Swimming to Cool My Temper

I almost forgot to write on here!  I'm just going to be very brief because I need to be getting in bed if I expect to be getting out of it tomorrow morning for running.

First of all, I had an awful day.  I rarely get mad about anything, but I was severely miffed today about the management of my apartment changing contracts without notifying their tenants and thus losing my right to park at my own apartment.  Because of logistical issues relating to that, my swim was delayed, but gave much more enjoyment once it happened.

A friend asked me what I was up to, and I said, "Off to swim!"  I could have easily said, "Nothing much," and so had a more sedentary evening of hanging out, but I resisted.

I swam 40 pool lengths, which is a little over half a mile.  I am wiped, though.  I am going to add one lap every week, though, and by the end of the year I will be swimming a mile each time!  Then, I'll start working on reducing the breathing breaks in between laps so that I can endure it for the full mile.

I weighed myself at the gym today as well, and as of today I have gained back five pounds since June.  I may have gained more than that since July, though, since I was still very active and probably lost a few more pounds after I last weighed.  No matter, though.  Five weeks of inactivity, five pounds.  Not as bad as I would have expected, and it certainly explains why my clothes still fit.  So I now have a new starting weight.  Everything is new, and I have high hopes for this semester.  My body is thanking me already.

New Beginnings

It's a new semester, and I have all sorts of resolutions.  First and foremost, I want to start writing on here every day, whether I run/swim or not.  But I need to be running or swimming every day, because that's another goal I have.

This morning I started over from square one with the C25K program.  I've been off it long enough that I felt like I needed to.  It was refreshing to be running again, but my body complained quite a bit, particularly my ankles.  Sometimes they burn bad, and sometimes they feel fine.  I wish I could know what I'm doing differently to make such a difference in how I feel.

After running I went to Golds to lift weights.  It was a nice feeling to already be done working out before I even started my day, although my alarm clock going off this morning was particularly unpleasant.  I hit the snooze button longer than I should have, which I will have to work on improving in the next week or so so I can go to work on time while I'm exercising.

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.  :(

Young Living Lavender 5K 2010

This morning I ran my first 5K race through the lavender in Mona, UT.  I am so proud of myself right now, and still have a buzz from the endorphins even hours later.  The course was beautiful, but rough.  My ankles thought they were back in Argentina with the rough packed dirt roads with rocks sticking up out of it and kept folding beneath me.  After the first mile my feet felt like they were just flopping down on the dirt with zero control, and I doubted if I would finish.  When things got really hard, two things happened that made me keep going.  First of all, a water station appeared as if I had willed it into existence.  Second of all, "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin came on my iPod.  I focused on the lyrics and was reminded of a verse from Isaiah 40 (KJV):  "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint."  I started running again and realized that it was walking, not running, that hurt my legs so badly.  I ran a lot of the rest of the race and ended up covering some of my fastest miles to date.

I am so grateful for the Lord for getting me through yet another trial, and for my supportive friends Sean and Emily who came to cheer me on (Emily took all the pictures I am posting below) and Bryce who ran in the race with me and waited to cheer me on at the finish line.

I ended up having fun and feeling so satisfied at having accomplished this long-time goal, and I plan on running the Payson Onion Days 5K on Labor Day and many more to come...

Anticipation

I am so excited!  I just picked up my bag of goodies for the 5K tomorrow, and I have plans to leave for Mona at 5:45 AM.

I've already attached my number to my shirt and the timing chip to my shoes.

AAAAAAH  I'm thinking so much.  Will I be able to finish before the old ladies with strollers?  Will I be able to finish?

I will be able to finish.  I plan on doing my best, and I need to have the mindset of whatever I do will be a victory.

Morning

Today I walked a little over a mile, just as a brief workout.  I thought about doing two miles, but I thought I'd just keep it light since in two days I'll be asking a lot of my poor little body.  Just a little walk to keep the blood flowing.

This is the first time I've exercised in the morning since I started, and although it was nice, I don't think I'll stick with this.  If it were this temperature in the afternoon, that would be great, but in the morning I'm just not quite as motivated.  I think I need a little more of the stress of the day to push me forward.  Whatever it is, I'm just not nearly as focused in the morning.

I discovered that the tennis courts behind my apartment are quite crowded early in the morning, and that lots of people in the surrounding residential areas like to do yard work early in the morning.  And the ones that work in the afternoons don't say hi to me, but one of them this morning did.  

I am still sore from Tuesday afternoon, including my abs.  My abs have never been sore from running before, so that must have been every bit as intense as it seemed!  Then I decided to work on my freestyle stroke last night at the pool, so add slight shoulder soreness to every other part of my body.  I really need to take it easy until Saturday, though.  I don't know what's gotten into me this week...

High on a Mountain Top

Today I officially registered and paid for my 5K on Saturday, which cements the fact that I really am going to run the thing.  This afternoon, I was really excited about running, so I got online and dutifully mapped out a route that would be a bit more than a 5K for my workout today so that I could reassure myself that I could finish a 5K.

Google maps can be quite misleading as to terrain.  The route I took today was absolutely GORGEOUS, and I had never been running (or even driving) on a lot of the roads entailed before.  Not only that, but it worked out to 3.2 miles, which is almost perfectly a 5K distance.  The downside, is how much UP there was.  It was ridiculously uphill.  The first little hills were pretty tame, and pretty short, so I just took them at a slow jog, told myself encouraging things, and sucked it up.  Oh boy, but by the time I got about half-way up the hill, I hated my life.  I stopped twice to take pictures both because I couldn't believe how high up I had climbed and because I needed the rest.

This first picture is from almost the highest point of where I ran today - it was almost level with the Y on Y mountain.  Ridiculous.

This is after a slight downhill bit, looking DOWN on the Provo Temple. 

Pretty views, though.  I ran 3.2 miles in about 45 minutes, counting all the stops I took to complain to the mountains about how steep and ridiculous they were.

I feel great, though, and on my way home, one of my miles was in 11:06!  I've never run a mile that fast before!  So yes let us embrace this minor victory and remember to look at altitude when you're mapping a new run.