Vacation run

Last week was my birthday... whoohoo! As a birthday present I received a lovely out of town trip from my girl... it was perfect. To show that we're dedicated and you know committed to this running idea, we ran 5 miles on Saturday morning... bright and early. Originally we were going to trail run however due to the sensitivity of the trails and possibility of disturbing the wildlife you are not allowed so... instead we ran the paved area. Not nearly as cool but still completely worth it. The weather wasn't too hot which was mostly due to the amounts of shade caused by trees so the experience was very enjoyable. OH! We spotted an entire deer family and they were so close, seriously under 10 feet away... a young buck with a fawn and then later we spotted a young doe on the other side of the lake.

Okay back to the training talk... 5 miles which to date is the longest distance I've run and I completed it in just over an hour with a pace of 12min and 40 mins or so... yay for that.

This week its back on a hard, grueling training regimen with today being 4 miles and tomorrow 3 miles. I'll post an update tomorrow... seriously I will.


Peace!

Slacker that I am

I haven't posted in a while which is completely my fault... I've let other things distract me but I'll try to be better. I have been keeping up with my workouts though well except for this weekend, I didn't run at all... shame on me, I know. My last run was on Friday... 4 miles and I finished it in under an hour which is a new record. My pace or average was about 13.30 minutes a mile so YAY! I was very happy about that not to mention I chilled out on the walking and actually 'ran' most of it which is good because that's what I'm working towards. I'll be doing another 4 miles today and will try to do that most of this week actually to see if I can improve. I will be taking a rest day on Wed and possibly another on Thurs (we'll see).

Anyway, hope everyone has a great week!

Fun times ahead

I switched my rest day to Wednesday and it was NICE... I've been exhausted this week nothing but work work... okay I'm rambling. Instead I did the 3.5 mile on Thursday and no strength actually. Instead of just 3.5 I actually completed 3.65 not much of a difference but you know. Um it actually wasn't bad... so yay. Today I will be completed 40 min crosstraining... I think I might get on the bike and tomorrow is a 5 mile run, pray for me... seriously.

I'm also going out of town this weekend so strength training on Sunday will most likely consist of lifting buggage to and from the vehicle :)

Concert on Sunday!!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!

Great weekend to all!

Oops

I've unfortunately been neglecting my blog... I know shame on me. I have been working out though so no worries. My last update was from a week ago and since then I've completed several runs. I am trying to get on the treadmill a lot more and have been doing a decent job of it. I've been experiencing some quad/groin area pain but for the most part I've been working through it. Today is a 3.5 mile with some strength training... I'll try to complete the 3.5 on the treadmill but I'm going easy on the strength training. Saturday was another 4 mile run and while I did have to walk my pace was pretty good, not great but definitely an improvement.

Ummm not much to say but I'll update some more tomorrow...

Tormenting Tuesday

Okay so yesterday was the 2 mile/cross... not too bad right? Ha... apparently I decided to torment myself oh yes and it was great fun. I kid it wasn't so bad. I realized that my Nike+ sensor for running needed some recalibrating because it seems the distance it is tracking is WAY different from what I appear to be doing, awesomeness. Anyway I set it to calibrate a .35 run, right? WRONG... I set it to .25 but ran .35 so basically I calibrated it wrong again. So I paused and restarted this time making sure I was calibrating for a .25 run. SUCCESS! Okay at this point in my mind I must have completely forgotten about the .35 and thought well today is a 2 mile lets do a 1.8 mile workout O_O. All in all I ran 2.4 miles yesterday whoo... my leg hurts. Seriously though, my quad does hurt a bit so I'll probably need to do some squats today and maybe some downhill running. Today is 3 mile/strength... I haven't decided yet if I am going to do the 3 miles... I may just focus on strength today and do the 3 miles tomorrow.

I've noticed my energy is starting to lack a bit as well so I may need to start eating more Clif bars... the 20g protein ones are probably best right now as I strength train etc

Peace!

Back on the training again...

Okay so Sunday turned into a rest day... well almost I mean I did go to the market which consisted of dodging people, carts, crazies... that counts as exercise, right?! Actually no strength training was really completed on Sunday so that was officially another rest day.

Yesterday was a 3 mile run. I decided to attempt the treadmill again and completed about 1.2 miles which is not bad for me. My pace wasn't bad either... I think it was about a 15 min/mile. This is obviously not where I want to be but much better than I have been doing. I then moved over to the elliptical and completed 1.5 miles in 14 minutes. After that I stretched and did some back extensions and obliques (2 sets of 10 reps).

Today was supposed to be a morning run (2 mile/cross) but rest was needed so instead I'll attempt to do the 2 miles on the treadmill... we'll see. I might get on the bike a bit today since I haven't done that yet...


Wish me luck!

4 miles hmm yeah I'm crazy

So Saturday was the 4 mile run... it was a beautiful day for a run fortunately since the temp was around 64 degrees and there was a lovely breeze. It was truly pleasant weather... the sun was a bit hot but the shade was near perfect. I'll be honest I ran probably half of it total and walked the remaining 2 miles. The first mile I did run then I started to walk alternately between running, walking, running, sprinting, walking, running... apparently I have to retrain myself as Crystal says I appear to be more of a speed runner and not quite a distance runner. So... yay... nah actually it is okay because that definitely explains a lot. I have to teach myself to run at a set pace and I'm slowly working towards that. Not to mention learning to run on hard surfaces rather than on trails which is a big difference and my knees etc aren't quite ready for that.

My main concern really because the things above I can overcome is teaching myself to breathe properly... I'm having some bad side cramps due to breathing and slight dehydration so... that's definitely a first concern. I will say though my body seems to be doing well. I'm a bit sore but I certainly don't feel as if I can't run again. I even attempted to jog to see how my body felt yesterday evening (you know from car to house to car again) and it was fine... no near collapses :) I think most of the soreness is attributed to the weight training which is good. Today is a strength day so we'll see how I handle that since I don't have access to any machines and I'll update tomorrow. It's a beautiful day and I do believe I'll be heading to the market to pick up some more veggies and fruits. MMMM...

Peace!

TGIF

Okay so yesterday was the 30 min cross... below is what I did

• 1.5 miles on the elliptical at 13:46 which is 8:97/mile
• Hamstring curl - 3 sets of 10 reps
• Obliques - 3 sets of 10 reps
• Freeweights - 10lbs: bicep curls, lateral raise and front raise - 3 sets of 10 reps

Not bad I felt pretty good after this so all in all Friday was a good day

Whew back on the machines again

Morning!

Yesterday was the 3 mile/strength which means it was the first time I've worked out on equipment in probably 5 plus years. Wasn't bad I must say... I quite enjoyed it. To be honest I didn't do too much because I didn't want to overdue it. Below is what I accomplished:

• 3 miles on the elliptical - time 28:06 so I averaged a 9:35/mile
• Leg extensions - 3 sets of 10 reps
• Leg press - 3 sets of 10 reps
• Hamstring curl - 3 sets of 10 reps per leg alternating between legs
• Lateral pull down - 3 sets of 10 reps
• Obliques - 3 sets of 10 reps alternating sides
• Inner thigh press - 3 sets of 10 reps

Not too bad really... today is 30 min cross!!! Fun fun then afterwards as a treat Harry Potter!!! Be jealous!

Peace!

Concert

Okay so no workout news but I did something fun last night!!! Had dinner with some fellow BPD'ers also known as a friends at a nice little place in Decatur (BrickStore Pub) mmm baked brie, apples, cucumbers and baguette... delicious! After that it was time for the concert at Eddie's Attic which if you've never been is one of the best little venues, I love it. Kyler England was performing (saw her back in April) and once again put on a wonderful show. She truly is an amazing artist and very kind to her fans enduring our endless gushing and fangirl moments. OH!I even had her sign my cell phone... insane I know and totally not my idea I posed off of others hahaha... it was the peer pressure I tell you!

All in all it was a great night of rest and fun... much needed! Back to the training regimen today which is 3 mile/strength WHOOOOO!



Peace!

Not so bad

So yesterday I tried the treadmill and walked briskly at a speed of 3.5 for a little over a 1/4 of a mile... again not a fan. Prior to the treadmill though I used the elliptical machine for 2 miles (yesterday was my 2 mile/cross) and I loved it. Well... as much as you can love a piece of exercise equipment. My run will show in the widget but unfortunately my Nike+ sensor doesn't pick up my activity on the Elliptical which is why my pace is a bit off because I didn't pause while walking to and from machines nor did I turn it off while on the elliptical after determining it wasn't working... s'okay though. I did track my results per mile while on the elliptical and those you can find below.

• 1st mile - 9 min 45 sec
• 2nd mile - 9 min 21 sec

All in all yesterday was a good day, not too much soreness today though I have realized the elliptical works my gluteal muscles a bit more than I realized... basically I have a sore bum. Today will be a rest day since I have a concert tonight and dinner beforehand which doesn't leave much time... I know bad, but I'm only switching it with tomorrow so Thursday will be my 3 mile/strength. I'll still post tomorrow and report on the concert maybe I'll even share what I had for dinner... maybe.

Oh and while my Nike+ says my powersong is Turnin' Me on... I'm changing that to Superchik - Alive because it came on yesterday while on the elliptical and well I think it's perfect so have a listen (lyrics can be found here)

Peace!

The Aftermath

Okay... I completed (as you can see in my little widget) a 3 mile run yesterday. I didn't however run the entire time or really the majority of it to be honest. It was more of a 3.3 brisk walk with some periodic sprinting. I have made a few mistakes so far in my training, listed below.

• Jumping into running again eh maybe walking fast with some running bursts is better.
• Running outside in the Atlanta area in July around 6pm - not so much.
• Not using the restroom before leaving... oops (it's hard to build up that momentum again once you stop)

While these reasons are all somewhat understandable, the fact of the matter is, I'm out of shape a bit more than I realized. This is okay though because I won't stop. I am a determined soul and plus I know the beginning of training is always tough. I expect more soreness and whining, all from me of course. Fortunately, I have a great running partner who is very understanding and a great motivator.

Now you ask what's on the agenda for today... a 2 mile/cross. I'm going to attempt the treadmill (typically I'm not a fan due to the impact on my knees) so I'll most likely end up on the elliptical machine. It'll be a first for me so I'll definitely report back tomorrow on my progress and what I think.

Peace!

1st Day

Okay so I decided to work out in the afternoon rather than before going into the office. I'll still come in around 7:30 but that just means I'll call it a day at 4:30 then workout. This way I won't have to deal with taking a shower, fixing my hair, etc before going into the office. Instead I'll just come home looking like a rag muffin haha. Seriously though today will be Day 1 so expect tomorrow's post to be a lot of I'm sore blah blah...

I'm going to add a calendar so you can see what my workout schedule consists of and you should be able to match up my runs to what I have scheduled.

Wish me luck!

Intro

Various aspects of my life have drastically changed in the last few months, many and honestly most for the better but several have been rather tragic. The one thing I've learned is how much I value life, happiness and health as well as how all of these affect either other. I've decided to change many things in my life: one of which and quite possibly one of the most important is my health. I have always been athletic, playing a wide range of sports since early childhood. Unfortunately, I've become rather lazy in the past few years and am well to put it frankly... OUT OF SHAPE. Today is a new day though!

One of my favorite past sports ventures was Cross Country running and it's something I'd like to revisit. For now though I'm just going to start running... period. I want to get back into shape as well as prepare for and complete a half marathon that will be in my area in October. I know it doesn't seem like a lot of time to prepare but I'm really just going to go in with the mindset of completing the race not necessarily obtaining an awesome time or placement.

My office complex offers the use of a gym for free so I will begin training on Monday, July 13 2009. I've decided to start coming into work a minimum of 45 min early to run before heading into the office. Those that know me realize this in and of itself will be a feat (I'm not a morning person). This blog will contain updates on my training and as you can see I will have my Nike+ runs tracked on the sidebar.

Fingers crossed!!! Wish me luck!