I'm sure most of you thought I gave up on this running thing. Well, kinda. In September I got a terrible cold, that literally took a month to go away. Then I had to travel for work, then Jay and I went on our honey moon. And before I knew it, it was the middle of November.
I have never liked exercise. I take that back, I did like exercise when I was in high school sports. But that was social, not for fitness. Now it is just a chore. Another thing on my to do list that I get to feel guilty for when I don't get it done. So I am trying to find ways to make it more fun. So I'm trying to reward myself on the days I work out. I have a pile of 25 $1 bills that I am moving from one drawer to the other as I work out. So far this week I have earned $3. Today I decided I was gonna go for a run. I can't believe it, but I ran for 25 mins straight. No walking. I was very proud of my out of shape self.
Monday night I worked out in the basement. Again I'm just focusing on keeping myself motivated for 30 mins. I know that physically I can do it, but my brain really trys to talk me out of it. I've got a radio, magazines and cataloges all in the workout room to try and distract me from the boringness of working out in the basement. I did manage to ride the bike for 15 mins and then I switched to the eliptical machine. On Wednesday, I rode the bike for 15 mins. and then lifted weights for about 10 mins and finished on the elipitcal. My strategy has been that when my brain is telling me to quit, to swtich. That way I fight with myself less. I'm sure there is no fitness logic to my strategy other than it beats doing nothing for 30 mins.
I'll try to keep you updated on my earnings!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Running update
Okay so I'm sure you thought i'd given up on this running deal. Well not entirely. I have had bronchitis for the last 3-4 weeks. So I went from being able to run 30 minutes to getting winded going upstairs to the bedroom! It's not been pretty. I've been coughing so hard at times my stomach muscles hurt! But this week, I'm still coughing, but not as severely, I was going to get back at it. So this last week I was traveling for work. I decided one evening that I should go for a run...unfortunately it was raining. So I decided that I'd give the hotel treadmill a try. So off I went, it was hard. My right calf was really cramping on me...that's what happens when you don't run for a long stretch. I am happy to say I made it 20 minutes. I probably could have suffered through a few more minutes, but to be honest I started to cough. Had I been on regular pavement I could have stopped coughed and kept running. On a treadmill, not so much. I started to cough so hard I really feared I was gonna trip myself and do face plant on the treadmill.
I had planned to try and run the 5k in Omaha this Sunday. Given the bronchitis I was on the fence about running it. Then adding to that I had a rough flight home. I had a bad flight schedule to begin with. I flew from Cincinnati to Chicago to Kansas City to Grand Island...so do you think that was all on time? Not a chance. But the crazy thing was it honestly wasn't weather related. We got on our flight in Chicago and if you've ever flown thru O'hare you know that turn flights around really fast. So we all loaded up, we actually pushed back, the pilot made the announcement that 'Welcome aboard flight xyz to Kansas City.' A lady on the plane goes rushing forward...she's supposed to be going to Pittsburg...so we have to go back to the gate and let her off, and of course she needs her bag back. So back we go. Then we finally get back to the runway and we get in a long line of planes taking off, so we are about 50 mins late getting the airport in KC. Lucky for us it was a small flight so they held the plane for us. Unfortunately, they couldn't hold the plane for our luggage. They told us no big deal it will be on the next flight from KC to GI. Bad part about that is that the next flight didn't land in GI until 4pm on Saturday. So I have to drive back to GI to get my luggage, which is the opposite direction of Omaha and the race. So I decided that I'd have enough to deal with that I'll just have to find another 5k to run.
The other thing that has been on my mind has been these shorter days. I've been running on the gravel road by our house, but I'm not sure that's a good idea with how early it is getting dark. So my wonderful husband made me a running path through the property. I haven't tried it out yet, but he mowed down the grass and cut all the trees back so they wouldn't hit me in the head along my path. I walked it the other day and it is a 9 min walk, so I'm guessing 4 times around would be close to 30 mins of running. I may get brave and try it out today!
I had planned to try and run the 5k in Omaha this Sunday. Given the bronchitis I was on the fence about running it. Then adding to that I had a rough flight home. I had a bad flight schedule to begin with. I flew from Cincinnati to Chicago to Kansas City to Grand Island...so do you think that was all on time? Not a chance. But the crazy thing was it honestly wasn't weather related. We got on our flight in Chicago and if you've ever flown thru O'hare you know that turn flights around really fast. So we all loaded up, we actually pushed back, the pilot made the announcement that 'Welcome aboard flight xyz to Kansas City.' A lady on the plane goes rushing forward...she's supposed to be going to Pittsburg...so we have to go back to the gate and let her off, and of course she needs her bag back. So back we go. Then we finally get back to the runway and we get in a long line of planes taking off, so we are about 50 mins late getting the airport in KC. Lucky for us it was a small flight so they held the plane for us. Unfortunately, they couldn't hold the plane for our luggage. They told us no big deal it will be on the next flight from KC to GI. Bad part about that is that the next flight didn't land in GI until 4pm on Saturday. So I have to drive back to GI to get my luggage, which is the opposite direction of Omaha and the race. So I decided that I'd have enough to deal with that I'll just have to find another 5k to run.
The other thing that has been on my mind has been these shorter days. I've been running on the gravel road by our house, but I'm not sure that's a good idea with how early it is getting dark. So my wonderful husband made me a running path through the property. I haven't tried it out yet, but he mowed down the grass and cut all the trees back so they wouldn't hit me in the head along my path. I walked it the other day and it is a 9 min walk, so I'm guessing 4 times around would be close to 30 mins of running. I may get brave and try it out today!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Week 8 Day 2
Run 28 mins
Today I decided to just go for it. The goal is to run for 30 mins, so I just went for it. I decided 28 was close enough to 30, so why mess around, just do it. Amazingly, I did it with out any issues. Now as I type this, my legs and arms are shaky, but I did not die running. I started thinking back to when I started this whole thing, 2 months ago, I didn't like the way running for 5 mins. sounded, so getting to 30 has been quite a feat.
My plan now is to stay at 30 and just get to where that isn't such a challenge any more. I really want to be able to run for 30 mins and feel like I could just keep going if I wanted. Right now it's 30 mins and I can't wait to stop. So I've got a ways to go, but I used to feel that way about 20 mins of running, now I can keep cruising at the 20 min mark.
I do have one concern about running, the days are getting shorter and it's dark earlier, so I don't know what I'm gonna do about that. There is a high school about 10 mins. away, I'm thinking I could run there, not sure if there is much for lights, but I may check that out. Otherwise, I might have to get creative with lights :)
Today I decided to just go for it. The goal is to run for 30 mins, so I just went for it. I decided 28 was close enough to 30, so why mess around, just do it. Amazingly, I did it with out any issues. Now as I type this, my legs and arms are shaky, but I did not die running. I started thinking back to when I started this whole thing, 2 months ago, I didn't like the way running for 5 mins. sounded, so getting to 30 has been quite a feat.
My plan now is to stay at 30 and just get to where that isn't such a challenge any more. I really want to be able to run for 30 mins and feel like I could just keep going if I wanted. Right now it's 30 mins and I can't wait to stop. So I've got a ways to go, but I used to feel that way about 20 mins of running, now I can keep cruising at the 20 min mark.
I do have one concern about running, the days are getting shorter and it's dark earlier, so I don't know what I'm gonna do about that. There is a high school about 10 mins. away, I'm thinking I could run there, not sure if there is much for lights, but I may check that out. Otherwise, I might have to get creative with lights :)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Week 8 Day 1
Workout
28 min Run
Week 8, that means I've been running for 2 months. I even repeated a week. 2 months, 60 days. Okay it's not like I run everyday, but I've stuck with it. I ran the whole work out. I was not feeling good when I started. I had a long list of things I wanted to get done tonight. I got home at 5:30, I cooked dinner, made brownies for supper club, did yesterday's dishes and tonight's supper dishes and somewhere in there managed to eat dinner. All by 6:30 and still managed to get my shoes on and get out the door for a run before 7! Talk about time management. I didn't feel real good when I started running. In fact, I was wishing I'd let my dinner settle more before starting, but I did it. It really helped that Jay went with. He's been trying to walk with me and the dogs. He's working on building up his ankle so eventually he can run with me.
I had to laugh at Annie tonight. I was running and I've discovered that I like running the mile in front of our house, but I like to head south when when get to the corner...I just seems to be flatter. So Annie had been going back and forth between running with me, and then she'd turn around and run back to Jay, and then back to me. She gets twice the walk! So I turned the corner and Big Abby was with me. Annie apparently thinks that she's missing out on something so she takes off across the bean field to cut the corner and catch up to us. What she couldn't see from across the field was the fence that she couldn't get through when she got close to us. She kept bouncing off the fence as she tried to figure out what the deal was. So I could see a spot where the fence was down so I got her through there...All I could see as she was running across the field was a blond head bouncing up and down. Both Jay and I just knew she'd been dying to run through one of those fields. She finally got her chance!
28 min Run
Week 8, that means I've been running for 2 months. I even repeated a week. 2 months, 60 days. Okay it's not like I run everyday, but I've stuck with it. I ran the whole work out. I was not feeling good when I started. I had a long list of things I wanted to get done tonight. I got home at 5:30, I cooked dinner, made brownies for supper club, did yesterday's dishes and tonight's supper dishes and somewhere in there managed to eat dinner. All by 6:30 and still managed to get my shoes on and get out the door for a run before 7! Talk about time management. I didn't feel real good when I started running. In fact, I was wishing I'd let my dinner settle more before starting, but I did it. It really helped that Jay went with. He's been trying to walk with me and the dogs. He's working on building up his ankle so eventually he can run with me.
I had to laugh at Annie tonight. I was running and I've discovered that I like running the mile in front of our house, but I like to head south when when get to the corner...I just seems to be flatter. So Annie had been going back and forth between running with me, and then she'd turn around and run back to Jay, and then back to me. She gets twice the walk! So I turned the corner and Big Abby was with me. Annie apparently thinks that she's missing out on something so she takes off across the bean field to cut the corner and catch up to us. What she couldn't see from across the field was the fence that she couldn't get through when she got close to us. She kept bouncing off the fence as she tried to figure out what the deal was. So I could see a spot where the fence was down so I got her through there...All I could see as she was running across the field was a blond head bouncing up and down. Both Jay and I just knew she'd been dying to run through one of those fields. She finally got her chance!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Week 7 Day 2
Run 25 minutes
Running was so much better tonight. I came to the realization, I don't hate running, I hate the heat. It was really a beautiful night, cool and still. It was almost as good as running in the morning. I was able to easily run the whole time without calling anything stupid, or wanting to quit. I did make the error of waiting until almost 8 to run tonight. I didn't think about the fact that the days are starting to get shorter, and it was starting to get dark when I was finishing my run. In case you've never lived in the country, it is freakin' dark dark out here when the sun goes down. So I'll definitely have to watch the time better, but it was a nice run.
I had to laugh at the dogs, they both went with. We had almost 4 inches of rain 2 days ago, so there are some low spots in the fields where we run, and the dogs took off for the water holes like they had just discovered their own swimming pools! Luckily I was paying attention and got the turned around in time. They would have been 2 stinky dogs if they got into that stagnant water. Not only are the dogs good company for running, but they provide a little entertainment too.
Running was so much better tonight. I came to the realization, I don't hate running, I hate the heat. It was really a beautiful night, cool and still. It was almost as good as running in the morning. I was able to easily run the whole time without calling anything stupid, or wanting to quit. I did make the error of waiting until almost 8 to run tonight. I didn't think about the fact that the days are starting to get shorter, and it was starting to get dark when I was finishing my run. In case you've never lived in the country, it is freakin' dark dark out here when the sun goes down. So I'll definitely have to watch the time better, but it was a nice run.
I had to laugh at the dogs, they both went with. We had almost 4 inches of rain 2 days ago, so there are some low spots in the fields where we run, and the dogs took off for the water holes like they had just discovered their own swimming pools! Luckily I was paying attention and got the turned around in time. They would have been 2 stinky dogs if they got into that stagnant water. Not only are the dogs good company for running, but they provide a little entertainment too.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Week 7 Day 1
Run 25 mins
I absolutely did not want to run. In fact I had the perfect excuse. I wanted to make bread, and I had a friend coming over to the new house. I had to get the house looking nice for her. It was hot today. It had to be over 90. I mean is it fair to make the dogs run in this heat? They have that fur coat to take into consideration. So I was gonna skip for their well being. Only problem with all of these excuses, none of them were truly good enough. I actually started the bread, and then it had to rise for an hour...running is only like 30 mins. So bread was out as an excuse. My friend, Justine, she wasn't coming until 7ish. It was like 5 when I got home from work. So I had 2 hours. The dogs wanted to go so bad. They were pestering me. I even reminded them how hot it was and yet, they still wanted to go. Who am I to take that away from them.
So I ran. I was pretty miserable the whole time. It was hot, windy and my legs now hurt because of the gravel. My calves don't like working that hard. Let's be honest my whole body doesn't like working that hard. I did it. I did not like it one bit, but I ran for stupid 25 stupid minutes. I was fighting it so hard. I was calling myself names for being so stubborn and forcing myself to run when I could easily have just walked...but I finished it. Now, I have a headache, my calves hurt and my left ankle hurts when I go up and down stairs. I don't know if the run did anything to my ankle, I felt a little twinge today when I was walking at work, but now it is actually painful on the stairs. I may put a brace on it the next couple of days. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. I hope the next run is better.
I absolutely did not want to run. In fact I had the perfect excuse. I wanted to make bread, and I had a friend coming over to the new house. I had to get the house looking nice for her. It was hot today. It had to be over 90. I mean is it fair to make the dogs run in this heat? They have that fur coat to take into consideration. So I was gonna skip for their well being. Only problem with all of these excuses, none of them were truly good enough. I actually started the bread, and then it had to rise for an hour...running is only like 30 mins. So bread was out as an excuse. My friend, Justine, she wasn't coming until 7ish. It was like 5 when I got home from work. So I had 2 hours. The dogs wanted to go so bad. They were pestering me. I even reminded them how hot it was and yet, they still wanted to go. Who am I to take that away from them.
So I ran. I was pretty miserable the whole time. It was hot, windy and my legs now hurt because of the gravel. My calves don't like working that hard. Let's be honest my whole body doesn't like working that hard. I did it. I did not like it one bit, but I ran for stupid 25 stupid minutes. I was fighting it so hard. I was calling myself names for being so stubborn and forcing myself to run when I could easily have just walked...but I finished it. Now, I have a headache, my calves hurt and my left ankle hurts when I go up and down stairs. I don't know if the run did anything to my ankle, I felt a little twinge today when I was walking at work, but now it is actually painful on the stairs. I may put a brace on it the next couple of days. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. I hope the next run is better.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Week 6 Day 3
Workout:
25 min Run
I Did it! 25 mins without stopping. I actually didn't mind today's run. I told myself last night before I went to bed that I was going to run first thing in the morning. So I think I was well prepared mentally for this run. I had been scared of this run all week. I think this whole running thing is a mental game for me. It's got very little to do with physical ability at this point, it all about convincing myself that I can keep going. When I first started running it was a mental battle to get outside and do it. I discovered that running first thing in the morning cured that. If I just got up and did it, it was over for the day and I didn't have to think about it. Now that the time has increased it just a battle to keep my feet moving. My breathing has become more natural, I haven't had any joint pain. My calves are starting to ache, but I think that is the switch from pavement to gravel. I'm figuring it's making my legs stronger, so I'll just really fly when I'm on pavement! So now, I've proven to myself that I can run and not die. So is really about desire at this point. So far, it's been just an internal competition...And until I make it to the 30 min mark it will stay that way, what I'm afraid of is getting bored with running once I don't have the program to follow...I need to figure out what I'm gonna do at the end of the 9 week program. Next week is week 7, so I've got a couple of weeks to figure it out.
I did sign up to run the 5K with my mom and Shannon in Omaha. It is the first week in October, so maybe that is what I need to do to stay motivated, just keep signing up for little races every few weeks and that would keep me in training. I wonder if there's a race that I could do where Annie could run with me. I'll have to google it!
25 min Run
I Did it! 25 mins without stopping. I actually didn't mind today's run. I told myself last night before I went to bed that I was going to run first thing in the morning. So I think I was well prepared mentally for this run. I had been scared of this run all week. I think this whole running thing is a mental game for me. It's got very little to do with physical ability at this point, it all about convincing myself that I can keep going. When I first started running it was a mental battle to get outside and do it. I discovered that running first thing in the morning cured that. If I just got up and did it, it was over for the day and I didn't have to think about it. Now that the time has increased it just a battle to keep my feet moving. My breathing has become more natural, I haven't had any joint pain. My calves are starting to ache, but I think that is the switch from pavement to gravel. I'm figuring it's making my legs stronger, so I'll just really fly when I'm on pavement! So now, I've proven to myself that I can run and not die. So is really about desire at this point. So far, it's been just an internal competition...And until I make it to the 30 min mark it will stay that way, what I'm afraid of is getting bored with running once I don't have the program to follow...I need to figure out what I'm gonna do at the end of the 9 week program. Next week is week 7, so I've got a couple of weeks to figure it out.
I did sign up to run the 5K with my mom and Shannon in Omaha. It is the first week in October, so maybe that is what I need to do to stay motivated, just keep signing up for little races every few weeks and that would keep me in training. I wonder if there's a race that I could do where Annie could run with me. I'll have to google it!
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