What Doesn't Kill You.....

Makes you stronger. Or so the song says. I was happy to have Kelly (Clarkson that is) along for the ride on my run this afternoon. I had taken a rest day on Monday and only did boot camp yesterday, so it had to get done. Work was hopping, but I headed down to the treadmill. (A nice cold rain had started in DC) 2 miles done. Not too bad. I had to stop for a pitstop and to answer a work email. Big mistake, sitting down. But I posted on FB that I was moving and then I HAD to do it. 2 more miles on my docket. So I cranked Kelly, kicked the mill up one tick faster then before and got it done. 1.5 miles faster then my usual 4.7. May be time to click the mill up a little faster at the end of my runs. That was how I increased my speed the last 2 times. My goal this time is consistency  I don't think I was doing myself any favors by cranking up the pace then walking. Back and Forth. I still need to work on running the whole distance, whatever that distance may be. I can see doing more interval work once I am a little stronger.

The last mile or so I got to thinking. I really am stronger. Take a minute and think about when you started your athletic adventure - whatever that may be.



Can you remember how it felt? Can you close your eyes and feel the heavy breathing and the beating of your heart. The desire to be able to complete the move, reach the milestone, be strong? Do you give yourself credit for how far you have come?

For me it was July when I ran my first 5k without walking at all. I have no problem with walking, it has been the activity that has gotten me this far. However, my goal is to be stronger and one of the things that I measure that against is the distance I can run without stopping to walk. The fact that I can now run 2 miles or more without stopping is a big leap for me. Even a bigger leap from when I started the couch to 5k program.  Sometimes when I don't want to run or workout, I think about how much easier it is now. What am I complaining about? I can run 4 miles under an hour now and go about my day. That used to be a major effort.

So think about your journey and be thankful for all the time you have given yourself and your body. It is worth it and you have become stronger. Happy Valentine's Day to you!



What best describes your journey? What is your strong?

I think I Lost My Wagon

Not only do I feel like I have fallen off the wagon, but I can't even see it. It isn't all that bad, I assure you, but it FEELS that way. Some days that is enough.

Monday was a rest day - that 11 miles from Sunday did me in. I was ok with that, and I had a great reason for not getting my sweat on in the evening. My baby brother was in town! He lives all the way on the west coast and he had a meeting locally. While he comes east on a semi regular basis - every 6 months or so - sometimes I have to twist my schedule into knots to see him. This time he showed up at the house, shared dinner with the family, we had some adult chat time after the kids went to bed and then I took him to his hotel. Easy and relaxed. Just the kind of visit I enjoy!

I went to bed too late and knew I had to get to bootcamp. WHY can't I go to bed earlier? It is a real issue for me. I made it and we did circuits. Ouch. I was feeling very weak in general. I was supposed to run tonight as well, but with an event at school, I ended up on the couch with Obama on TV and my computer on my lap.

I think perhaps I am resisting. Resisting what? Well last night I spent a few minutes working out what I might need to do to train for a marathon. I know, really? After that 11 miler, it was just pure crazy talk. In January, on a day I had a great run apparently - I mentioned to my MIL that I was considering registering for the Green Bay Marathon. I could tackle anything, and why not that?! My hubby grew up in GB and the race runs through Lambeau Field for goodness sake. On the more important side, it is FLAT and with a very generous time limit. I think the folks at the water stations just break out the beer while they are cheering on the turtles like me. :) Anyways, I decided now that Disney is near and the Cellcom page is hyping weekend runs, I should figure out what I really needed to do. It is ugly. All of April has long runs of 4-5 hours each. I just don't know. The half just filled up yesterday, so I can't even play that for the family trip. I think traveling to GB for a 5k would be a little much.

So back to Disney - the task at hand. I have 2 weeks of training left and need to be on it. Finish strong. I want to be able to enjoy the race knowing I did what I needed to and just have fun!

How do you decide to take on challenges like a marathon?

Perhaps I Have Gone Too Far?

Friday afternoon/evening was spent at school. They had a great play presented by the aftercare class.

Then chess club. An hour of chaos. I was ready for wine and bad food by the time I got home. Ended up clean out the frig to feed everyone. I had pizza and wine. :)

Saturday was time to sleep in and I headed over to Pacers. My new Omnis were suffering from some bad stitching. They had others in my size, but they were RED. Oh no. My dream of having a perfect outfit - including the shoes - was flashing before my eyes. Before I could even think, I asked if I could get green. How silly! But it was fate, remember? Colleen was so patient and there were plenty in my size online. So they were ordered and should be here by next Friday. One week before the race, but I should be ok.

We had plans for a charity event on Saturday night. A chili cookoff and bingo night. We had a great time, and I had lots of chili, wine and dessert. Seeing an eating trend here?

Sunday was long run day. I had made plans earlier in the week to meet 2 mother runners at a local running trail to put in our mileage. I was scheduled for 11, but we weren't going to meet until 1 pm. It was hard to wait so long, and I wasn't sure what to eat. I ended up having cereal for breakfast and then a bagel with peanut butter for lunch.

I look like a total giant here! 

I met Elaine and Rebecca right on time. We headed out on the CCT ( a new part this week) and turned around at 5.5 miles. All of the sudden my knee had this sharp pain. This was not good - not good at all. I walked for a little and it slowly went away. I don't want to be injured this close to the Princess run! Well, ever, but let's be realistic. We went several miles past the point I have been on the trail, so it was neat to see the other areas. Lots of bikers out as well. The temp was perfect for a long sleeve shirt and jacket. I got this hot pink number at Costco. It has 3 zip pockets, which I was loving.
In the end, I was able to finish pretty strong and hit 100 miles for the year. Cool milestone. I currently have on my new Procompression socks. My leg are feeling much better then they were a few hours ago.

I ran in the shorts I bought to go under my tutu and it felt good. I also sewed my snaps onto my tutu coverup/skirt. I am done and ready for Disney.

I have seen some of the costumes others are making online and it is going to be so fun to see everyone's creativity. It took me 3 tries to get the snaps right, so hopefully all will be well on race day.

Have a great week everyone!

Using the Internet for Motivation

So I talked about how I entered a Dietbet for a little push during the end of holiday food frenzy. While I wouldn't do that particular thing again - there are lots of ways to use the Internet to keep your motivation high.

One example is the Virtual 5 by 5th run series hosted by MommyRunFast



Essentially you are challenged to run a 5k or 5 miles in the first 5 days of the month. I thought, no problem. I run all the time! So for January I ran on new years eve - and it was 4 miles - doesn't count. (You all know how I like to be exact.) Facebook was full of folks posting their first day of the new year workouts and runs. So I got it together and hopped on the treadmill about 3 in the afternoon. Of course, I was on vacation, so I had all sorts of time.

This morning I get the reminder email from Laura - don't forget to add your time to the google spreadsheet! Hrm, I only had 1 run so far this month! My 3 mile run from yesterday was rescheduled to today due to my impromptu rest day on Monday. So I decided to ramp up my speed and see how it went. I did the whole 5k on 4.7, which is about a 12:45 minute mile. (I run so much faster - for a turtle- on "dry land" - but that is a topic for another time.) I clocked in at 39:28 and felt great. I played the mental game of just pushing myself just a little longer, just one more lap, just 3 more minutes. Other then 1 bathroom break, I didn't walk once. That was a cool 3 minutes faster then my treadmill time on the first of January - so I will take it!

I see this challenge as a way to keep exercise present in my thoughts and have a community that is out doing similar things. While it isn't as fun as meeting a group out for a run, I did compete against myself, push a little harder and came out victorious.

How is my resolution going?

I am feeling pretty good about that too!

How do you use technology or the Internet to motivate yourself?

Owls vs Early Birds

I got up for boot camp today. I still feel like it is a victory each time I get there! We start at 6 am and I am like a sheep, once I am there I just follow.

I am a night owl. Pure and simple. I have dedicated myself to this boot camp because I know it is good for me. I have made great strides with my walking/jogging/running progression. However, I know there is more to being a fit and healthy woman. I need to increase my stamina and strength. Not only does it give me a better overall workout, but it also gives me a social outlet. These ladies have been together for several years and it is a comfortable safe space.

So what is my problem? While I seem to have tackled the getting up early to work out piece of things, I still haven't given up my owl ways. I still go to bed late and don't feel ready for sleep until I have read for a few minutes. I can barely get through one article now, but I still love to read and it is the only time I get (take) to.

The result - I am tired! Getting good sleep is important for weight loss - but more importantly sanity!

Any hints on how better to balance my me time at night and my workout time in the morning?

A blast from the past

Today started with a family snuggle in bed. I was feeling just a tiny bit guilty for not going to boot camp, but it was totally worth it to get snuggle time from my almost 11 year old. (literally 24 hours until he is 11!) We always used to snuggle, but my boy has gotten too big for us. :( What a great way to start the day!!

Work day was successful for the most part. Can't ask for more then that.

Rest of the day - REST! Letting that 11 miles sink in. Back to the grind tomorrow.

Later.

A Weekend of Building Blocks

I went to bed on Friday knowing I was beat. Just mentally and physically exhausted. The local Moms Run This Town group was planning a run around Burke Lake and several folks needed to go the same distance as me. (10 miles) I knew as soon as my head hit the pillow that I wasn't going to make it. I will be honest and  admit that the crazy cold weather had something to do with it too. I am not yet outfitted to run in the cold and if you told me I would be out in 32 degrees, I would have laughed. Facebook has evidence that these ladies are heartier then I and about 14 showed up to run in the 14 degree weather!

Oh and while we are being honest - my eating has SUCKED the past few days. I really need to get back to consistent meals made up of good stuff. I have had more pizza this week then in the last 2 months! Moving on, just wanted to be transparent. :)

I put my focus towards the Birthday Bonanza for Boy Wonder. Saturday was his lego/robot party at a local place and I had a cake to make. I have turned out some crazy cakes for this boy - Rock climbers, Angry birds, but I didn't kick into creative gear with this cake until Friday afternoon about 3 pm. The local cake store saved me with a chocolate mold for bricks.

Fun was had by all and Mom was able to wrap up the day with a star next to her name. I found out later my mother in law was telling my son how lucky he is to have a mom that makes cakes for his birthday and he informed her this one was just a rectangle, so not complicated at all. Ha!

Once I collapsed, I focused on my run. I was daunted by the mileage and really didn't want to do it on the treadmill. That is a long time (about 2.5 hours) and the reality is, it is just asking for kid drama while I am trying to keep moving. However, the trails are much more sparsely populated this time of year. Then a posting from another mother asking if folks were interested in a run - and not at the crack of dawn! Double yea! So I met several runners at the famed Vienna Caboose for a run.

Courtesy of Kelli Wright

Turtles like me never know if there is going to be someone at my pace. People say they are slow, but they often aren't. Sure enough after our introductions and photo the group was off and it quickly was one other mom and I. She had 11 on the books, so I knew at least we were in for the long haul. I could tell she was a strong runner - meaning she doesn't just stop and walk every time the going gets a little tough.

We started up the WO&D towards Reston and after a few miles met the others coming back. One mom that lived in the area peeled off and offered to show us some trails to keep things a little more exciting. The W0&D is essentially a highway for runners, walkers, bikers and horses - complete with a bright yellow strip down the center. So off we went.

This picture was better before she ducked behind the tree.

It was a really nice portion of the CCT and Kelli kept up a good pace and conversation to keep us going. She clearly could have blown us out of the water, so it was so nice to have her lead us. It got me thinking that I can see the value of training with a pace group. They push you to stay steady and keep moving! My running schedule is too all over the place at the moment, but let's face it, I continue to redefine what I think makes sense on this little adventure of mine!

Rebecca on the stepping stones

Kelli led us through the beautiful woods, off the trail into a neighborhood with some nice hills. I totally walked them knowing we still had miles to go. She peeled off at her house and we easily found the WO&D again. The snow started coming down a little harder and I certainly felt like it was getting colder. Some of my accessories like gloves came back out. We walked some, but over all I was so happy to have finished 11 miles in just over 2 hours, 30 minutes. I suck at pausing runkeeper, so that includes most of our breaks.

I was hurting the rest of the day, luckily I just needed to pull out the leftovers from the party to head to my friends house for the first half of the Super Bowl. They are currently making a real game of it as we speak and then I need to head to bed.

So what have you done that you never thought you would? How have you redefined what you consider crazy?