Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Badness.

I haven't updated in awhile because I haven't been really trying this past week. Last Wednesday a wonderful, sweet, furry family member died and I've had a really hard time with it. I don't want to get into details, but it was gruesome and awful and shouldn't have happened.

The case has been before, as it was this time, that when I have dealt with emotional trauma, it presents itself as physical trauma as well. So Friday morning I was at the chiropractor because my back had twinged on Thursday and then I couldn't move without pain. It's getting better, but I haven't run in a week. I have 3 hours of dance class tonight and I hope I can fully participate.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Endomondo Running Workout

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 2.47 miles in 24m:24s using Endomondo."

I am impressed with this one. I was feeling tired and didn't think I was going to come close to my normal average, but voila!

Endomondo Running Workout

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 1.91 miles in 23m:00s using Endomondo."

Well, sort of. Lillian was over and we had a great time. We were planning to run my 5K route, but my body was just not feeling it. We ended walking a bit and taking a different route home.

I have found that having music while I run is absolutely imperative for me to do well and stay motivated. If I don't have it I start thinking about being tired etc... I guess hashing might be an exception, but then again I'm not usually pushing myself when I'm there. It'll be interesting to go back to it and see how I do, now that I have been running so much.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Records Galore! And a Cool Thing.

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 3.11 miles in 31m:22s using Endomondo."

Record 1: I broke the 30 pound mark today! I have lost 31.2 pounds in the last (almost exactly) 6 months. I am just over halfway to my goal and still on track to reach it in a total of a year's time. At that point I will be in better shape than I ever have in my life. As it is, I am already under the weight I've been since moving to Spokane in 2005. Wow!!!

Record 2: My new5K time tonight was 31:22, giving me a 10:05 minute mile for 3.11 miles. Inching closer to that goal of under 10 minute miles, then shortly after that is the under 30 minute 5K. Yeah!

Cool Thing: Mike took me out to celebrate my victories. I picked Izzy's- sounds bad, but if you load up on salad and veggies and moderate yourself in pizza, it's not a bad option! Anyway, we noticed that all over the restaurant there were signs posted about caloric content in each of the dishes. Our server told us that it was now required by law for all restaurants to post their calorie info. I love it! That makes making informed choices sooooo much easier!

Monday, May 16, 2011

All Kinds A Record Breakin!

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 1.71 miles in 16m:19s using Endomondo."

I am feeling a little tired out today and was not up for a 5K. Also I was bored with doing the same route so many times. So I figured, how about shortening the route and really pushing to see if I can improve my time? Remember a few days ago, when I made a new mile time record for myself? It was 10:08. Keep in mind the only times I've really timed my full on running mile since starting this have been during 5Ks, so I knew those wouldn't be my fastest. Today I chose a route that was 1.71 miles and pushed myself harder. The result? I averaged 9:33/mile! And even more amazing (to me anyway) is that I clocked my first mile at 9:20! Damn, I didn't know going for shorter distances would make that much of a difference. After my race next week I am going to take a few days to just run a mile and see how fast I can go.

Biggest yay of the day is still finding the energy to actually go out and run. Tell myself it's okay if I don't do the full 3.11. That doesn't mean I'm not living up to standards.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Endomondo Running Workout

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 3.11 miles in 31m:30s using Endomondo."

10:08/mile average. New record!

I am trying to be extra awesome this week, because I want to lose at least 2.2 pounds at next week's weigh-in. The reason? That will mark the beginning of a weight range that I have not been in for about 5 years. Woo! Plus I told myself I wouldn't look at swimwear until I got to that point :-)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Good Stuff.

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 3.11 miles in 33m:13s using Endomondo."

This did not beat my record from Monday, but I am pleased with my speed, given that my shins/knees/ankles were feeling a little tender.

Also, I lost 1.6 pounds this week. Again, not my best week but I was worried it would be worse, so I'll happily take it!

Only 2 more pounds to 30/halfway mark!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Hell yeah!

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 3.11 miles in 31m:45s using Endomondo."

Today's run was special for a couple of reasons. One, it is the route I will be following for the majority of the next couple of weeks. It is exactly 5K and I am now running a 5K each time I go out. That still boggles my mind that I am capable of achieving this so quickly after starting.

The second reason it was special is because it is my fastest average mile time since I started tracking, which was 5 weeks ago. So I'm pretty sure it's my fastest mile time ever. Like even for a regular mile. Holy crap!!! I feel pretty amazing right about now.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Another Milestone

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 3.12 miles in 32m:10s using Endomondo."

Yesterday was my first ever running an entire 5K. Wooo!

I'm pretty sure the timing was a little off- the tracker on my phone isn't perfect and loses time every now and then. But we made a route around the neighborhood that we know is exactly a 5K, and so my running goal right now is to do that route and try to improve my time each time I go out.

Food-wise this week has been challenging. I keep craving crap food and I'm working harder to turn down the bad stuff. We'll see how it goes on Wednesday!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Better Than Expected!

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 3.24 miles in 37m:00s using Endomondo."

This was yesterday's run, I just didn't get around to uploading it. This was the 18-1-18 bad boy that I was worried about. Turns out I had nothing to be worried about. I made it through! It's probably the farthest I've ever actually run. I was so psyched about it. Also it turned out to be more than a 5K, which is what I'm training for. I've decided I'm going to make the transition from running a certain number of minutes to running a 5K and tracking how long it takes me. I think that will be more beneficial to me at this point. It's pretty amazing for me to realize that I've come to this point. Runningfor 10, or even 5, minutes in a row was a terrifying task just over a month ago. And look at me now- 36 minutes of running yesterday and me saying "it was hard but actually not too bad!"

Weight Watchers is where the training program came from. Once again, WW for the win!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Not Expected

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 2.81 miles in 30m:34s using Endomondo."

First off, the weigh in today. I thought of it as an experiment- I have done pretty well this last week, but since the day of the weigh-ins were moved recently, we now weigh in on the same day I start my period. So once a month, I wonder how that will be reflected on the scale. Today I weighed in at.....exactly the same as last week.

It's disappointing, but I will stick with the idea I have been this whole time- do the best I can, and just accept that my body is really weird. I am often surprised in one way or another when I weigh in, so I have kind of given up on trying to guess. All the same, I expected better this week.

Today's run was also quite difficult for me. I am up to running 15 minutes, walking 1, then running another 15. I thought my legs were going to give out at one point, but fortunately they stuck with me. I have had this weird thing happen to me on rare occasions over the years when I am doing something very physically demanding- it's almost what I imagine an asthma attack would be like, where I suddenly can barely breathe and have a hard time balancing my breathing back out. What I've realized from the last couple of times, however, is that it's entirely psychological. I can work through something physically challenging, but when my mind starts thinking I can't do it or it's too hard, I start to panic and this thing happens. The last couple of times it has started I have actually managed to make it stop before it got to be a big deal. It started to happen again today, but I was able to call it off and keep on running.

I'm nervous about Friday's run- it's a big jump from 15 minutes to 18. Wish me luck.