Running High (Part II)

I haven't been blogging in awhile. I'm still doing pretty well with the running though. I did, however, overdo it in the food area this weekend (breakfast out twice, pizza, left-over pizza, etc). I do so well during the week and then blow it on the weekends. I'm sure a lot of people are in that boat, but it's like I really just don't care. Then Monday rolls around and I'm filled with regret. So, this weekend I vow to stay on track. It's going to be hard as it's Father's Day, my birthday, and my brother is coming home for the weekend. This usually involves many meals in restaurants and a bunch of beer. I'm going to track my points no matter what.

Another deficit area for me is water. I hate hate hate it. I'm drinking some now and giving it a dirty look. I also have a secret theory that it gives me a headache. I'm going to start by making myself drink at least a litre a day. That's not so hard, is it? We'll see.

Oh yeah, my run. I jogged 7km at lunch. It's a bit cooler today and the work gym wasn't as disgustingly hot and smelly as it usually is. Not to mention, I had the gym to myself. I'm not the kind of girl who can jog and keep up a conversation, so I sort of like running alone (or with my husband).

I still have over 3.5 months until the half marathon, but it seems to be getting closer and closer. I'm starting to wonder if my body is physically capable of running for 2.5-3 hours. Won't I be starving? What if I have to pee? Am I supposed to eat a lot before? These are all things that I should look into at some point.

Running High

I just had a fantastic run and wanted to blog about it. I ran 5k in 31:24, which is a great time for me. I always start off slow, so the warm-up is included in there. Now I'm sitting at my desk, completely sweaty and gross, and I feel amazing. I had a slip last night where I budgeted my points for two pieces of pizza (12 points) but ended up eating three (18 points). I felt terrible, but decided to start over today. And I'm so glad I didn't let it set me back.

Sitting here, I realize that I have to start showering at work. I've dreaded this for many reasons. The shower in our gym is kind of disgusting and has no shower curtain. There are sometimes a lot of people working out and it's difficult to even get in there. Not to mention, it's co-ed. Also, if I wash my hair I'd have to dry it and straighten it, which isn't really an option. And if I don't wash my hair, what's the point really?

Okay, so reading this back, I laughed at myself. This is my big problem? To shower or not to shower? Seriously?? There are bigger decisions a person has to make ...

Take 2 (or 200)

I'm back at work after 11 months off. I actually came back the day after the 10k race. Since that time I've been to Vegas and Myrtle Beach. Needless to say, I haven't been to Weight Watchers at all. I had the best intentions, but it's almost impossible to get to a meeting. The evening ones are at 6:30, which is a crucial bath/pajama/bottle time. I'm not going to give up my Baby A time if I can help it. So, as you can imagine, running has been difficult as well. Basically, I get up at 6:30 (or whenever Baby A decides to wake me), give him a bottle, shower, and go to work. I come home at 4:00, starving. We eat dinner, go outstide for a bit, and then do our bedtime routine. After bedtime we watch TV and eat popcorn. And so I gained some weight. Just a couple pounds, but for someone like me, a couple is a lot. And it's more than that. I feel like crap. Not exercising leaves me almost no energy and then I tend to snack like crazy at night. Not to mention, I think about food all the time . . . bad food!

So now I'm recommitting. Going to meetings is just not feasible for me right now, so I joined the online WW program. It's MUCH cheaper and actually seems pretty good. The only thing I'll miss is the motivation that going to a meeting gives me, and the accountability. We don't have a digital scale, so it's hard to keep track. I've been surfing around the site today and found some pretty good blogs though, and there are some challenges posted that I might sign up for. Another plus is that I just got an IPhone which has a great WW app. You can keep track of points on your phone. Anyway, I'm going to try it for three months and see how I like it.

In terms of running, I've started going to the gym at my work at lunch. It's not a nice gym by any stretch of the imagination, but it has a treadmill. I don't LOVE the idea of being all sweaty in the afternoons, but it's the price I have to pay. I'm not missing any time with my son and I'm usually able to get a good workout in. Today I ran 5k and hope to do this at least 3 times a week. Also, outdoor soccer starts this week, which will kick my ass.

I Did It!!

I ran the 10k race yesterday and it was awesome!

I'm very proud of myself and my time (one hour exactly). It was harder than I thought it'd be given the freezing cold temperature, but I knew I wouldn't stop. I couldn't stop really, considering I had told a bunch of people that I was doing the race and even posted it on Facebook. So, that was actually motivating to me. My husband did it in 44 minutes, so I'm really proud of him as well. He's always been very encouraging to me and I appreciate it. Although today he signed me up for a 1/2 Marathon. Yikes!! I have about six months to train, but still. This seems like an impossible task: 22.1km. That's more than double what I did (barely) yesterday. I'll need to get a longer playlist.

I also wanted to mention that I thought yesterdays race was really well done. It was organized by The Running Room and there were lots of refreshments, prizes, a t-shirt for everyone, a kids race, etc. The only part I didn't really like was that instead of having a 10k course, we had to run the 5k course twice. I understand that setting up a 10k course might have been difficult, logistically, but it would have been nice. I find it hard psychologically to re-run the same course twice. I don't know why. However, that's a very minor complaint.

So, now I'm setting my sites on October and still thinking of a reward for myself for the 10k.

Another Goal Reached

I haven't gotten weighed in two weeks, so I have no idea if I've lost weight or not. To be honest, I feel about the same. However, I wanted to write and say that I haven't given up. Something happened in my personal life with my family that has kept me from the scale, but it hasn't kept me from running. Last Sunday I finally ran 10k. It was awesome. I felt great the whole time and knew that I could do it. It took me 66 minutes and 25 seconds, but I'll take it. Especially for a first attempt . . .

So, the big race is in 10 days. I've decided that if I finish, I'm going to sign up for the half marathon in October. It seems huge, but I feel really confident that I can do it.

I haven't gotten in much (or any) running this week. My husband and parents are away, so I'm home alone with Baby A. I can't exactly take him to the gym with me, but I know I'll get back on track next week. Speaking of which, it's my last week off work. A part of me is excited about it, but mostly I wish I could stay home with my guy. Also, I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to run once I go back. There is a small gym at my work, but it's usually busy. Perhaps I'll have to get up early and go. We'll see . . .

Halfway There

I lost another pound today. It felt great. I knew I was down a little from my own scale at home, but I was still nervous. I had a great week, including four good runs and a soccer game. I also ate really well and kept on track. Nevertheless, as I get closer to my goal I'm getting kind of scared. I assume it'll get harder to lose a pound each week. Not to mention, I have to go back to work on March 28, which will make it much more difficult to get so many runs in each week. I haven't figured out how I'm going to manage yet.

The 10k is only 25 days away. Ack! I still haven't been able to get in a run longer than 8k yet and I'm running out of time. I'm also getting REALLY sick of my jogging playlist. Any suggestions for up-tempo songs would be greatly appreciated.

Daily Mile

I signed back up to a website called dailymile.com today. Basically it's just a site to log training, in whatever form. You can walk, run, bike, swim, etc. It logs how far you go, how fast, and how often you train. I find it pretty handy to actually see my progress right in front of me in a bar graph. I'd recommend the site to anyone who would like to track their accomplishments.

On the left side of my blog is a widget that is linked to the website and reports my training for the week/year. It started on Monday, so my weeks will start on Mondays (although I get weighed on Wednesdays). And although I've run more than the 18km it has me running this year, I'm not going to go back in and enter all of these. I couldn't remember them all even if I tried. In addition, it posts my latest run. It has you enter your distance, time, route (mine is usually the treadmill these days), and also how you felt about the run.

Below there is another widget that lists my upcoming races. I can't believe there are only 31 days until the 10k. Ack!