Legacy Pains

I'm back on the ball - I worked out three times last week in total because although I added a day of weight training, I left off a day of running.  My bad.  I guess I'm just not ready for that yet.  Maybe I'll just wait until the running stuff becomes easy.

Speaking of running coming easy, it definitely didn't tonight.  I had the same ankle problems today that I did during the Lavender 5K over the summer.  I feel fine now (as I did that day) but it was really annoying when I was going through it.  The pain really climaxed during the end of the first five-minute burst of running, and it was then that I turned off the C25K app and just ran/walked at my own pace.  I still did almost 2 miles, but it wasn't as much as if I had stayed on the plan. 

I am going to try dynamic stretching on Wednesday and see if that solves some of my problems, and probably stay on Week 4 for another week and a half.  This is where I start hitting walls, much as I would like to NOT hit them right now.  

It kind of put me in a bad mood, which was even worse because today is Valentine's Day and everyone just assumed I was bitter.  Really, no.  But running is the thing that normally makes me feel good, and today I felt defeated by it.  I'm recovering, though, and it's nothing a viewing of some sappy romantic movie before bed can't remedy.  :)

Busy Busy Busy

Woo.  Yesterday was sooooo busy, and I still squeezed in the gym.  It was a fantastic research day, which means my legs were already like jello when I got to the gym from standing over a laser table in weird positions and walking/running up and down concrete hallways all day, and that made getting on the treadmill to intentionally run that much harder.  But once again, making the decision of whether or not I would go ahead of time made it that much easier, even though I may or may not have tried to talk myself out of it.

At the gym, things got nasty.  I went through the first half of the workout just fine, but then my legs started hurting pretty bad, so I slowed it down.  I almost walked through the running segments, but I decided to just push through on a lower speed.  Besides, it was during the walking segments that my legs really got the best of me - they felt fine during the running segments.  I just think the treadmill is an evil invention, that's all.

I will be honest and say that I did NOT enjoy the workout yesterday, but at least I did it, and I did still feel the satisfaction afterwards of having followed through with something even though it was hard.  I know my sacrifice and perseverance will pay off soon.

The workout:
C25K W1D2
Distance: 1.84 mi
Time: 31:00 min
Listening to: Absolutely by Sister Hazel

New Year - New Resolve

Last year's one resolution was to have a "theme," instead of a resolution.  That theme was "it's my turn," and I may make it a two-year resolution, because I think it's a good theme that deserves two years.  "It's my turn" is all about taking life by the horns and making my life what I want it to be every day.  This blog was begun in February of last year as a branch of that theme, and running really did become a passion for me.

I never would have imagined that I would fall off that wagon, but I did.  It's old and cliched by now, but they say that the boxer that wins isn't the one who is knocked down the least but the one who continues to pick himself back up.  I refuse to let my past failures stunt my future success.

That said, I really hope to get back on the ball, and for several reasons.  Reason number one, I realized that my ten year high school reunion is in 18 months.  That's the perfect amount of time to lose the large number of pounds I need to lose to be in the healthy range without doing unhealthy things to my body to get there.  Reason number two is I have realized that although my body seems to "like" being heavy, it really doesn't.  I'm more tired, more stressed, and just ugh about things since I quit running.  When I was running I was really happy.  I was happy with myself, with my body, and with pretty much every aspect of my life.  All of the positive effects started from the very first day.  I really need to get back into this and recommit myself again.  I really need all you out there to hold me accountable to this.

So, speaking of cliches, I am starting an exercise program in January.  And it's cold, so I'm going to have to go to the gym.  Hurdle number one would be signing up for the gym membership, but I already have one, so I guess I'm ahead of the game there.  I hate that the gym is crowded in January, and I hate that the people at the gym look at my pudgy little body on the treadmill and think that I have never exercised before in my life and am just in it for the short-term.  It makes me want to wear a t-shirt that says, "This ain't my first rodeo, bucko."  Also, treadmills.  Yuck.

I'm going to start training again with the Couch to 5K program, same as before.  The big change I'm making is that I'm going to run the treadmill (dreadmill) on a higher incline than before so that it's less of a shock to my poor legs when I start running on pavement as soon as the snow melts in Provo.  I may actually work through the program on a 1.5% incline once, and then start over again from week 3 with a 3% incline.  Week 3 was very difficult for me outside, even after week 6 on the treadmill on 1.5% incline, but in the spirit of working up to outside conditions, I'm going to do it.  That will have me running a 5K three times a week OUTSIDE by May, assuming I can stay on the C25K schedule.  Even if I take 2 weeks to do each "week," the first time around, I'll still be there by June or July.  At that point, I may temporarily hire a personal trainer to help me through the slump that has historically occurred there.  In the meantime, it is up to you who read this blog free from ads, to earn your keep and ride my chubby butt so I stay with the program!

Is there anyone else out there who is starting or restarting the couch to 5K program?  If you're out there, I'd love to hear from you.

Prodigal

I know it's not the proper use of prodigal, but I'm using it anyway.

First of all, I want you all to know that my body HAS seen intentional physical activity since last time I wrote on here.  Not as much as we might hope, but still, more than this blog may suggest.  It is my intention to update here more often aka exercise more often and write about it.

I read an article yesterday about running in the cold, and seeing as yesterday was one of the most cold, rainy, and overall miserable days (weather-wise) we've had in Utah so far, I thought I'd go for a run.  Naturally.  It makes me feel more hard-core to run in the elements.  I even did a goofy victory dance afterwards.

My lungs burned.  I did half of the first week work-out for C25K before deciding to ditch the program and just throw in the running bits at my own pace.  Maybe when I start to like running again like I did before I will be more apt to follow the little beeps telling me when to push hard and when to take it easy.  But right now I am going to do whatever the heck I want to do just to get back in the habit.

Unfortunately, my diet is not yet the diet of a disciplined athlete.  I may or may not have eaten this at 10:00 last night:

BUT I do trust that as I start running more my ability to resist the temptations of fried high fructose deliciousness that are often consumed by my room mates who were blessed with younger metabolisms that I.  It's okay - we're just starting small.  Baby steps.

Blistered

I have been off the wagon due to a sinus infection of a few weeks ago that legitimately had me down for a few weeks, and now still has me down because I lost the habit of working out frequently.  But I'm here to recommit to you to get back on the horse. I went swimming once last week, and was impressed by my ability to swim repeated laps without inhaling any water.

My plan is to start C25K again next week.  MWF I am going to get up early and re-start the C25K program from Day 1 Week 1 and work on my arms with weight training.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm going to swim and do legs and core with weight training. This week I plan on swimming at least 3 times, but no running for me this week.  I may try to incorporate weight training as well this week just to get used to it, but we'll see how things go.

The shoes I wore yesterday to church put BLISTERS on my feet.  Actual pus-filled blisters on the weight-bearing balls of my foot.  You know, that part that you're supposed to run on.  It has affected my gait already to the point that my left ankle feels all funny, and last thing I want to do is run funny on them and further screw up my ankles.  Besides, it HURTS.

Sad face.  :(

Day 10: Opposition in All Things

I think while I'm on the treadmill about things like "what am I going to title my blog entry for this one?" and today inspiration struck several times.  After writing that entry earlier today about how running is a great place to escape from stress and frustration, I was shown the other side of that coin on my run today, and that is what inspired this title.


First of all, I was somewhat stood up by my running buddy.  No biggie.  I was glad he told me so I didn't have to wait on him.


About two minutes into my run, my mom called.  At that point, I just stop the treadmill and talk to her.  Some people are worried when their parents call them late at night; I get worried when my mom, a tax accountant, calls me during the day prior to April 15th.  Turns out my grandmother had chest pains this morning, and they've determined that it was congestive heart failure.  She's 95 and has been ready to die for years now, but that doesn't make the possibility of her impending death any easier to hear. I guess I should be grateful I was at the gym so I could rapidly dispel the extra stress that caused rather than just sitting at home as I was tempted to do.


I restarted the treadmill, and just as I was getting into my stride, an ex-roommate called, which I ignored so as not to disrupt the C25K program on my phone that pauses while you talk even if you're still walking/running.  But it jarred me a little for my phone to randomly start ringing just after hanging up with someone else.


Then, probably the worst thing that happened run-wise is that I touched the red emergency thingy on the treadmill, and it came loose, which stopped the treadmill.  Like, not on pause.  Stopped.  Erased.  So...  I noted the mileage when I got to the mid-way mark (which the app announces), subtracted that from my final mileage, and multiplied by two.  Best I could do to salvage mileage.


Amazingly, run-wise it wasn't too bad; of course, that could be related to the minute or two it took me to figure out how to restart the treadmill, which translated to extra recovery time...  It was literally over before I knew it.  That said, I'll probably stay on week 3 at least a few more days because week 4 intimidates me.  The "short" runs become 3 minutes, and the long runs are 5 minutes.  I can't imagine myself running for five straight minutes at this point.  Not that I don't think I'll ever do it, but week 3 is still challenging enough, and I really am going to just slow it down a bit this time.


Oh, and guess what?  I'm almost at 20 miles!  I think at 50 we should have some sort of celebration!


My workout today was:
Week 3, Day 3
1.72 miles in 28 minutes, 2.0% incline
5 minute warmup (3.5 mph)
90 seconds running (4.5 mph)
90 seconds walking (3.5 mph)
3 minutes running
3 minutes walking
(repeat 2x)
5 minutes of walking (cool-down)
Total Distance: 18.75 miles