Oh, Running.

So apparently I thought I blogged on Sunday, but that was not the case...I was busy, busy and felt like I didn't even get a chance to sit down until like 8 clock on Sunday.  I did manage to get in my normal dog walk, 1.5 (actually, come to think of it, I ran more like 2 and some change!) miles and a grand total of about 4.8...add that to housework, grocery store and cleaning and I was pretty freaking tired.  Which of course means I didn't sleep at all Sunday night - glad Monday was a rest day.

I really thought Thomas and my new shoes would be in by today, but alas, thank you Sun and Ski, they are not.  It is looking like it will probably be Thursday.  I am really looking forward to them to see if they will help alleviate some of the heel pain I have been having.  I tried to alter my stride tonight during my run and that seemed to help somewhat, but I think the Asics just fit my heel in a certain way that causes discomfort.  I know I really need to give it time to heal, but I dont want to stop training at this point...maybe in a couple more weeks.

So, I decided to go to the park tonight for my scheduled 3.5 miles.  Luckily, everything has finally dried out there, so no having to turn back because of the trail being flooded.  Tonight was tough though, I must admit.  First, I am excited/stressed about Casino arriving tomorrow and how I am going to balance riding and running.  Second, the mosquitoes were out of control because of all of the rain last week.  Third, I was bummed because I forgot to upload my two new songs onto my Ipod for today's run.  Finally, in the TMI category, I had my annual WW exam yesterday, and I think the doctor like seriously injured me.  Well, not seriously, but it has been causing discomfort like Ive never had before after one of those.  Guess it is kind of like tattooing, some people just have heavier hands lol.  ANYWAYS, I really wasnt mentally in the mood for running and was having a hard time maintaining a good attitude.  I really did want to quit so bad, like every step.  But I kept on....probably helped that there were two cute shirtless young guys that ran by that kind of helped me keep going :)

Also, I found my new running spot.  The street across Bulverde is pretty quiet and has some great low hills.  I think I will give it a try either on Thursday if I still have daylight, or maybe on Sunday instead. 

Saturday September 11th - Patriot Day

First of all, I must confess that I was bad last night and broke down and bought a pack of cigs...so my no smoking streak ended at 7 days.  However, I only had 2, didn't inhale, and haven't had any today.  I think just being alone and bored on a Friday night is just a little too much pressure for me to handle right now.  I know I need to be super hardcore and 100% quit for good, but part of me finds that proposition really depressing and honestly I just don't want to!  I am really hoping that I can just commit to being a "social" smoker and only having the occasional smoke on the weekend when I am having a glass of wine or whatnot.  We will see.  If not, I will probably go to the doctor and see about a prescription for Chantix.

Anyways, yesterday I did my 1 hour CT walk.  Nothing too terribly exciting to report there, I was pretty tired so I was not super enthused to do my walk, but I did complete it nonetheless...

Today's run was my first attempt at 3.5 miles.  I did my usual walking of the dogs and then decided to do my run at the park for a change of scenery.  It was a pretty nice day weather-wise, albeit a little warm and humid.  So the run itself was great, but man, the whole east side of the park must be built into a flood plain.  There was part of the trail that was still so underwater that I probably could have swam across.  So the first two miles of my run was spent trying to navigate the trail without running into any water.  I went across Stone Oak for the last 1.5 miles and there must have been some pretty serious flood waters there too.  I could see where the water had run over all of the tall grass and how high the water had been at one point.  The trail was at least all dried up, so no having to turn around on that side.  Overall, I felt great on my run.  My body still hurts somewhat, but I really didnt feel really, really taxed at any point during my run, which is awesome, especially in the SA heat and humidity.

Tomorrow is my normal Sunday and 3.5 mile run/walk.  I am looking forward to it and to getting my new NF shoes on Monday.  This will be my last week of training before I have to try and juggle my running and riding...hopefully doing both will help me start moving the scale.

Okay, Enough With the Rain Already

So yesterday I posted about doing my 3 miles on the treadmill and that today I was going to do my 1.5 mile race pace instead of on Thursday.  Well, last night we had about the worst thunderstorms I have ever witnessed so of course both Rocco and Skynyrd were freaking out all night and I got about zero sleep.  To make matters worse, my alarm must have been turned off by Rocco knocking my clock off of the night stand 2 times because I totally didnt wake up until 6:47 (6:25 is my usual time).  I managed to get dressed (sans makeup), throw my flat iron in a bag, eat some cereal and make it out of the house by 7:05, so not bad.  I was still late though, due to having to take 281.  Oh well. 

Anyways, the point of this story is that although I had zero energy, I was looking forward to today's run outside before I had to cook dinner.  The plan was to go right when I got home so I could cook dinner afterwards.  Well, literally right as I pulled onto Salano, it started *pouring*.  Again.  And lightning and thundering as well.  Soo...there went all hopes of an outside run unless I wanted to get struck by lightning.  Back on the treadmill it was!  I did my 1.5 miles at 5.0 mph (and 5.2 -5.4 for the last 1/2 mile).  Felt pretty good aside from being bored on the treadmill 2 days in a row.  Also, the treadmill seems to aggrevate my right calf for some reason.  Probably because it is not a natural surface.  In addition to the 1.5 mile run, I walked 2 miles for a total of 52 minutes and 3.5 miles.  I should have probably done more as I am having one frumpy week.  I think having Trudy's on Monday was not a good start...hopefully I can do better with my eating this weekend.  That one or two huge meals a week are probably the biggest obstacles from me being able to shed any pounds..but they are just so dang good!  Also, day 6 without a cigarette today - haven't accomplished that since I was probably 19 years old, so it is pretty amazing!!

Tropical Storm Training

So, as per usual it seems, yesterday's plan didn't, well, go according to plan.  In my last post, I wrote that my plan was to move up Tuesday's run to Monday becasue of the impending weather.  Well, that didn't work as it started pouring yesterday morning when I was walking the dogs.  So...no running yesterday.  Just eating way too much Mexican food at Trudy's in Austin - great for the diet, I know, but hey, it was a holiday weekend, right? :) 

After work today the weather was still kind of crazy.  I wasn't sure if I would get a long enough break in the rain to get my run in outside, so I decided to treadmill it up after dinner.  Today's goal was 3 miles.  I must say that the hardest part of the run today was feeling a bit naseous from running too soon after dinner.  Other than that, my body felt pretty good.  It took about a mile and a half to really get going, but after that I felt really good.  I ran the majority of the time at 4.7 mph, and I did the last mile at 5.0 mph.  A big change from barely being able to go 4.5 miles without feeling like my ankles were going to collapse a month or so ago.  This is probably my biggest sign so far that I am getting stronger.  The good news was that after 3 miles today, four miles doesn't seem so out of reach.  I just pretty bored on the treadmill...

I am going to do Thursday's workout tomorrow, as Thursday evening is KD Happy Hour.  Tomorrow will be 1.5 miles at race pace again.  I will probably do my usual route down Caliza so I can be home to feed the dogs. 

Sunday

Okay, so back blogging about my training instead of other emotional things!  That is supposed to be the primary focus of this blog afterall.  However, I guess the two do sort of go hand in hand, so sometimes a digression is necessary.  Today marked the halfway point in my 8 week Advanced Beginner 5K training.  To date, I have done every workout according to schedule (adjusting the days once or twice as necessary). 

Today was a 'EZ' day.  As I have every other Sunday, I walked the dogs around the neighborhood and then walked to Caliza and Evans and did my 1.5 mile run down Caliza and then walked back to the house.  I tracked my whole route today from doorstep to doorstep, and it was actually about 4 miles.  So all and all, I traveled about 5 miles today.  Not too bad. 

I also weighed myself today, and I am down 1 lb from last week.  That is not some great number, and I am hoping it is due to weight loss and not just water weight or whatnot.  Either way, it felt good.  I think I can actually tell that my body is starting to get more toned.  My arms seem slimmer and my legs seem not as jiggly. 

I think I might do Tuesday's workout tomorrow as there is now a 80% chance of rain on Tuesday.  I am going to have to do Thursday's workout on Wednesday, so it is about the only chance I will have to get it in.  I probably shouldn't be running 3 days in a row without giving my body a rest, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  We will see how I feel in the morning though.

Day # 3 of no smoking went okay.  I say that it was about 5 minutes or longer today between strong cravings instead of like 30 seconds like yesterday.  Hopefully tomorrow will be even better.  We are going to Austin tomorrow, so I am hoping I can survive my first social outing without a cigarette.  I know I can do it - Ive made it this far after all.

Ugh.

Okay, I don't really feel like writing about my running training at the moment.  Nor have I for the past few days.  All my thoughts over the last few days have been consumed by thoughts of wanting and needing a cigarette.  As of now, it has officially been 2 days since I have had a cigarette.  Honestly, I should be proud of myself, but I feel like I am going to die.  I can go all of about 15 seconds without thinking about it.  Pretty sad.  It is probably not helping that I am drinking wine at the moment either.  Reading the support forum on About.com really did help today though.  I should be fairly close to all of the nicotine being out of my system.  I am trying to be strong, but my god, I am so freaking irritable.  I feel bad for Thomas and the dogs because I probably haven't been to pleasant to be around these last two days.  I really, really hope I can stick to my resolve on this.  I want to be healthy and go further with my running training (and riding when Casino gets here), but it is like losing a close friend that has been a part of my everyday life for 15 years.  I honestly *miss* it.  And it makes me almost depressed to think about never doing it again...I don't know how people get off heroin and meth if smoking is this bad.  It is all about behavior modification, I guess.  At least I have a drs. appt on the 13th, so if the cravings haven't become more manageable by then, I might see about getting a prescription for Chantix or Wellbutrin.  It really isnt so bad if I am doing something, but since I have been sitting here all day watching football, I have been pretty miserable.  I just have to remember my reasons for doing this.  1)  I want to be healthy.  I want to reach my goal of 10K. I know I will never be able to if my lungs feel like they are on fire after 1/2 mile....2)  It is an expensive habit.  Even though I smoke (smoked hopefully) bargain brands, I still was spending about $70/month on cigarettes.  That is two tanks of gas, a week of groceries, or almost 3 dinners out with Thomas.  3)  I don't want to end up like my mother.  I love my mom, and she is one of the strongest people I know, but I have NEVER seen anyone as addicted to smoking as she is.  She must smoke 2 packs a day.  When I see how much it has aged her, how much she coughs and is constantly clearing her throat because of all of the phlegm in her chest, it makes me really, really sad...and angry.  And here I am doing the exact same thing to myself.  Makes a lot of sense.  Right.  I just have to learn how to do things in my life and have fun without smoking being involved.  Right now I still have the mindset that absolutely *nothing* sounds fun right now when I think about it.  I am really hoping my outlook will change over the next few days as the nicotine gets out of my system.  Until then, I am pretty  much going to be miserable.  As the therapists on Obsessed always say to their OCD patients, I just have to sit with the anxiety until it comes down.  Which I am doing, I just wish it didnt come back 30 seconds later :(

A Day Late...

So I had every intention of posting this yesterday, but unfortunately I ended up spending a great deal of time trying to figure out why my Garmin watch wouldn't sync with the memory stick...still don't know what was going wrong.  I woke up this morning and my watch was completely dead.  I charged it all day today, and then magically it synced no problem this evening.  However, it says my run was some 8 hours and almost 6 miles long, which obviously isn't the case.  Luckily, it recorded it as a split, so my actual 2.5 miles was 28:13 minutes.  I did my usual route down Caliza, but then went through a nice tour of a neighborhood that I had never been through before off of Encino Rio.  I've decided the worst part about running (other than the mental and physical anguish experienced at times) is knowing that whatever distance you go, you have to go that far back as well.  For some reason, I am not a huge fan of turning around and running back the way I came, so I end up like 2 miles from where I started.  Not that walk back is bad (it is exercise after all), but somehow it is still a little unmotivating to go further when you know how far you have gone and how far it is back. 

Yesterday's run was pretty good.  My heal starting out hurting a little bit, but by the end I couldn't feel it at all.  I would say now that 1.25 miles is the point where I start to get pretty tired and it is real effort to keep going.  However, I would still say this is an improvement over the 1/2 mile it probably was when I started.  Also, it is nice that it is physical fatigue that I am mainly experiencing, instead of my lungs and chest hurting.  Being able to breathe is nice :)  Still dealing with bad cravings is not :(

Tomorrow is another 1.5 miles at Race Pace.  My plan is hit McAllister Park after work and do my run there.  It is shaded, so the heat shouldn't be too bad.  Hopefully it won't be too crowded.  All this is pending on Skynyrd's surgery going okay.  If there are any issues, then of course he takes priority.  I am sure Thomas can handle it though.  Today is the 2nd rest day, so I am taking it easy - who am I kidding, it can be hard work holding down this couch...