Monday Mental Health Day

So the good news is that I had an amazing workout day yesterday - I ran 1.5 miles and walked for about 3.5 around the neighborhood (counting walking the dogs), so that was good.  Thomas and I then went to the zoo to celebrate our anniversary, which was super fun, but also meant more walking.  Good for the exercise quota, bad for the feet.  Okay, so good news out of the way.  The bad news is that we went to dinner at Roaring Fork and I managed to eat waaaayyy too much.  We then went and got Marble Slab ice cream. I am not even sure where I put all of it, but I somehow finished my cone.  Needless to say, I was pretty miserable.  To top it off, I didn't sleep *at all* last night, so I made the executive decision to call in sick today (okay, so I emailed in sick since my boss is out of town).  I hate calling in sick, and I always feel guilty (thank you three years at Southwest United), but sometimes you just need a day.  I just think it is funny that in all of the sick days I have taken in the last four years, like two of them have actually been when I was sick.  Knock on wood.  So Thomas and I have been sitting here today being absolute bums, which has been quite nice.  There is so much stuff I should be doing - vacuuming, cleaning, going to pick up my prescription, watering the flowers, but instead, I am just going to continue to sit on my (fatter than yesterday) ass.  Luckily, today is a rest day, so I am not going to feel bad for missing any training, as I don't have any!  I am hoping that doing nothing today will give my heel a chance to heal (haha) as it was pretty sore yesterday.  So, tomorrow will be my Monday at work, but that is okay.  I will worry about it then.  I am pretty tired of all the crap at work anyways right now, truth be told.  I am looking forward to my run tomorrow to get back on track.  I really wish I could avoid the binge eating I tend to do the once or twice a week we go out to eat...it definitely does not help my goals any.  Well I am working on quitting smoking now, so maybe that will be next.  One life changing thing at a time, thank you :)

8-28-10 Today I felt like a runner

Today is one of those days that I will probably always remember (well as long as I am running anyways).  It is the first day that I felt like a "runner".  Today was the first time I have EVER, EVER in my life gone for a run and felt like I could just keep going and going, past my target distance.  Plus, I really wanted to keep going, which in the past I have always felt like I was going to keel over way before I even got to the end...I am not sure what was different about today.  Honestly, I was kind of dreading my run today because I thought my body was not going to cooperate very well.  I had a few cocktails last night and really smoked 2 cigarettes, so I wasn't feeling 100%.  I got up and took Skynyrd to the vet and then took all of the doggies for a walk.  I was originally going to go to the park today for my run, but with all the construction on 281, I thought I would just stay close to home instead.  So I walked up to Caliza and Evans, and then did my normal route down Caliza.  At Encino Rio, I took a left and went 1/2 mile down before turning around to make my goal of 2.5 miles.  And then walked home.  I'd say all and all I did about 5 miles today with all of the walking added in.  I need to maybe just start my watch from the get-go so I can track my walking as well.

I am a little bummed because my left heel is really tender.  It feels like the soft tissue is maybe bruised or something...I think it is probably from walking the dogs so much last week in improper footwear.  I am going to do my usual dog walk and 1.5 mile run in the morning, but I think Monday will definitely have to be a rest day :)  Luckily when I am running, I kind of forget about it, but I have been limping around the house all day.  I took a hot bath today to soak it and my hamstrings (today was yardwork day), so hopefully it helped. 

Also, Friday's cross training was an hour long walk through the neighborhood.  Nothing too eventful, but it is amazing how walking an hour now isn't quite as hard as it used to be.  I am excited about tomorrow's run as I now have the feeling that I can actually do this.  Today, 6.2 miles didn't seem entirely like the most ludacrious thing I have ever head.  I think that is how you spell ludacrious, all I can think of is the Ludacris the rapper right now and I don't think that's quite the right spelling.

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Playing Catch-Up!!

Okay, so I have kind of fallen off of the blog wagon this week as I have been tied up with walking the dogs and the privacy fence and trying not to spend all evening on the computer :)  So I will give a summary of my week all in one.  Monday was a rest day...well was supposed to be a rest day anyways, but we still had no fence, so I got to walk the dogs three times, so not so much.  Tuesday schedule was for 2 miles.  The weather was pretty stormy on Tuesday evening, so I decided to run on the treadmill instead.  It is so funny how I used to hate running outside, but now that I do it all the time, it was really hard to get back on the treadmill.  I muscled through the two miles, and the good news is that I was able to run at 4.5 mph pretty much the whole time, and 4.8 mph for several minutes straight.  A few months ago I could barely run at 4.5 mph without feeling like my ankles were going to break, so I can definitely tell I am getting stronger, which is awesome.  Wednesday was another rest day (again sort of) as my feet were pretty sore from all the dog walking and Thomas and I had to load up all of the old pickets.  I actually think I am going to swap Wednesday and Friday when possible as I kind of like a long walk on Friday before I go gorge myself at dinner :)

Okay, so onto today.  I decided to go and do my 1.5 mile 'Race Pace' run at the park because it was such a nice day today - as in, cloudy and not a million degrees....I did my 1.5 miles in 15:37, with an average pace of 10:27; not too bad.  My lungs are filling better and better since I have been smoking sooo much less, which is nice.  However, I still deal with wanting a cigarette like every other second I swear...I am really hoping that will subside at some point.  So far, no such luck.  I wouldnt say it has decreased at all.  It is really really hard and it is almost like grieving for a friend, I swear.  I do feel so much better, but it is more the mental part that is really getting to me.  But alas, I am persevering for now...

I love running at the park so much.  After my run, I did another mile lap just walking around the other side of the park just to appreciate the surroundings.  I honestly think I belong in the Hill Country.  It is just so beautiful to me for some reason - probably the mix of forest and desert that I never got to experience in OK.  I still can't believe I see cactus and deer like every day now.  Below is the link to my run from today...One of these days I will figure out how to post the damn map.

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Sunday Sunday Sunday

I would like to start by saying this has probably been one of the most tiring weekends I have had in a long time.  Having to walk the dogs multiple times a day when it is 100 degrees outside is not very fun.  Granted, it is great exercise, but my feet hurt and I am all chafed from walking in improper apparel and shoes.  Hopefully the fence will be done tomorrow so I won't have to continue the marathon walk sessions much longer.  It wouldn't be so bad, but our dogs don't seem to understand that their walk is their chance to do their business.  They are so used to having a doggie door and to coming and going as they please that the whole ordeal is throwing them for a loop.

Anyways, today my goal was to walk the dogs, and then do the 1.5 mile trek from Evans to Encino Rio down Caliza.  I accomplished just that, and all before 9:30 a.m. this morning, which is pretty good.  I made a good effort to push myself during my run, so I averaged 10:30 min/mile compared to 12 min/mile from yesterday.  What can I say, I just don't run very fast, especially not uphill.  I need to find a good flat route for my next race pace day to see what I can do when I am not facing a steep incline multiple times during my route. 

So tomorrow is a rest day (I am really looking forward to it as I need to clean the house).  I might end up having to walk the dogs though if the fence doesn't get finished tomorrow.  Hopefully by then I will be caught up on my sleep and will have more energy to write than I do now :)

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I think I am almost too tired to write...

Okay, I am going to make this quick as I am literally too tired to write.  I think I have put in about 10 miles over the course of today since we are having our fence repaired (again) and I have to take the dogs out on a leash.  Yesterday I completed a 45 minute walk after work to count as a make-up for Wednesday's missed cross-training session.  I forgot to turn on the GPS setting on my watch, so unfortunately I couldn't map it.  Oh well, it wasn't one of the important days really.

Onto Saturday - I got up at 7:30 and walked the dogs as usual (20 minute loop around neighborhood).  I then went to Stone Oak Park to complete today's 2.5 mile course.  The weather was really nice this morning; although there wasn't much wind, it was pretty overcast the whole time.  I really like the 2nd part of the trail at the park as it is predominantly in the shade.  The good news is that I have evidently been overestimating my mile time, so I have actually been running further than I had originally though.  For instance, I was estimating my times as a 15 minute mile (just to be safe), when I am really averaging a 12.  Mentally, today's run was pretty good.  I'd say it took me about 10 minutes to get in the rhythm, but then I stayed there for all but maybe the last 5 minutes when I got pretty tired.  As I mentioned, I have also walked another several miles today from just walking the dogs.  Needless to say, a couple of advil were in order for the evening. 

As for tomorrow, I am going to get up early and walk the dogs, and then I think I am going to do the 1.5 miles down Caliza.  Today's map is below:

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August Nineteeth

Well, first I have to say that my schedule for the week has already gotten off-track due to all of the issues I have been having with my cell phone this week.  Last night when I should have been training, I was either at the Verizon store or sitting with Thomas while he was on the phone with their tech support.  Thus, yesterday was a "rest" day and I will make up my cross-training tomorrow before the KD wine and cheese party. 

Also, I spent some time last night getting my Garmin watch all set up and ready to go.  I must say it looks a little funny on my as I have pretty small wrists for my body size, but that is okay.  It took some effort to get it all set up, but now I have a basic understanding of how to track my training data and have it set up to wirelessly sync with my laptop.

Today's run was supposed to be a 1 mile at race pace, but I ended up running 1.25 miles just because.  It was still pretty dang hot during my run, but that is probably not going to change anytime soon.  I really did my best to go at a faster pace and longer stride than I usually do and tried to keep pushing myself up the long incline.  I think the next run I will try around here will be up TPC Parkway...I think that would be very scenic.  I am going to see if I can figure out how to post my run data below; we will see how it goes!

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So it is probably not proper running etiquette to yell at teenagers, but...

Well, my body is definitely feeling much better today.  Amazing what a good night's sleep can cure.  Although I must say it was pretty painful when customers were shaking my hand today.  It was very hard not to flinch, but somehow I managed.  Hopefully no one noticed the blisters all over my hands, or if they did, they didnt think it was incredibly weird.  Anyways, long story short, I was ready to get back at it.

So, as I said in my last post, I picked this hotel because the fitness facilities sounded awesome.  Weeelll, they are in the middle of renovating the entire hotel and evidently haven't gotten to those yet.  They have some awesome equipment, but the gym area is in pretty dire need of repair, did not seemed to be air conditioned, and all and all seemed pretty creepy.  So, after not much thought, I decided that even though it was a hundred million degrees outside, I would be better off running somewhere else (not nearby because that would have been equally as scary).  I got on mapmyrun.com and found a nice 1.09 mile route around SJ Stoval park about 10 miles away. 

I drove to the park and it was indeed a pretty nice little area.  When I got there, it was still about 97 degrees, so there weren't a ton of people, but by the time I left, it was freaking packed - a lot of people playing tennis, basketball and volleyball though.  So, my goal today was 2 miles, which (since I dont have my Garmin watch yet) I again estimated to be 30 minutes.   It was really, really weird running on a completely flat trail as I am now so used to all of the hills in SA.  My hamstrings felt pretty good, but today it was my calves (esp. the right one) that felt like they were on fire.  I hate to always sound gripy and whiny about pain, but hey, this is my outlet to do so and be truthful.  I only made it about 16 minutes before I wanted to give up.  Luckily, I overcame the hurdle and the last 10 or so minutes went pretty fast.  I think I am definitely a bigger fan of running a long stretch than running around a short track and passing the same things over and over.  The most interesting part of the whole experience was that when I pulled up, I saw a teenage girl leading a minature horse around the park.  I didn't really think much of it and I saw some signs that riding was allowed and there was a stable adjacent to the park.  However, I then saw the girl proceed to take off at a pretty good run with the pony trotting behind her.  Okay, not a big deal, but then I passed her AGAIN, still running, obviously out of breath and still leading the pony.  I yanked off my earphones and yelled, "Honey, don't you know it is still over a hundred degrees??  You are really being cruel to your pony and shouldn't be running him like that. AND NOT ON THE CONCRETE ESPECIALLY!!"  Anyways, I kept running.  She must have listened, as next time I came around, the pony was TIED TO A SIGN while she had gone to grab a volleyball.  I didn't say anything that time, but it took absolutely all of my willpower not to, believe me.  When I left, the pony was tied to a metal bench while the girl played volleyball.  Lovely. 

Tomorrow is a cross-training day, so I am a) hoping I get home early enough and get my phone fixed so I have time to work out, b) hope it cools off enough where I can take the dogs for a walk.

Speaking of dogs, I think I found the first 5K that I would like to try.  It is a benefit for SNIPSA and is on September 27th.  More info to follow as I make up my mind for sure after evaluating my training, but if nothing else, it is for a good cause, so why not?

Hello from Arlington

Well, I didn't get a chance to post yesterday as I was apparently too busy trying to kill myself by putting a new flowerbed while it was 100+ degrees outside.  Actually, the heat wasn't the problem, it was using the Garden Claw and pulling weeds without any gloves and the bending down more than my already-sore hamstrings could take.  Needless to say, my body is more wrecked today than it has been in a very, very long time.  I have 7 nasty, nasty blisters on my hands and couldn't sleep last night because they hurt so bad.  And then there are my hamstrings...which by themselves I could deal with (and often do after a hard day working in the yard), but combined with the blisters and two canker sores I feel like I am falling apart.  It also doesnt help that I went on a nice 5 hour drive to Ft. Worth today.

Anyways, I am just being cranky as I was really hoping to work out today.  I picked this hotel because it sounded like the gym was awesome.  It is huge, with tons of weight equipment, but the treadmills don't have any t.v.s, which I must spoiledly say is disappointing.  My plan was to do Tuesday's workout today, Thursday's workout tomorrow, and Wednesday's on its regular day, but I just knew that my body needed some rest today.  It is in pretty sorry shape.  So, new revised plan is to do Tuesday on Tuesday, Wednesday on Wednesday, and Thursday on Friday.  Today and Thursday will be rest days.

As for yesterday's training, it was supposed to be 30 minutes of 'EZ'.  However, 30 minutes of walking, for example, feels like nothing to me, so I ended up doing 20 minutes of dog walking, a 1.5 mile run, and an additional 35-40 minutes of walking.  My running route was down Caliza from Evans Rd. to Encino Rio.  All in all, it was a really, really good run.  I was smart and brought a towel with me, so no more stinging sweat in the eyes!  I will continue to do that in the future.

Also, I was really proud of myself for making the drive all the way to Ft. Worth without a cig.  I honestly have no idea how I did it, but that is okay!  My goal right now is to keep it to no more than 3/day and to not inhale as much as possible.  It is still a very, very trying process, but I know once I get back home and can focus more on my training (with my new watch!) that it will get easier and easier.  I have to remember that it is my own philosophy that everything is okay as long as it is in moderation.  It might take a long while to get rid of this terribly ingrained habit, but at least I am doing a better job of controlling it for the time being than it controlling me...I know I should feel more empowered by those words, but truthfully I'm really not.  It sucks.  It is something I kind of enjoy doing as it gives me time to think and go into my mind and take a break from reality, even if its just for 2 or 3 minutes.  I dont expect anyone who has never had this habit to understand, but I am sure that those who have can relate 100% without question.

Saturday August 14th

So, before I go into today's run, I must report that I bought a new scale yesterday.  It is an I-Gym scale that will also give you a body fat and water composition reading, which I thought was pretty cool.  I also got a "shoe wallet" for like four bucks that will hold my keys when I go running somewhere other than my neighborhood.  However, I found it clipped much better onto the waist of my bike shorts than it did to my shoe (it was annoying there), so that is probably where it will stay. 

According to the scale, this morning after breakfast, clothed, I weighed 157.6 lbs.  After my run and after lunch, I weighed 155.6, so we will say the starting average is 156 for all intents and purposes.  I think my first initial weight loss goal is going to be to get below 150.  I really do not want to go a "diet" from what I already eat per se because I think my current diet is already pretty good compared to the average person's, and my purpose here is really to become more conditioned as an athlete than to lose weight, although I certainly wouldn't be opposed to the latter.  My biggest hurdle to overcome is restaurant eating - I really hate eating out more than once a week (even if it is like Subway or something) and the last two weeks it has been two or more times each week.  Like this week it was three, which puts me off track.  I simply dont have the will power to order like salad or something (not that I normally eat the most unhealthy thing on the menu anyways), plus if I am going to pay restaurant prices, I would rather get something that I enjoy.  It also doesn't help that in San Antonio every other restaurant is Mexican, and I have a really, really bad weakness for chips and salsa and queso flameado. 

Anyways, onto today's run.  I actually managed to get out of bed at 8:30 so I could beat the heat.  I was also lucky in that there was a fair amount of clouds this morning to provide some shade.  I started off by taking the dogs for their standard 20 minute loop around the neighborhood.  I must say, they are all doing so well with their training of focusing on treats instead of other dogs when they pass by.  Even Skynryd managed to focus on the treat twice today while another dog walked by across the street.  So, after our walk, I drove over to Stone Oak Park again.  My goal today was 2 miles (no race pace), which I estimated to be 30 minutes to safely cover it.  I must say that it was one of the best runs I have had in awhile.  I really feel that it took me only 2 to 3 minutes to really get in the "rhythm" rather than 10 minutes or more.  I didnt start struggling until about the 24 minute mark, so that is pretty good, especially for it being 90+ degrees.  I was pretty body sore yesterday and my knees hurt a little bit today during my run, but I think that is still me getting used to the unevenness of the trail surface.  Also, even though it consumes my thoughts like 95% of the time still and it is a huge struggle all day, I felt so much better today during my run without having my lungs hurt at all.  I am still working on cutting way back on smoking and doing really well, but I honestly cannot say I am enjoying it other than saving some money and not having my lungs hurt while running/walking.  I know that the health benefits go on and on, but I am just being honest.  It makes me very restless and uncomfortable when I am trying to fight the urge...but what can I do?  I know if I want to reach my goal, it is a sacrifice - okay, a "change" - I will have to make, but it is very difficult to not listen to the little voice trying to steer me the other way...

Tomorrow will be a 20 minute dog walk, a mile run w/ probably 30-40 minutes more walking, and maybe some weight training too.

Day Three - Stone Oak Park

So I decided today that I would find a park with trails for my run today.  Unfortunately, it seems that although San Antonio has numerous parks, there are very few close to our house.  The nearest one is about 10 miles away up 281 and west on Stone Oak Parkway.  It is called Stone Oak Park - shocking, I know.  Once I found it, I was actually very pleasantly suprised at how amazing it was.  Honestly, it is way nicer than McAllister park in terms of the condition of the trails.  Plus, the views are pretty amazing - all the big houses of the Spurs' players are up on the cliffs above.  Not to mention that I saw two deer and about as many people on my run, so that was pretty awesome.  Their is a 1 mile trail on one side of Stone Oak Parkway and then another one mile trail on the other side that evidently connects with another trailhead at some point.  I really enjoyed the scenery, so I definitely think I will be running there a time or two during the week.  I am sure it gets busier during the cooler hours of the day.  At one point, the trail actually goes through a 100 or so foot long storm drain, which kind of made me nervous...needless to say I ran pretty quickly through it both times through.  I just had visions of some creeper lurking there to chase after women running through the tunnel...anyways, just me being paranoid :)

The run itself felt a little tough.  Im sure it was a combination of a new place and also a new type of pavement.  I am used to running on smooth street asphalt, and these were rougher concrete trails.  Oh well, I am sure I will get used to it over time.  Part of the trail is really nice smooth concrete, so maybe I will try to make that part my normal route on shorter runs.  I need to do some research to see if there is any way to speed up the amount of time it takes for my body to get in the groove of running and stop fighting the inertia. It seems to take me a good 10 minutes of every part of my body protesting before I start moving smoothly.  I am hoping that sticking to an actual training schedule will help with conditioning.  I keep saying this, but it will really help to have my Garmin watch so that I know how far I am running and dont overdo it by just guessing at this point. 

Next run will be Saturday morning.  2 miles - I think I will get up early and go back to the park.  I am going to try running before I walk the dogs so I have more energy and dont run out of steam at the very end like I did last time I walked the dogs and then ran.

Day Two - Cross Training

I have officially made it through two days of my eight weeks of training.  Wednesday is a cross training day, so it really doesn't seem like anything at all...for my cross-training today, I just walked the dogs for 20 minutes and then did 25 minutes of weights, squats, sit-ups, etc.  I need to research some more exercises to add to my routine, as it has been some time since Ive done any strength training and seem to have forgotten all but a couple of the core exercises...I wish I could get more into our Bowflex, but alas, it just doesnt hold a lot of appeal for me at the moment.  I will just have to stick to free weights.  I wish I could find a copy of the
Quicktime DVD I did a lot at my old gym.  That was a killer strength workout.  Not that I have any room in my workout room to do it, but maybe I could fold up the treadmill...

I ordered my Garmin Forerunner 405 watch today.  $250 seems like waaayyyyy more than I could ever justify spending on a watch, but it is literally the only one that will track distance and time accurately via GPS that isnt $350 or more.  I am hoping that it will be here on Friday so I can start using it this weekend, but the UPS tracking has it being delivered on Tuesday as of right now :(  That means I will have to wait to use it until maybe Friday or Saturday of next week with all I have going on...

Tomorrow's run is another 1.5 miler, but I am supposed to go at "race pace".  Not sure what my race pace is yet, that is where the watch will come in very handy.  I am thinking about going to either McAllister or Gold Canyon park to run and check it out.  Ive been to McAllister plenty, but never to Gold Canyon.  I am going to have to find some other places and routes to run, especially as my distances get over 2.5 miles.  The hills in my neighborhood just kick my butt at that distance.  I think I should go for flatter trails until I am used to running the longer distances outside. 

Lastly, I am trying very hard to cut way back on smoking.  I dont want to be so brazen as to say that I am quitting, because I kind of feel like smoking is like any other addiction, and once a smoker, always a smoker.  However, the last 3 days I have only had 3 cigs/day and I am trying not to really inhale, but to just go through the motions...it sounds dumb, but I dont think I am ready to give it up entirely as it has been a part of my routine for a long, long time.  But obviously I am not dumb, and I know that I will never be able to reach my eventual goal of running a 10K if I am still smoking more than just the occasional smoke....man, it is really, really hard though!!

It is getting late, so I will make this short and sweet...

I have been following two of my friends' fitness progress through their blog and Facebook posts and I must say that it has really inspired me to want to work towards a fitness goal of my very own.  I don't think I will ever do a figure competition like Misha, or be 50 pounds lighter in 2 years like Jason, but I know that I can work towards acheiving a goal that is more on my level.  I would consider myself to be a fairly active person; ever since college I have regularly worked out and (minus a few ups) have been able to keep my weight fairly consistent.  I realized yesterday that although I work out, I have never really set an actual goal for my training, or regularly tracked my progress. 
Thus, I have decided that it is going to be my goal to begin training for a 10K.  Yes, eventually I would like to be a real runner and do either a half marathon (I don't think a full marathon will ever be in my realm of capability...)  To start, I will begin training for a 5K.  I can already regularly run a 5K on my treadmill, but running one outside in the heat and up and down hills is still out of my reach.  I have downloaded a training schedule off of running.about.com that is for 'advanced beginners' (that's me!)  I did the first 1.5 mi run today and will use this blog to track my progress and list my speedbumps, etc.  There are a few tools that I will need to get to be able to track my progress, but I think I will save those for tomorrow's post.  Also, I need to do some more research to decide what my first attempt at a 5K race will be.  More to come on that as well.