This morning I got back to the gym. I did my usual weight lifting stuff and speed walked a mile or so. I was surprised when I stepped on the scale that the last couple days of little attention to diet and even less activity didn't pack on pounds. Tomorrow I'm going to try a run around the park. Now that I know for sure that it's 1.3 miles I can wrap my mind around running that distance all at once.
I wrote this in my journal the other night:
I tend to use the consequences of previous poor decisions as excuses for not making better decisions right now. I need to get over that.
Anyway, I've lost about 33 pounds since April. I'm setting my sights on another 25 by January. So back to the grind. Nobody's going to steal my shine. :)
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
decision
this mood is over. tomorrow it's back to being hardcore. i'm not going to promise cheerful, but i am going to promise that i'm done with clever excuses for at least a 24 hour period. i need to get back on an endorphin rush.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
post race let down
So I ran/walked the 5k. :) And it was different from how I pictured it. Leading up to the race, I let a bad couple of days turn into a bad week and a half. I knew I wasn't ready to run all of it-- I had mustered up enough to run a mile without stopping to walk followed by another mile with intermittent walking. Anyway, going in, I knew I couldn't run the entire 5k.
I was nervous about how different it would be running with other people. Usually when I work out, it's me and lenny the ipod. I didn't take lenny on the 5k because my friend Laura was there. She's a community sort of runner (meaning she prefers to run with a partner.)
When the race started, I was caught off guard. It was cold, dreary and a little drizzly. There was no gunshot or anything, just all of a sudden people were running so we started to run, too. And it turns out those other people run a heck of a lot faster than I do on my own.
Laura was awesome through it. She was encouraging and willing to go at my pace. She walked when I said I needed to walk. She was the right amount of chatty. She was the perfect running partner.
But I let having a running partner get to me. She is in way better shape than I am and most of the run, I was very aware of holding her back. At the beginning, I ran faster and further than I wanted and then had to compensate for the rest of the run by feeling too winded too early. Not having music and not knowing the route made it harder for me, too. I had no idea how far we'd gone or how many minutes we'd spent running.
At the gym, I've been running about a 14 minute mile. I know that's not super speedy by any means but for going from nothing to trying to run, I will own my 14 minutes. This 5k last Saturday was over in 45:20. Considering I think we walked about 1/3 of it, I feel like we ran faster and walked faster than I would have on my own. That's not a bad thing. It was good to be pushed.
The run was for a good cause. I don't think I hyped Katie's Crusaders enough. I'll find the link to her site in a bit and explain it in a later blog. That part was hugely touching.
So yeah. The run was good, just different from how I'd pictured it in my head. It was a good practice 5k. I'm going to shoot for another one and work harder, running outside so I can get used to how different it feels to run without climate control.
This week, though, I'm a slacker. I'm taking it easy and trying to focus on setting some new goals.
Coincidentally, I just sort of feel blah about everything. This whole "now what?" feeling has sunk in and the newness of a different job, house, community and life is not really as charming anymore. It could just be that I'm in a funk tonight. That's probably it. I'll see if a day or two makes a difference.
I was nervous about how different it would be running with other people. Usually when I work out, it's me and lenny the ipod. I didn't take lenny on the 5k because my friend Laura was there. She's a community sort of runner (meaning she prefers to run with a partner.)
When the race started, I was caught off guard. It was cold, dreary and a little drizzly. There was no gunshot or anything, just all of a sudden people were running so we started to run, too. And it turns out those other people run a heck of a lot faster than I do on my own.
Laura was awesome through it. She was encouraging and willing to go at my pace. She walked when I said I needed to walk. She was the right amount of chatty. She was the perfect running partner.
But I let having a running partner get to me. She is in way better shape than I am and most of the run, I was very aware of holding her back. At the beginning, I ran faster and further than I wanted and then had to compensate for the rest of the run by feeling too winded too early. Not having music and not knowing the route made it harder for me, too. I had no idea how far we'd gone or how many minutes we'd spent running.
At the gym, I've been running about a 14 minute mile. I know that's not super speedy by any means but for going from nothing to trying to run, I will own my 14 minutes. This 5k last Saturday was over in 45:20. Considering I think we walked about 1/3 of it, I feel like we ran faster and walked faster than I would have on my own. That's not a bad thing. It was good to be pushed.
The run was for a good cause. I don't think I hyped Katie's Crusaders enough. I'll find the link to her site in a bit and explain it in a later blog. That part was hugely touching.
So yeah. The run was good, just different from how I'd pictured it in my head. It was a good practice 5k. I'm going to shoot for another one and work harder, running outside so I can get used to how different it feels to run without climate control.
This week, though, I'm a slacker. I'm taking it easy and trying to focus on setting some new goals.
Coincidentally, I just sort of feel blah about everything. This whole "now what?" feeling has sunk in and the newness of a different job, house, community and life is not really as charming anymore. It could just be that I'm in a funk tonight. That's probably it. I'll see if a day or two makes a difference.
Monday, September 13, 2010
consistency
I'm not a consistent blogger. I'm not a consistent dishwasher. I certainly am not consistent when it comes to doing daily devotions or taking out the trash or grocery shopping. I find comfort in routines, but lately my routines have been counterproductive to health.
I'd love to make some grand announcement like THIS WILL CHANGE AND HERE IS MY PLAN. But I'm a human and not consistent with much of anything.
For the past 3 months, I have been consistent with exercise and with lifting weights. And then I went to Minneapolis for a weekend and threw my schedule even more out of wack. I knew I might get off track if I skipped a day.
I didn't think I would end up skipping 8 days. But I did. And I'm trying to move away from that and get back into a better rhythm. And it's almost as hard as it was back in April. Almost.
Here's the success, though: I feel better when I exercise. Running gives me a high. I've gone from celebrating one lap around the indoor track (1/8 of a mile! woohoo!) to celebrating 16 laps around that same track. TWO MILES. And I signed up for a 5k a couple months ago, laughing at the absurdity but this Saturday, I'll do it.
With my ill-timed week off, I'm doubting my ability to run all 3 miles of the race. Laura said she's not sure she can run all of it either. But we will try. And my goal is not to leave anything out there in that park. I'm going to do all that I can to finish as strong as I can. If I walk part, I walk part. That just means I'll have to try another one.
Anyway. It's RACE WEEK. And I need to shake a funk and celebrate that I've come this far.
I'd love to make some grand announcement like THIS WILL CHANGE AND HERE IS MY PLAN. But I'm a human and not consistent with much of anything.
For the past 3 months, I have been consistent with exercise and with lifting weights. And then I went to Minneapolis for a weekend and threw my schedule even more out of wack. I knew I might get off track if I skipped a day.
I didn't think I would end up skipping 8 days. But I did. And I'm trying to move away from that and get back into a better rhythm. And it's almost as hard as it was back in April. Almost.
Here's the success, though: I feel better when I exercise. Running gives me a high. I've gone from celebrating one lap around the indoor track (1/8 of a mile! woohoo!) to celebrating 16 laps around that same track. TWO MILES. And I signed up for a 5k a couple months ago, laughing at the absurdity but this Saturday, I'll do it.
With my ill-timed week off, I'm doubting my ability to run all 3 miles of the race. Laura said she's not sure she can run all of it either. But we will try. And my goal is not to leave anything out there in that park. I'm going to do all that I can to finish as strong as I can. If I walk part, I walk part. That just means I'll have to try another one.
Anyway. It's RACE WEEK. And I need to shake a funk and celebrate that I've come this far.
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