal for a snack and was like, "wow, you really did eat the whole box" I told him I have a cereal addiction!


Friday: GOOD FRIDAY this is one of the most special times of the year and I eat very minimally so I have extra time to reflect on the meaning of this day.



Saturday: no problem eating well during the day. My long run works like magic controlling what I want to eat. I always crave good healthy foods in small portions. It's the nighttime that I have to watch out for! We went to dinner at Carmine's in the city. We had a great time catching up with friends and loading up on carbs. I did walk around the city in heels so maybe I burned some extra calories. I know I have good leg muscles though, because walking for that length of time wasn't even a problem.

Sunday: HAPPY EASTER of course I ate a ton of mashed potatoes, eggplant parm, bread, and several other variates of carbs. I had a great day spending time with my family and calories do not count on Holidays, its a fact based on scientific evidence.