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!
Monday, December 31, 2012
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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