This last week hasn't been very good workout wise or health wise. I came down with the flu on Thursday night, pushed through work on Friday and paid for it the rest of the weekend. Needless to say I was a lump on the couch for the last 4 days. But I am feeling much much better so clearly I needed all of the rest. So a recap of is in order of what I did do last week.
I got in 2 days of working out before the flu, Tuesday and Wednesday. They were weight workouts from bootcamp. Tuesdays was difficult but in a good way. We had tempo lifts on the schedule, 6 beats to the height of contraction and then 2 beats to return to the starting position. It was rough but I loved it. I'm really glad that I'm lifting again even if I am a cardio junkie.
Wednesday was a core workout. I'm not supposed to do back to back lifting days but I thought it would be ok since it was a mostly body weight workout. And the workout went well except for the shaky arms afterwards. Needless to say I was sore for the next few days. I'm not gonna lie, I really liked it. Being sore always makes me feel better. I know I'm working muscles I don't usually and it really is just going to help me out in the long run.
Thursday hit and so did the flu. Therefore nothing else got done workout wise. I did manage to meet my 2 goals for the week: 1.) Drink 72 oz of water/day and 2.) Stretch/foam roll for 10 min/day. The second one was really hard for me to meet considering I hate stretching. I'm going to change my 1st goal to drink at least 16 oz of water a night at home because that is when I really struggle to get hydration. This will make me focus more for water after my workouts.
So this week is a new week and I'm feeling much better. After all of the rest I was able to get I'm finally starting to feel like my old self. As a reward I will be going for a run this afternoon after work and putting dinner together. It will be outside in the cold because I missed the beautiful weather this weekend. But there is no more snow and ice on the ground so I feel fairly safe running outside. That was my hold up. I was not going to risk injury to run outside.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Foot
So as I mentioned in my last post my foot has been bothering me. It was really bad this past weekend but has been slowly getting better. It doesn't hurt most of the day and I have gone to the gym twice this past week to get my BBB workouts in. I'm really itching to get back to running but I keep telling myself that it's important to give your foot some rest so that you can get back to running quicker. So I don't hop on the treadmill. Also my foot throbs every time I look at it which could also be keeping me from running. It could also be a mental thing but whatever.
The only issue with putting off running is the fact that the weather is beautiful this week and will be through the weekend. This only makes me want to get outside and run even worse. So I'm going to tempt fate and try a run this afternoon after work. I want to give my new running pants a shot and see how they hold up. Plus being stuck inside when it is this nice out is a bummer.
Saturday is going to be the real test. I have an 8 miler scheduled and it's supposed to be 60 that day. Perfect. We don't have anywhere to be until 3:30 which gives me plenty of time to get a nice long slow run in. I may even go to a trail with hills. I hate hills so this is a big step for me but the ground may be a little softer and have a bit more give. That's the goal. And to run most of it. Hopefully all of it. Fingers crossed.
I'm hoping to finalize my race schedule here soon. I need to actually sit down with pen and paper and decide which ones I want to do, which ones I can fit in, and which ones I can afford. Affording to race is going to be the big issue after I narrow it down. There are just so many options out there. I think virtual is going to be the way to go for most of them.
Which reminds me, I need to sign up for the Cleveland Marathon before the price goes up. Off to do that now. Have a great day!
The only issue with putting off running is the fact that the weather is beautiful this week and will be through the weekend. This only makes me want to get outside and run even worse. So I'm going to tempt fate and try a run this afternoon after work. I want to give my new running pants a shot and see how they hold up. Plus being stuck inside when it is this nice out is a bummer.
Saturday is going to be the real test. I have an 8 miler scheduled and it's supposed to be 60 that day. Perfect. We don't have anywhere to be until 3:30 which gives me plenty of time to get a nice long slow run in. I may even go to a trail with hills. I hate hills so this is a big step for me but the ground may be a little softer and have a bit more give. That's the goal. And to run most of it. Hopefully all of it. Fingers crossed.
I'm hoping to finalize my race schedule here soon. I need to actually sit down with pen and paper and decide which ones I want to do, which ones I can fit in, and which ones I can afford. Affording to race is going to be the big issue after I narrow it down. There are just so many options out there. I think virtual is going to be the way to go for most of them.
Which reminds me, I need to sign up for the Cleveland Marathon before the price goes up. Off to do that now. Have a great day!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Limits
Well I decided to do something this week I had never done before. Run 3 days in a row of moderate distance. That isn't a lot for some people but for me it is. I generally like to take a day between running days. And if I do happen to run back to back it's about 3ish miles. Never have I gone over that.
I ran my long run from the past weekend on Tuesday. It was 6 miles and I felt great afterwards. But this meant that I was pushing the rest of the week back. Knowing what I had this weekend, moving my long run wasn't an option. So I went ahead and ran my 4 miles on Wed and 5 on Thursday. The great thing is that I am on schedule for this weekend. The bad thing is no matter how much I stretch out or keep moving I'm in pain. Sore pain but pain none the less. I hate being sore. It sucks and makes everything else suck as well.
Luckily I bought a foam roller yesterday off of amazon. I love that site. It's supposed to get really deep into the knots. Hopefully it works because I need it! Maybe then I will be able to run more than one day in a row without wanting to die.
I committed to another challenge for January. This is a Run Your A$$ Off challenge and I committed to 100 miles. This should be doable with marathon training. I added up what I'm supposed to run and I put it a little lower that that in case life gets in the way. I have 15/100 complete with a couple of longer runs this weekend. At least longer for me. Hopefully I will be able to get outside for a run because the treadmill is starting to get boring.
I need to figure out my nutrition as well. I'm having a hard time getting into a groove and it's frustrating. I don't want to gain/lose this 3-5 lbs I have been the last couple of months. I'm determined to lose 10-15 lbs this year. If it takes all year then fine but only if I continue to keep it off. Hopefully the strength training from bootcamp will help shed these lbs. Or at least jump start it. I am a cardio junkie unfortunately and get bored pretty quickly. I will stick with it this round though since I punked out on lifting last round.
Hope everyone else is doing great with their goals/training/whatever else you are doing!
I ran my long run from the past weekend on Tuesday. It was 6 miles and I felt great afterwards. But this meant that I was pushing the rest of the week back. Knowing what I had this weekend, moving my long run wasn't an option. So I went ahead and ran my 4 miles on Wed and 5 on Thursday. The great thing is that I am on schedule for this weekend. The bad thing is no matter how much I stretch out or keep moving I'm in pain. Sore pain but pain none the less. I hate being sore. It sucks and makes everything else suck as well.
Luckily I bought a foam roller yesterday off of amazon. I love that site. It's supposed to get really deep into the knots. Hopefully it works because I need it! Maybe then I will be able to run more than one day in a row without wanting to die.
I committed to another challenge for January. This is a Run Your A$$ Off challenge and I committed to 100 miles. This should be doable with marathon training. I added up what I'm supposed to run and I put it a little lower that that in case life gets in the way. I have 15/100 complete with a couple of longer runs this weekend. At least longer for me. Hopefully I will be able to get outside for a run because the treadmill is starting to get boring.
I need to figure out my nutrition as well. I'm having a hard time getting into a groove and it's frustrating. I don't want to gain/lose this 3-5 lbs I have been the last couple of months. I'm determined to lose 10-15 lbs this year. If it takes all year then fine but only if I continue to keep it off. Hopefully the strength training from bootcamp will help shed these lbs. Or at least jump start it. I am a cardio junkie unfortunately and get bored pretty quickly. I will stick with it this round though since I punked out on lifting last round.
Hope everyone else is doing great with their goals/training/whatever else you are doing!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Finally
I have finally had a good run for training! I took me two weeks but it has finally happened. I got 6 miles in yesterday which was supposed to be my long run for Saturday (12/29). It didn't happen. A lot of stuff got in the way, basically excuses because it was cold out and I didn't want to walk to our apartments gym. Lame. I know. But it happens.
6 miles in about 69 minutes. Turns into a 11:50 min/mile. I'm not sure how slow or fast my long run is supposed to be but I want to average an 11 min/mile for the marathon so that may be too fast. Who knows.
I signed up for bootcamp again. I wasn't going to do it but I needed some more structure to my cross training days. And I really enjoyed it last time. I went ahead and signed up on the 31st. Nothing like waiting till the last minute.
I am really trying to stick with myfitnesspal to track my food intake. It's really important to me that I am being held accountable for what I put into my body.
Nothing more to say. Just a quick update. Maybe I'll figure out how to put pictures on here in the near future. Then everyone can see my fur babies. :)
6 miles in about 69 minutes. Turns into a 11:50 min/mile. I'm not sure how slow or fast my long run is supposed to be but I want to average an 11 min/mile for the marathon so that may be too fast. Who knows.
I signed up for bootcamp again. I wasn't going to do it but I needed some more structure to my cross training days. And I really enjoyed it last time. I went ahead and signed up on the 31st. Nothing like waiting till the last minute.
I am really trying to stick with myfitnesspal to track my food intake. It's really important to me that I am being held accountable for what I put into my body.
Nothing more to say. Just a quick update. Maybe I'll figure out how to put pictures on here in the near future. Then everyone can see my fur babies. :)
Monday, December 31, 2012
Goals for 2013
So 2012 is coming to a close and I have read a lot of recaps on the year. I thought about doing one but since a lot didn't happen to me during the year I have decided to skip it. I will post a 2013 goal list though. This I think is important for me so that I can look back and see what I have committed to. I won't say resolutions because let's be serious, those tend to be broken within 2-6 weeks and I don't want that to happen to me.
Goals/Commitments:
1. Complete my first (and probably only) marathon. I have started training but it's not going well. I'm having difficulty getting through a run at the moment. It's not that I'm achy or have pains or anything, my body seems to be rejecting the idea of running at the moment. This is really disheartening because I have been doing very well with my distances and pace. I have given myself a couple of days rest and will try again on the 1st (aka tomorrow).
2. Get my eating on target. I am determined to come up with a healthy eating plan that doesn't feel like dieting and will keep my at my absolute best. I'm tired of trying new things. I know a calorie limit that I feel happy with and a different one my body feels happy with. They don't happen to be the same at the moment but I'm working on it. I'm also going to incorporate weekly meal plans with this goal and am proud to say have already started on doing them. 1 week down!
3. Get it together mentally. I have a lot of anxiety issues and had been diagnosed with GAD a couple of years ago along with depression. I am honestly trying to keep it together on a day to day basis. I want to get off of my medicine and be able to be happy and anxiety free for the long term, not with meds. I don't like to be dependent on them at all. It upsets me and I need to get it together. Again this could be an all year project.
4. Budget. I need to get on a money plan ASAP. It seems that every time I make forward progress on this one I take about 10 steps back and get no where. It is extremely frustrating. My boyfriend and I want to buy a house in the fall. This is a huge step for me and very scary. But I know this is the right step and getting a budget together will only make it easier in the long run.
5. Take some time for myself each day to reflect on what has been happening and the good things I have. I tend to take a lot for granted and this was painfully obvious a couple of weeks ago. It won't happen again. Taking things slower and enjoying the little things will work well for me. I'm just no programmed to think that way and this will definitely be a learning process.
6. Keep a consistent workout regimen. I usually train for something and then stop for awhile afterwards. Not this year. I'm going to pick a routine and stick with it. That's it. No more being wishy-washy about working out.
7. Lose the last 10-15 (20?) lbs. I'm tired of carrying them around. I need them to go and the only way that is going to happen is if I get my act together. I'm holding myself accountable starting now. I don't need the extra slice of pizza or that cookie or even the ice cream everyday. I can do this if I have a little will power.
8. 13 in 2013! This one I'm excited about. 13 races of my choosing in 2013. I chose the variety pack instead of one specific race. I figured that would be better for me because I'm super gung-ho about in now and I know how I am. If I chose 13 half marathons in one year I think by June I would say that was a good idea but no more. Then I would be disappointed for failing. So a variety will at least keep me interested. Plus then I can count my marathon!
Well those are my goals/commitments for the year. They are in no particular order. I will be keeping track for myself and will keep myself accountable in any way that I can. Hopefully everyone has a safe and happy New Year!
Goals/Commitments:
1. Complete my first (and probably only) marathon. I have started training but it's not going well. I'm having difficulty getting through a run at the moment. It's not that I'm achy or have pains or anything, my body seems to be rejecting the idea of running at the moment. This is really disheartening because I have been doing very well with my distances and pace. I have given myself a couple of days rest and will try again on the 1st (aka tomorrow).
2. Get my eating on target. I am determined to come up with a healthy eating plan that doesn't feel like dieting and will keep my at my absolute best. I'm tired of trying new things. I know a calorie limit that I feel happy with and a different one my body feels happy with. They don't happen to be the same at the moment but I'm working on it. I'm also going to incorporate weekly meal plans with this goal and am proud to say have already started on doing them. 1 week down!
3. Get it together mentally. I have a lot of anxiety issues and had been diagnosed with GAD a couple of years ago along with depression. I am honestly trying to keep it together on a day to day basis. I want to get off of my medicine and be able to be happy and anxiety free for the long term, not with meds. I don't like to be dependent on them at all. It upsets me and I need to get it together. Again this could be an all year project.
4. Budget. I need to get on a money plan ASAP. It seems that every time I make forward progress on this one I take about 10 steps back and get no where. It is extremely frustrating. My boyfriend and I want to buy a house in the fall. This is a huge step for me and very scary. But I know this is the right step and getting a budget together will only make it easier in the long run.
5. Take some time for myself each day to reflect on what has been happening and the good things I have. I tend to take a lot for granted and this was painfully obvious a couple of weeks ago. It won't happen again. Taking things slower and enjoying the little things will work well for me. I'm just no programmed to think that way and this will definitely be a learning process.
6. Keep a consistent workout regimen. I usually train for something and then stop for awhile afterwards. Not this year. I'm going to pick a routine and stick with it. That's it. No more being wishy-washy about working out.
7. Lose the last 10-15 (20?) lbs. I'm tired of carrying them around. I need them to go and the only way that is going to happen is if I get my act together. I'm holding myself accountable starting now. I don't need the extra slice of pizza or that cookie or even the ice cream everyday. I can do this if I have a little will power.
8. 13 in 2013! This one I'm excited about. 13 races of my choosing in 2013. I chose the variety pack instead of one specific race. I figured that would be better for me because I'm super gung-ho about in now and I know how I am. If I chose 13 half marathons in one year I think by June I would say that was a good idea but no more. Then I would be disappointed for failing. So a variety will at least keep me interested. Plus then I can count my marathon!
Well those are my goals/commitments for the year. They are in no particular order. I will be keeping track for myself and will keep myself accountable in any way that I can. Hopefully everyone has a safe and happy New Year!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
First training run...
So training "officially" started on Monday. I use quotation marks because it was a rest day. So my first run was actually Tuesday. It went pretty well. It was a 4 mile run so nothing I haven't easily been able to do lately. My arch started to hurt a bit but I'm going to attribute that to being on my feet all day in shoes that were made for sitting. My fault. The next run will go better.
That run is supposed to be today. Unfortunately I don't think that will be happening. My boyfriends grandpa passed away on Tuesday. I have to drive to PA with our puppy for the funeral tomorrow. I'm hoping I can get up early enough tomorrow morning and get the run in quickly. It's 4 miles. I don't think it should take much longer than 45-50 minutes. It's slow but I get it done. And I will feel 10x better when it's over. Hopefully there isn't much snow on the ground at that point because I'm not sure what I will do.
I think I need to get shoes specifically for outdoor running. Mine are almost completely mesh which I have read can let the water in. I have also experienced that as well. I don't like wet feet and will need to remedy that.
That run is supposed to be today. Unfortunately I don't think that will be happening. My boyfriends grandpa passed away on Tuesday. I have to drive to PA with our puppy for the funeral tomorrow. I'm hoping I can get up early enough tomorrow morning and get the run in quickly. It's 4 miles. I don't think it should take much longer than 45-50 minutes. It's slow but I get it done. And I will feel 10x better when it's over. Hopefully there isn't much snow on the ground at that point because I'm not sure what I will do.
I think I need to get shoes specifically for outdoor running. Mine are almost completely mesh which I have read can let the water in. I have also experienced that as well. I don't like wet feet and will need to remedy that.
I decided to take on a running challenge this year with my friend Tonya. She easily convinced me that running 13 half marathons was a good idea. While I won't be doing the half marathon challenge I will be taking on the 13 races challenge. I like to call it the variety pack. I can run whatever races I want and have it count towards my goal. I'm excited for this and will probably put myself under some stricter guidelines. Like counting the marathon for sure but only counting races I PR in or 10K's and above. Who knows. I haven't worked out all the details yet. A lot has been going on. There is supposed to be a button here but I can't get it to work correctly. Clearly I'm not very blog/computer literate.
I'm also trying to add a widget to the blog but I'm having trouble figuring it out. Very annoying.
Friday, December 14, 2012
The Beginning
This is my first blog post. I figured why not start one to document my marathon training. I finally figured out how to do it but it took me awhile. I'm not very computer literate which makes it very difficult. Sure I can surf around on the web fine but when it comes to creating things that is a little more difficult.
So my friend has convinced me to run a marathon with her, specifically the Cleveland Marathon in May. I signed up last year but ended up not training for it or anything so I didn't end up running. Which turned out to be a good thing since it was probably about 85 that day. Way too hot for any sort of distance running. I did start running again that day, though. Just a mile but it was something. Building my distance up again was going to take time because I hadn't run in awhile. I didn't have a good excuse why I stopped except that I needed a break.
I had a couple of set backs over the summer. I fell down the stairs and broke my tailbone. I don't suggest doing that because you have to sit on a donut and when they take the x-rays you have to lay on your back. It was extremely uncomfortable to say the least. On a scale of 1-10 it was about an 11. My boyfriend and I went on vacation to the Bahamas in July and a week after we got back my grandfather died. I was devastated because I wasn't prepared at all. Needless to say I started eating my feelings and became pretty depressed. Luckily I have the best boyfriend in the world who is extremely patient and loving and took care of me through the ordeal.
I decided to get my butt in gear and start working out again. Running was rough at first but then started to get easier and easier. I was still doing a run/walk but at least I was doing something. My marathon friend told me about this online bootcamp she was going to do and I decided to join her and signed up the next day. Needless to say this was probably one of the best experiences of my life. It definitely got me back in the right direction. Halfway through I was able to run 6 miles in a row. I have never run that long before or that many miles without walking. I was amazed and I can't say enough times how thankful I am that I found out about that bootcamp.
I ran my fastest 5K before the 6 mile run. 30 minutes and 30 seconds. I don't know how fast that is compared to my last run because I haven't "raced" in awhile. I say it like that because I'm kind of slow and don't run to win first place. I run because at the moment it keeps me healthy and I am finally starting to enjoy the time I spend on the road or on the treadmill. It keeps me sane and happy. And everyone enjoys when I'm happy. Lol.
I start training for the marathon on December 18th. Only 4 days away. I'm excited and nervous about it. I have big hopes for this race because this will be a huge accomplishment for me. I hated running when I was younger and can't believe I have come this far. Running 3 half marathons in a year and then taking a bunch of time off was what I needed. I know I can do this and have a goal to finish in under 5 hours. If the weather is like last year, I'll be ecstatic to finish in 6 just because I don't know how I will handle the heat. I want to maintain an 11 minute mile which hopefully won't be too hard. I have an extensive training plan and a great support system. I have been doing my research so I hope I'm prepared.
I know this is a little unorganized but I'm not a writer. I just want to be able to record what I'm doing to look back on later and say "Wow! I really accomplished something here!"
So my friend has convinced me to run a marathon with her, specifically the Cleveland Marathon in May. I signed up last year but ended up not training for it or anything so I didn't end up running. Which turned out to be a good thing since it was probably about 85 that day. Way too hot for any sort of distance running. I did start running again that day, though. Just a mile but it was something. Building my distance up again was going to take time because I hadn't run in awhile. I didn't have a good excuse why I stopped except that I needed a break.
I had a couple of set backs over the summer. I fell down the stairs and broke my tailbone. I don't suggest doing that because you have to sit on a donut and when they take the x-rays you have to lay on your back. It was extremely uncomfortable to say the least. On a scale of 1-10 it was about an 11. My boyfriend and I went on vacation to the Bahamas in July and a week after we got back my grandfather died. I was devastated because I wasn't prepared at all. Needless to say I started eating my feelings and became pretty depressed. Luckily I have the best boyfriend in the world who is extremely patient and loving and took care of me through the ordeal.
I decided to get my butt in gear and start working out again. Running was rough at first but then started to get easier and easier. I was still doing a run/walk but at least I was doing something. My marathon friend told me about this online bootcamp she was going to do and I decided to join her and signed up the next day. Needless to say this was probably one of the best experiences of my life. It definitely got me back in the right direction. Halfway through I was able to run 6 miles in a row. I have never run that long before or that many miles without walking. I was amazed and I can't say enough times how thankful I am that I found out about that bootcamp.
I ran my fastest 5K before the 6 mile run. 30 minutes and 30 seconds. I don't know how fast that is compared to my last run because I haven't "raced" in awhile. I say it like that because I'm kind of slow and don't run to win first place. I run because at the moment it keeps me healthy and I am finally starting to enjoy the time I spend on the road or on the treadmill. It keeps me sane and happy. And everyone enjoys when I'm happy. Lol.
I start training for the marathon on December 18th. Only 4 days away. I'm excited and nervous about it. I have big hopes for this race because this will be a huge accomplishment for me. I hated running when I was younger and can't believe I have come this far. Running 3 half marathons in a year and then taking a bunch of time off was what I needed. I know I can do this and have a goal to finish in under 5 hours. If the weather is like last year, I'll be ecstatic to finish in 6 just because I don't know how I will handle the heat. I want to maintain an 11 minute mile which hopefully won't be too hard. I have an extensive training plan and a great support system. I have been doing my research so I hope I'm prepared.
I know this is a little unorganized but I'm not a writer. I just want to be able to record what I'm doing to look back on later and say "Wow! I really accomplished something here!"
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