Run Day 15 ~ Over halfway there (literally)!!!!

This morning I woke up early and wanted to get my run in before my husband went to work, since my daughter took a turn for the worse and is home from school again with a diagnosis of walking pneumonia. My plan was to try and run 1.5 miles today without stopping. I had only a banana and water before my run, which is different from my usual complete (though light) breakfast. I didn't even have coffee beforehand.

It was much cooler than I expected and was regretting not wearing my lightweight hoodie, but figured I'd warm up quickly and it would just be tied around my waist by mid-run anyway. It was a beautiful day for a run, and my body was READY to run today. It was so easy to run compared to most days, and I never got too winded at any point.

At about 1.5 miles and still running strong, I decided to continue on. As I rounded the corner onto the dirt road leading back to my house where I usually stop to do my cool-down walk, I saw one of our neighbor's set of mailboxes and decided to run to them. Then, I decided to run to our mailboxes, at which point I finally stopped to allow for ample cool-down time before getting home (we live out in the country, so our mailboxes are pretty far from our actual house).

I estimated that I had run about two miles, and upon measuring, discovered it was 2.1 miles, so even better! I am so grateful to be progressing faster than I expected. 5K, here I come! I might even be able to run the 5K race on April 14 without having to stop to walk! So stoked!

Run Day 14 ~ Conquering my Wimpy Tendencies

So I have figured out that I have wimpy tendencies. I've had it all my life, really. As a child, I remember guitar lessons that I was excited about, only to quit when it got a little bit hard. When faced with just about anything hard, I gave up all too easily if there was no one to push me.

It is the reason I am still not at my goal weight. I always want to take the easy route, what's convenient, so I give up on tracking my calories, and I often don't want to go through the trouble to fix a healthier meal, so I wimp out and have something more convenient and less healthy.

To change something, you must be willing to get uncomfortable for awhile. When you're in a certain zone for awhile, you get comfy there, kind of like being in bed all cozy when the alarm goes off. Staying there is easy and comfortable, sure, but you have work to do, things to accomplish, so you make yourself get out of that comfort zone and get going.

I decided yesterday morning that I wasn't going to wimp out on my run when it got a little hard. My daughter was in school and I was stroller-less, so I had it easier. After only about a half-mile, I wanted to stop. But I told myself No. This time I pushed myself and gave myself a pep talk. I had read about one woman's plan to run in a 100-mile race and was so awed by that. I told myself, "If she can run 100 miles, then you can run a measly 3.1 miles with no problem. And today, you can run at least one mile again without stopping." So I pushed myself, and felt myself get stronger and suddenly, it was easier to run again.

I ran nine tenths of a mile (which I thought was one mile at the time), took about a three-minute walk break, then ran another six-tenths of a mile, sprinting the last 100 yards or so. My hamstrings and shins were yelling at me by then, so I decided I had better call it a day and walked the rest of the way home. Foam rolling and stretching will be a must for today, as I am still really feeling it in my hamstrings. Which is a good thing, it means they're getting stronger.

Today if you are faced with a seemingly monumental task that threatens to overtake you, tell yourself to be strong, face it head on, and push through. For me personally, I love having quiet time first thing in the morning where I read my Bible and pray, it is where I draw my Source of strength from.

Don't "just do it." Do it with strength, and do it well.

Run Day 13 ~ One of "those" days

The picture says it all. That's exactly how I felt today after my run. Funny, I didn't even run that far. It was one of "those" run days. If you are a runner, you know what I'm talking about. I could feel it before I even set out to run. I was hoping I was wrong.

My plan was to run another mile without stopping today, then walk for 2-3 minutes and do another half mile, possibly even another mile total. My daughter wound up needing to stay home sick from school again--which I didn't know until after I had woken her up--so part of my running gear would include a non-jogging/out of alignment/wobbly-wheeled/zero shock-absorbing 5-year old Graco stroller, packed tight with 54-lb. girl. I wasn't looking forward to the whole running/pushing/steering hard thing, and was kicking myself for not running when I had woken up earlier this morning at 5:30am.

I decided to try a new route today, one where the road would be "mostly" flat, or so I thought. It didn't help make it any easier, though, because, well, it was one of those days. A half mile seemed more like a mile, and I stopped to walk much sooner than expected.

When I finally ran again, there was a point where I started to feel like I was getting in the groove, but it wasn't long before my body just gave out and I was done. My engine was out of gas. I was so hot and out of breath that I literally leaned over on the stroller for part of the walk back to my van. I decided to call it a day, and made plans to run again this evening, minus the stroller, post husband getting home from work.

When I got back in the van to head home, something happened that has never happened to me before. I could feel my heartbeat pounding hard in the back of my head. Any other runners out there ever experience something like that? I checked my pulse to see if it was too high, but it was fine and sounded normal. But wow, the pounding.

I started having dizzy spells this evening, so maybe my body was indeed trying to tell me to slow down today for whatever reason. I did manage to at least get in ten minutes on the elliptical tonight, dizzy or not. Hopefully tomorrow I will be feeling much better and I can try for another run.

Ironstrength Workout #2 ~ Grunting helps.

Saturday I did the IronStrength workout again, and this time I was able to do more reps on a couple of the exercises! That was a great feeling. But by the time I got to the last exercise, I was totally spent, and was struggling to do that one last rep. Sweat was pouring off of me, my muscles gave out, and I fell down flat on the floor on my stomach, face squished into the floor, breathing like a horse. My daughter was quite concerned and asked, "Mama, are you okay?" That me laugh, because it made me realize just how pathetic I must have looked. I breathed that I was fine, just resting a little before trying to do one last rep. In her sweet voice she said, "C'mon, mama, you can do it!" It is hard to explain what that did for me. I said to her, "You're right. I can." So I got up, and did it indeed.

Grunting helps, by the way. And so does having a little cheerleader.

This time my legs have been even more sore than usual, even after a rest day yesterday. I was still too sore to run this morning. I mainly feel it in my thighs, especially the back of them. Today I'll focus on getting some housework done, do some stretching, and by tomorrow hopefully be good to go again.

I am loving the energy I have today, and hope it continues. I didn't do so great with my food this last week, though, so I'd better start eating much healthier again this week if I want the energy to continue. I'm off to a good start so far today, breakfast was oatmeal with raisins, two scrambled eggs with low fat cheese, and a cup of orange juice. My daughter is sick right now so I'm upping the Vitamin C (hence, the orange juice) in hopes of not catching what she has. I'll also be drinking green tea today.

The last thing I want is to get sick right now, which would put me behind in my running schedule. I'd really love to be able to run the 5K on April 28 without stopping. It would be an awesome feeling of accomplishment after so many months of being "on the bench," watching from the side lines and wanting so badly to be back in the game.

Run Day 12 ~ One mile without stopping. Conquered!

Today I wanted to try running one mile straight without stopping. The farthest I had run prior to that was 1/2 mile straight. My total running time was further than that, but not without walking intervals in-between. My daughter was off from school today for a teacher planning day, so I had planned to get up early and run before my husband went to work. But upon waking at 5am, I found my daughter asleep on the couch in the living room, and when I moved her back to her room, she told me she wanted to go with me on my run, asking if I could push her in the stroller. Her sweet voice won me over, so I went back to bed, and later we set off at about 10:30am. Thankfully it wasn't too hot, and it was windy which helped cool things off.

The first half mile was uphill, and at one point there was a pretty stiff wind. But I welcomed it as a challenge and pushed on. I felt really good today and was surprised that I wasn't winded much at all until I neared the top of the hill. I also discovered something new: that if I got closer to the stroller, it was easier to push and gave me more momentum.

Coming back downhill was much easier, but as it leveled out again, I was beginning to feel it. When the end of the mile began to come into sight, I kept telling myself, "The faster you run, the faster you'll get there, and then you'll be done!" And it worked. I did get there faster. And it felt so good. I did it. YES. So grateful. One mile down, two more (and a tenth) to go.

I thought I would just walk the rest of the way since I knew I'd be doing the killer IronStrength workout again tomorrow morning, but my daughter wanted to get out and walk with me, then wanted to run, so we ran about one tenth of a mile. Then she found a white rock and wanted to play hopscotch, so I drew it out on the sidewalk and we hopped. It was so much fun. I was glad I had taken her with me today.

Run Day 11 ~ IronStrength Workout and 14-minute Run

I want her abs. Okay not her abs, but to have my abs look even close to that would be awesome.

Late Tuesday night, I did the IronStrength workout, and realized that I have a LOT of work ahead of me to attain the level of fitness that I want. When the man directing the workout said for most of the exercises, "I want BEGINNERS to do FOUR sets of 15 reps," I knew I was in trouble. I can barely do ONE set of all those exercises right now, much less four!

One of the exercises that challenged me, among the many that did, was the side plank (as in the picture above). I have a weak core, and it shows.

The deep squats and deep lunges (some with added plyometrics) weren't too hard for me (though again, I could only do one set before my legs were on fire), as well as the plank exercises and the upper body work while balancing on one leg, but when it was time to do full situps, I was in for a surprise. I didn't think it would be hard at all, I had done them all the time as a kid, and besides, the woman doing the demonstration make it look so easy. But when I got halfway up, I got stuck and couldn't go any further. "What in the world?" I thought. "This is crazy. Is my core really that weak?" I thought about putting my toes under the couch to "cheat," but decided not to and instead put my arms straight out to use as leverage and tightened my stomach muscles to make myself sit all the way up. It wasn't easy, and I'm feeling it today, even though it's almost a full two days later.

The full pushups challenged me as well. No surprise there, as I have struggled with them in other workouts. If I do more than one full pushup, I feel like I'm going to die. How sad is that? I had to improvise and do half pushups, and even then, I have difficulty going all the way down (because then I can't go back up, lol).

I SO NEED to do this workout. I refuse to let the fact that it is hard (for me) discourage me from doing it. I must push through until I get stronger.

Yesterday morning, I wasn't sure if I should run, being that I had done the IronStrength workout so late the night before, but with a 5K race coming up in five weeks, I figured I'd better stay on schedule as much as possible. So I ran. It was a good run, and I did better than I thought I would, though I did have to stop shy of my goal of 16 minutes. When I got to 14 minutes, my legs were telling me I had better stop, so I listened.

Today I have been so sore, all over, which is a good thing. It means I worked hard enough Tuesday night and didn't wimp out. I plan to go for a long walk today, then tomorrow morning I want to try and run a full mile without stopping, walk for three minutes, then run another half mile. 

I was thinking about it today and realized that if I want to be able to run a full 5K by April 28 (without stopping to walk constantly), then this week I need to conquer one mile without stopping, then I will have four weeks left, so the following week I want to do 1.5 miles without stopping at least one day that week, then 2 miles the week after that, then 2.5 miles, and finally 3.1 miles (5K) the week of the race, which will give me a chance to run the 3.1 miles at least one time before race day, maybe even two times.

I don't know if my body is quite ready yet to meet that goal, but I'm going to try with everything in me. Wish me luck!

Run Day 10 ~ The Need for Speed

Running fast has its benefits. Yesterday I worked on my speed, the idea of which came from the book, "Run Less, Run Faster," which I scanned briefly at Amazon.com. I plan to get the book, but since I don't have it yet, I'm winging it for now.

After my usual 5-minute brisk warm-up walk, I ran 1/4 mile as fast as I comfortably could. It was quite invigorating, and when it was time to stop, I didn't want to. I wanted to keep going. So after a few seconds of walking, I ran again for about a minute, then repeated. Then it was time to run 1/2 mile, but this time it was uphill. Not a steep hill, but an uphill run nevertheless, and it was much harder to keep up the fast pace. Eventually I had to slow down so that I could keep running.

Then I walked about two minutes, ran another 1/4 mile, walked about three minutes, and then it was time to run the last 1/2 mile. It was downhill this time, and yet, I still found it tough to keep up a fast pace, so I slowed a little in order to be able to finish. For some reason the last half of that run was really tough, I had to push myself to keep going. I tried to remember to have fun, to look at the scenery, and to challenge myself to run "to that light pole," or some other landmark not too far ahead, and then I would look ahead and pick another landmark to run to. As I was nearing the end, I kept telling myself, "Not much further. C'mon, you can do it! You told your daughter to push herself during the Fun Run, now you'd better push YOURself!" I also worked on my breathing, using my diaphragm instead of my chest. And I made it.

16 minutes total of running and 1.5 miles. My pace: 10:39 (if you are new to "paces," it basically means how long it takes you to run a mile). Not a great pace, but it's a start. My goal is to get to at least a 9:30 pace by the day of the 5K race on April 28, which is only 5 weeks and 4 days away now. I'm not sure if I can increase my pace that much by then, but I'm going to try.

Something interesting about yesterday's run was that I was less sore afterward. Running faster actually made me less sore. I did have little mini-leg cramps and mini-charlie horses every now and then throughout the rest of the day and into the night, but none of them were that bad at all, and something new: neither of my knees hurt, and my hips didn't, either. I slept like a dream last night.

Sometime today I hope to have time to do the Ironstrength workout, even if it's later tonight after my daughter is in bed. I don't have the kind of hand weights I need to do one part of the workout, but I will simply skip that one for now until I can get to the store to buy them (hopefully this afternoon while running other errands).

My daughter has been affected positively by my return to running, which I am so thankful for. On my run days, she will ask if I, "did my run" that morning. Then yesterday, on her own initiative, she got on my elliptical machine, reaching as far as her little legs and arms would go, and worked out on it periodically all through the afternoon. She actually did pretty good, too! I wish I could share a picture with you here, but I have chosen not to share close-up pictures of us here being that I decided to make this Blog public (in case there is anyone else out there who might be helped in some small way by this Blog).

Happy Tuesday!

Race Day ~ Lighthouse 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run

 The 5K Race (that I watched and drooled over, LOL)

Note the woman in yellow on the left, more on her in a minute.

Me and my daughter crossing the finish line of the 1-Mile Fun Run

A nearby pier that we walked out on while waiting 

for the races to start. It was a beautiful place for a 5K.

We arrived early on Saturday to register for the Fun Run. There were only children's shirts left, so I asked if they had a child's extra large. They had a medium, which to my surprise actually fit me, though a bit snugly. My daughter played in the park playground there for awhile, then we wandered out onto the pier, then down to the beach for a little while. 

When there were 30 minutes left before the 5K race began, we had made our way back to the park, and I noticed there were some runners that were running circles around the park. I thought that was a bit odd, that they would be warming up 30 minutes in advance, and at a pretty good pace. I could understand warming up for a 5K about 5 minutes beforehand, even 10 minutes before, but 30 minutes? 

Then I noticed something else. Only the men were doing it. All the women were standing around talking (which is what we're good at, of course). I had to wonder: was this just a "man" thing I was seeing? Or was this something that some seasoned runners did?

Anyway, when it was time for the 5K race to start, I wanted to go watch, but my husband and daughter weren't interested, so I walked down to the start line alone with my camera. I watched them take off, then waited for them to make a one-mile loop and come running back past us to run the rest of the route. I observed the ones that were out in front very closely: their pace, their running form, etc. Two things really stood out about the ones who were leading the pack. One ~ they were all very lean. Two ~ they were all very muscular. Age didn't seem to matter. Those two things did.

I saw part of the end of the race, too, mainly the first few runners coming across the finish line. Remember the woman in yellow I mentioned in the caption below the first picture? She came in second overall. Not second overall in her age group, but second overall in the race! A woman beat all the other men except ONE! I thought that was awesome. She wasn't out in front at first, in fact, there were several men in front of her. But I guess as the race wore on, she began to increase her pace. It's too bad I couldn't follow the entire race to see what her exact strategy was.

As I was watching the runners out in front, I dreamed of being there someday. Yes, this 43-year old, inexperienced runner wants to be a top runner someday. Probably a pipe dream. But I'd like to try. I mean, I love running, so why not? I would like to think I'd be happy just doing the very best I can for me. And I will. But I want more than that. I want it so bad I can taste it. Not for the recognition, not to say I beat someone else, but because of the CHALLENGE of it. I LOVE a good challenge. Tell me I can't do something, and I will set out to prove you wrong. LOL.

And then there's the thrill of it, too. It's what will motivate me on those days that I don't think I can run any further. It's something to work toward, to achieve. Maybe I'm competitive by nature? I don't know. All I know is, I dream of coming in first place, even if it's just in my age division, in SOME race, I don't care if it's a ho-dunk, hillbilly, back woods kind of race. Ok maybe hillbillies don't run in 5Ks, but you get my point.

Back to Race Day. As the time drew near for the 1-Mile Fun Run, my daughter suddenly told me she didn't want to run in the race anymore. She had been so excited about it all week, and now she suddenly didn't want to run. But I didn't let her change her mind. I told her we had paid the registration fee to run, and we were going to run, and that was it. I promised her it would be fun, and she seemed to be okay with it then.

She started out great, but it wasn't long before she stopped to walk. All throughout the race, I had to really encourage her, cheer her on, and tell her several times to push herself. At one point, she stopped and said, "I need some water." I told her that water would be waiting for her at the finish line (she drank plenty beforehand). Then another time she stopped and started whining for me to pick her up and carry her. I told her I couldn't, and reminded her that her daddy would be waiting for her at the finish line and would be so proud of her. At hearing that, she took off running again. In the end, she did really well, and I was one proud mama.

Next up will be a 5K race on April 28. This time it will just be me. I certainly don't expect to place in that race, just to finish, and finish strong. 

I worked on my speed during today's run, which I will talk about in my next Blog entry.

Run Day 9 ~ Halfway there. (Sort of.)

 

"Believe you can and you're halfway there." Theodore Roosevelt

Today I wasn't sure if I was up for running, or if I should rest one more day. My knees weren't hurting at all anymore, but I just wasn't sure, and I didn't really feel like running. I decided to just get suited up and go, and see how I did.

I'm glad I did. My knees did fine, and it was one of my better running days. I felt invigorated and had energy left over afterward. However, I was HOT, red-faced, and bit lightheaded toward the end of the run. It is has been WARM here lately for not even being Spring yet, around 80 degrees Fahrenheit for daytime highs, and I didn't run until around 9:30am.

I wound up running 15 minutes total. I did a 3-5-3-3, and then made a last-minute decision to do one more minute. I had added up how long I had run, and thought, "Just one more minute and I'll be halfway there." Halfway to 30 minutes, that is, which is about how long it took me to run 5K before my injury (give or take). Technically, I'm not "really" halfway there, since I don't run 15 minutes without stopping yet, but hey, if it helps encourage me to run a little more, I'll pretend I'm halfway there. I believe I'll be there for real soon anyway. :-)

During my run, I had to remind myself often to "run like a child" (see my previous blog post on that if you haven't already) and see more of the fun in it. I tend to obsess about my running form, my breathing, my pace, etc., and forget to have fun. So I would say to myself, "This is fun, this is fun. Look around you, at the scenery, the blue sky and while fluffy clouds, the pretty lake. Look at that tree up there... can you run to that tree? Sure you can. Run to that tree! See that fire hydrant? See if you can run to that!" As goofy as that might sound, it really did help. I could feel my whole body relax when I would remind myself to make it more fun. 

I can't wait to run again. 

Ironstrength Workout.

Runner's IronStrength Workout

I plan to start doing the above workout soon (click on the title under the picture to see it). More on that in just a minute.

This morning I woke up early to pain in both knees. I was trying to ignore it, but as soon as I got out of bed and stood up, the pain intensified, and I could barely walk. I stumbled into the kitchen like an old lady, took two ibuprofen, and went back to bed. Thankfully, when I got back up again and walked around for awhile, the pain had lessened and I was able to walk normally again.

It's a good thing I listened to my body yesterday and stopped running when I did. I thought about resting today and not doing any kind of workout, but changed my mind when I returned home from taking my daughter to Pre-K and decided to do a fairly easy, 30-minute strength/aerobic workout and did the low impact version, taking it easy on anything that would put stress on my knees. I wanted to be smart about it, but not wimp out, either.

Then this afternoon I came across the Runner's Ironstrength workout, pinned up on Pinterest. I have to admit, it looks hard to me right now at my current level of fitness, but I think it might be just what the doctor ordered.

Tomorrow is a run day, so I'm hoping my knees will recover enough by then. I plan to rest as much as I can for the rest of the day, and do some stretching exercises that are specifically for knee pain. Assuming I'm better by tomorrow, I'll start the Ironstrength workout on Saturday and continue it twice per week after that.

I also want to start eating better. I have strayed from the diet this week, but today I'm getting back on track and making a deal with myself: If I'm going to have something that isn't a clean food and nutrient-rich (like lowfat ice cream or frozen yogurt, my main weakness), then I have to cut it in half, and the other half has to be a clean food. Today, for example, instead of having a full cup of vanilla low fat ice cream after lunch, I had 1/2 cup with 1/2 cup of strawberries. Funny, it actually filled me up more and was much more satisfying than ice cream alone.

Run Day 8 ~ I listened.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm crazy for loving to run so much. Especially on days like today, when it was warmer, more humid, and my body wasn't quite up to par. But I do love it. I love it with a passion. I didn't realize just how much I loved it until I wasn't able to run for a few months.

My plan was to try and do Week 4 of the Couch to 5K Running Plan today, which would have been a 3-5-3-5 running interval or a total of 16 minutes running. I wasn't sure if I was ready for it yet, but figured I would give it my best shot. I had run a 3-6-3 interval the last time I ran, so I figured 4 additional minutes of running wouldn't be that big of a deal.

But my muscles weren't ready for it today. In fact, I wound up only running a 3-3-3 interval, or 9 minutes total, which is less than I've done in awhile. It was a long walk home, because I went pretty far in one direction in anticipation of running more on the way back. At one point I wanted to stop and lie down it the grass so badly so I could rest my leg muscles, but I just kept walking, taking longer strides to help stretch out my muscles. I did try to run one more time, just to see how it felt, but it was definitely a no-go. It's one thing to push yourself if you're just tired or have a little ache here or there, quite another if your muscles are telling you they need a break.

I don't know if it's because of the shorts bursts of fast running I did with my daughter yesterday, or something else, but at any rate, I'm glad I decided to listen to my body this time. Tomorrow I will do some type of cross-training, then Friday I will try Week 4 again.

Run like a child.

The girl in the above picture is not my daughter, but it reminds me of her. Yesterday was the second time I ran the practice 1-mile run with her in preparation for Saturday, and it was then that I realized how silly I had been to expect her to run at a slower, more moderate pace so that she could run further without having to stop. Running at anything but full speed ahead is not something a 5-year old can comprehend. To them, running is something they do with one main goal in mind: To get there as fast as they can, and to have as much fun as possible getting there. Running slower is too boring to them. Running fast makes your hair flow back behind you; the wind hits your face harder; it feels more like flying.

I realized that I wasn't making it exciting enough for her. Why would she want to run just for the sake of running? So I began to have little mini "races" with her, with the finish line being a certain landmark each time. One time we just ran in an "S" pattern around the small trees along the side of the road. Each time, she ran further and faster. I let her beat me most of the time, and it thrilled her to realize that she was "beating mama." During one of the "races," an airplane flew overhead and she said, "I'm going to CATCH that airplane!" So she ran faster and jumped up high in the air and said, "I caught it!"

She didn't care that she couldn't catch the plane. She wanted to try anyway. It was fun and exhilirating just to try.

Maybe I should try running more like a child.

Run Day 7 ~ I'm rich!

 

I'll talk about my run today in just a minute. But first, I want to share something that inspired me today. It came from a program on PBS. It made me realize just how rich I truly am, and how much money I have been wasting. 

First and foremost, I am rich because of my faith in Jesus Christ. But beyond that, I am rich for so many other reasons. I have clean drinking water. I have food to eat every day. I have a decent place to live. I have clothes to wear, and a vehicle to drive. I have a beautiful child, and a loving husband. There are those in third world countries who would love to have even just those things, and consider me very rich indeed. How grateful I am to have those things.

There is yet another element to being rich as well. Instead of seeing it as a certain dollar amount, you see "rich" as the ability to pay your bills and to buy the things you need when you need them, with cash. This includes emergencies.

Lately I have been racking my brain, trying to come up with an idea for making more money. Something I could do from home that would help supplement my husband's income and give us more breathing room. Sure, I have the opportunity to make a little money now working part-time from home, but to me, it hasn't seemed like it's enough. 

Then today, I came across that program on TV, and I began to change my way of thinking. To get my priorities in order and take a hard look at what I'm spending money on. To "sweat the small stuff" and watch every penny. To ask myself every time I am about to purchase something, "Is this a need, or a want?" To be willing to have less "stuff" and more money, so that I can then spend that money on the things that really matter, like saving for retirement, a bigger emergency fund, a savings account, or adding more to the college fund for my daughter every month. And with more money available, I can also do things like pay cash for the next car when I need one, or at least pay it off early.

I don't spend a LOT of money on "stuff" right now. But any purchase that isn't a necessity can be "too much." That's money that could have been saved, or used for something more important. 

It gave me much to think about. Starting today, I have a challenge for myself. I'm going to see if I can go this rest of this week without spending money on anything except absolute necessities. It will take some planning on my part, and I'm sure it won't be easy for this convenience-oriented girl, but in the end, I am sure it will be well worth it. 

Don't get me wrong, I will still have splurges every now and then. But they will be much, much less frequent. And I will still be looking for ways to bring in more income, just in the meantime, I will be bringing in more income by spending a lot less.

Anyway. As for my run today. I was pleasantly surprised (and very grateful) that my muscles recovered quickly from overdoing it a bit on Saturday, so that I wound up only needing to take one day off. Today I decided to run in a different place, so after dropping my daughter off at school, I drove to a park that has nice running trails, parked my van, and "ran for the hills." It was a very hilly running trail, but it was a nice change from my usual "mostly flat" route. The scenery was beautiful, too. Lots of trees, a lake, and a well-manicured landscape. I wound up running 3 minutes, then 6 minutes, then another 3 minutes. The 6-minute stretch actually took me by surprise. I looked at the time on my cell phone, put it in my pocket, then enjoyed the scenery while I ran, and the next time I checked my cell phone--thinking it had only been 3 or 4 minutes--I was surprised to see that it had been 6 minutes.

It was a good run. The hillier parts were a bit tough, but it was good for me.

In a little while I plan to take my five-year-old daughter for a one-mile practice run (which we will be doing all week), to try and get ready for this coming Saturday. It's funny how she is so confident right now that she can run one mile without stopping with no problem. We'll see how she feels when she actually has to run it. Who knows, maybe she will surprise me.

Run Day 6 ~ A Just Do it kind of day

Today was one of those "just do it" days. I definitely was not craving running today. But, I simply put on my running outfit, laced up my shoes, and headed out the door. I hardly even thought about it. I just made myself do it like I would make myself brush my teeth.

Once I got out there, I was glad to be there, running again. It's funny, though, how I can usually tell whether it's going to be a good run day or not. My body will feel a certain way, and I will know that running won't be as fun that day. I was kind of hoping I was wrong today, but alas, I was right. Running was more of a struggle today.

At one point, I had to walk for four minutes straight before I felt ready to run again. I began to feel that my body was telling me to take it easy today and not run as far. But the stubborn part of me didn't want to hear that. Instead, I pushed myself and wound up running a total of 12 minutes, my longest run yet. At first I was okay, I did my stretches and figured I was good to go. But after coming home from walking for about an hour at the mall this afternoon, I began to really feel it. Oh boy am I ever feeling it.

Now I will more than likely need to take two days off in a row to allow time for my muscles to recover, and spend that time stretching and foam-rolling.

But it's all good. The important thing is, this time around, at the very first sign of my muscles being overworked, I am slowing down and resting. Before, I didn't know any better and just kept running according to the running schedule. Plus, I didn't do any more stretching than the normal "cool-down" ones back then,  and didn't even know about foam rollers.

I kind of wish I had been smarter on my run today, but... lesson learned. Next time, I will listen.

Run Day 5 ~ Couldn't help myself.

Today was supposed to be a day off from running, but on the way back from taking my daughter to school, I started thinking about running again today. I was CRAVING it. I wasn't sure if I should, though. Then I saw a runner on the sidewalk along the road I was driving on, and I knew I just HAD to run again today. My legs, hips, and knee were feeling great and I was feeling energized. So when I got home, I suited up, and off I went.

It was a GREAT run. I was so right about my body being ready to run again today. I'm not sure where all the energy came from (the new diet I'm on, maybe?), but for the first interval, I ran further and at a faster pace. I also did something else a little different this time: Instead of the sidewalk, I ran in the grass along the road in some places, and down the side of a hill and back up again. I figured it would work some of my other leg muscles and help balance things out. By the time I was done, I had run a total of 11 minutes, which is the longest I've run so far. I thought I was going to stop running at 10 minutes, but as I was slowing down to a walk, I thought, "No. I can keep running," so I started running again. Another minute, and then I knew I was done. Energy-wise, I could have kept going. Muscle-wise, it was time to stop.

I did lots of stretching beforehand and afterward. This is the first time I've ever run two days in a row, and I admit, it scares me a bit. Tonight, I plan to do the foam roller exercises again. Need to cover all my bases to make sure I don't get injured again.

By the way, I weighed myself this morning, and was pleasantly surprised to see that I've lost 2.5 lbs so far this week! The week isn't even over yet, Monday is the "official" weigh-in day. I'm pretty impressed with this new diet, not only with the weight loss, but with how filling the homemade shakes and meals are, how tasty the recipes are, and how my cravings seem to be diminishing.

Monday starts Phase 2 of the diet, the "Carb-lovers immersion plan," and as I was reviewing it yesterday, the meals have more ingredients and take longer to fix, and I have to confess it made me want to squeal like a pig. I'm big on convenience, which I'm working on, but taking longer than five minutes to fix a breakfast or lunch does NOT appeal to me. Dinner is a different story, the day is coming to an end and things are usually slowing down, but at breakfast and lunch, I'm either trying to get my daughter out the door to school or coming back from getting her and starving (and often planning to go somewhere else not long after).

But not to fear, the meal plans also include a healthy frozen meal alternative for busier days. I did say I wanted to get back in the groove of healthier eating, so I just need to bite the bullet and take more time to prepare healthier meals. I can always prepare many of them the night before, which will help.

My next run day should be Saturday. Tomorrow I'll mostly rest from exercise, except I might do strength training, focusing on the upper body, and more stretching.

Run Day 4 ~ Skipped a week in the C25K Plan

Today I realized I was ready to move on to Week 3 of the Couch to 5K Schedule, so I skipped Week 2. Even then, I modified it a bit, so for the running intervals, I ran 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes for a total of 10 minutes of running, instead of the recommended 1.5 minutes, 3 minutes, 1.5 minutes, 3 minutes, or a total of 9 minutes of running. I thought I might be ready for 12 minutes of running today, but about halfway through the run, I realized I was not ready yet. It was another good run today, but not as good as the last one. The last interval today seemed to last forever, and I kept looking at the time to see if it was time to stop and walk yet.

I had to laugh at myself as I turned a corner on the way back. There was an aluminum guard rail at the corner, and I thought it would be fun to grab on to it and sort of "swing" myself around the corner as I was running, but the guard rail was loose, so one side came off in my hand and swung out onto the sidewalk, and would have followed behind me if I had not let it go. This happened near a busy road, so I'm sure I was good entertainment for someone.

I am curious as to how much, if at all, my breakfast choice on run days affects my performance. I will experiment with different breakfasts to see which one seems best. I have a sneaking suspicion that oatmeal with a banana and walnuts will be the best choice. Today, it was a banana shake, which is part of the 7-day kickstart plan of the new diet I'm following. It was very tasty and filling, too. I'm not usually a shake person when it comes to meals, so I was quite surprised that it filled me up and I didn't have my usual mid-morning hunger, even after running.

Yesterday I did a 30-minute strength training/cardio DVD yesterday which included lunges and squats. It felt good to get back to strength-training again, something I have been neglecting as of late.

Day 3 ~ A good run, and a new diet

Today was a good run day. I woke up at 5:30am and almost got up to get ready to run then, but decided to wait. It was a cold Florida night, and we had had the windows open all night, so it was cold, and the covers were warm.

I'm glad I waited. I suited up before taking my daughter to Pre-K, so when I returned, I was ready to run. The weather had warmed up some, the sun was shining, and there was an abundance of butterflies along the dirt road leading away from my house. It was a beautiful day and felt so good to breathe in the fresh, cool air.

I wanted to run another five two-minute intervals today, but decided to stop at four. It just felt right. I am trying to really listen closely to my body this time around and what it is telling me to do.

I was pleasantly surprised by how fast I was running today. I have no idea what my pace was, but it felt like I was flying. I wasn't even trying to, it just happened. I kept feeling like maybe I should slow down, especially after dealing with a stiff, cool, wind for the first part of the run, so much so that it made my eyes water, but my body was telling me it was okay. It was a really good run day, and it felt like I was floating on air. I began to experience that "runner's high" after only about a minute into running.

At one point my right hip area began to hurt again, and I was like, "Oh no..." But as I did a quick survey of how I was running, I realized I was taking shorter strides again. So I changed back to longer strides, and the pain immediately went away. I am coming to the conclusion that, as a taller woman with longer legs (I'm 5'8"), I was meant to take longer strides. Maybe it will help me run faster, too. :-)

I'm starting a new diet today, too. I want to make running as easy on myself as possible, and the less I weigh, the less pressure there will be on my muscles and joints, not to mention all the other fringe benefits of weighing less. And when I say, "diet," I don't mean I'm going on a temporary diet to lose a certain amount of weight. I'm using the new diet as a way of getting back into the groove of healthy eating habits. My goal is to permanently change my eating lifestyle, and it will be a work in progress.

I grew up in a family where eating was associated with love, and there was a lot of focus put on food, too. Not to mention the fact that there was plenty of southern cooking. I took those poor eating habits into adulthood, and it hasn't been until the last decade or so that I have begun to learn what it means to eat healthy.

Recently, I was able to finally get a handle on eating healthy, enough so that I lost about 25 lbs., but when I had the injury and had to stop running, I allowed myself to get discouraged, so before reaching my goal weight, I gained back--as of today--9 lbs. I am teetering at the very top edge of my normal weight range now, and I do NOT want to go back into the overweight range. So today, I am getting serious again.

I need to lose that 9 lbs. back, then continue on to my goal weight. I have chosen to try The Carb-Lover's Diet, by Ellen Kunes and Frances Largeman-Roth, as my vehicle back to healthier eating habits. I just bought the book today, after I picked up my daughter from school. I had seen an article about it in a magazine (titled, "Carb-Lover's Detox"), which peaked my curiosity, so when I happened upon the book in the grocery store today, I looked it over and decided it was definitely something I wanted to try. The meals looked tasty, simple to fix, and within my budget.

Today starts the 7-Day Kickstart Plan. I had breakfast before I bought the book, so it was different than what was on the plan, but was actually very close to the breakfast for Day Two, which was oatmeal with walnuts, cinnamon, and a banana. I had had oatmeal with a banana (made with half water and half milk). So tomorrow, I will have the breakfast from Day One.

My mid-morning snack after my run was close to today's snack in the book, too, since I had taken the snack idea from the magazine article. I had 3/4 cup plain yogurt with 2 tsp. honey and 2 tbs. oats. The only difference was that it was supposed to be Greek yogurt, but I was out of Greek yogurt this morning, so regular yogurt it was.

Lunch was 1 cup baby spinach, 1/2 cup diced chicken breast, 1/2 cup green pepper strips, and 2 tbs. low fat Italian dressing on 2 slices German dark wheat bread. It was supposed to be whole grain pita bread, but since I had plenty of other bread on hand, I didn't want to buy pita bread for just one meal this week.

I found that I was still hungry after lunch, so I improvised and had the banana shake that was one of the breakfast options from Day One. Then I had six almonds, drank some more water, and was satisfied. The first seven days is lower in calories, only 1200, so it's not surprising that with the running I did, even only eight minutes' worth, along with twenty-five minutes of brisk walking, I needed a little more. I lose weight steadily at 1600 calories, even 1800 calories, so I'm certainly not worried.

It's 4:30pm now, and I feel better already. No bloat so far today, which is something I've had to deal with the past few days with my less than ideal eating habits. And when I say bloat, I do mean BLOAT. It was pathetic. I thought my intestines were going to explode. I was a bad, bad girl. My body did not like me anymore. It wrote me a note telling me it was going to runaway from home if I didn't stop feeding it junk.

The hardest part for me will be resisting the ice cream and frozen yogurt (one of my "vices") for the next seven days, but maybe I'll incorporate the banana shake every day to help ease the pain a little.

By the way, this Blog is a work in progress, so stay tuned for ongoing improvements. I am not very Blog savvy yet, so I have a lot to learn.

Getting re-started

It's hard to explain why I love running. Something inside of me just lights on fire, and sets everything else in motion. Without running, I get bored and discouraged. When I run, my motivation goes sky high and I feel like I can conquer anything.

A few months ago, I was 5-K ready. I had trained hard and the accomplishment felt great. I was able to run 3.1 miles, sometimes a little further, without stopping. I ran my first 5K race, and was shocked when I was passing other runners left and right for the first half of the race. I thought something had to be wrong. Were all these runners running slower than usual? Were they all beginner runners? Surely something was off. I didn't even feel like I was running at my full capacity! I was holding back to make sure I would be able to finish strong. It felt so great! But then at about the halfway mark, something happened. My leg muscles began to tighten up, and I began to feel some pain in my hips. I pushed on, having to stop and walk periodically.

At the finish line, there were cheers, but inside, I felt defeated. I had to force myself to smile and wave to those who were cheering me on. All I could see at that moment was how far back I was now compared to the first half of the race. As it turned out, I had strained my IT bands and/or TFL muscles, both of which run along the outside of the hips and down to the knee. When I tried to run again a couple of days later, it was too painful. I waited and tried again a few days later, but it was no use. I was down for the count.

Someone may as well have cut my arm off at that point. I had no idea I would take it so hard. I am usually a very positive person, and see the proverbial glass as half full, but the fact that I couldn't run anymore was a big blow for me. At that time, not knowing what was wrong, I feared that I had some type of genetic issue with my muscles or joints that would prevent me from being able to run on a regular basis, and I feared my dream of running was over.

So it was quite a relief when I discovered that my issue was very likely too-tight IT bands and TFL muscles, which will pull on the hip joints, and can cause knee pain as well (my right knee was hurting, too). Then I found out that foam roller exercises would help (thank you, Melissa!), and also learned, quite by accident, that using an elliptical machine would help as well.

This past Wednesday, I ventured out again to try running, armed with new knowledge. I stretched differently beforehand, focusing more on my problem areas, and took longer strides not only during the warm-up and cool-down walks, but also during the running itself, in hopes of stretching out those muscles. I also focused on landing differently on my gel-cushioned running shoes.

After the run and cool down, I stretched again, longer this time, and did the foam roller exercises. I won't lie, the foam roller exercises HURT. My muscles are being forced to become more pliable, so yah. Ow. But it's a GOOD ow. It will be well worth it in the end.

So far so good! No issues with my hips and right knee.

Yesterday evening was my second run. The first time around I used the Couch to 5K plan, and am using it again this time, but with modifications, since I've already trained for a 5K and have remained fairly active during the few months I haven't been able to run. This first week, instead of only running one-minute intervals eight times (with 90 seconds of walking in-between), I am running four TWO-minute intervals, with two-minutes of walking in-between. Yesterday I wound up doing FIVE two-minute intervals, however, for a total of ten minutes of running, and that was while pushing my 56-lb. daughter in the Graco stroller.

I am surprised and excited at how quickly I seem to be bouncing back. I actually wanted to run further, but made myself stop. I caught a second wind near the end, and was sooooo tempted to just keep running down that sidewalk, instead of turning right onto the dirt road leading to my house. But I just couldn't take the chance of overdoing it again, so I relented.

I tried to run again about a week and a half ago, but at that time my hips and knee weren't quite ready yet. Then my husband brought home the elliptical machine and I started using it. My hips and knee almost instantly got better, so I'm convinced that helped push me over that final edge to ready me for running again.

I'm itching to run again today, but I'm going to try and wait. I always try to take Sundays as a rest day, so it will be Monday before I can run again. I think today I will just focus on doing my strength-training workout. I was a good girl and did the foam roller exercises again this afternoon. It was slightly easier than the last time, but man, it still hurt. It's all good, though. :-)

I can't WAIT to get back to where I was, and possibly even go beyond it to run a half-marathon some day. At this point I can't see myself ever trying for a marathon, but who knows, I might change my mind one day. Did I mention how excited I am to be running again? I can hardly stand it. I see many days in the near future where I will have to put a mental rope around my waist and hold myself back from running too far, too soon. It will take a tremendous amount of self-control. Ugh. :-)