my journey to becoming a runner

Friday, January 30, 2009

For the Good of Man Kind

I donated blood today. That means I can't work out. I was secretly hoping that one pint of blood might miraculously equal two pounds of weight. Unfortunately due to the free cookies, peanut butter crackers, apple juice and other snacks, I ate more calories before work than I sometimes eat in an entire day. Now I am so pathetically tired (from losing two pounds of blood? Or just getting up early) and I have nothing to do on a Friday night, so I am going to bed at 9pm. I want to get lots of sleep so I can get up early tomorrow and get a really good workout in!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A Fine Line

Today's Goal: Run 3 miles without stopping.
Accomplished: 3 miles (with two drinks) in 40 minutes.
This was slow. I had to keep slowing down in order to finish. But I told myself I absolutely had to do all three miles today. It was the first part of my January goal (remember: be able to run 3 miles straight and 4 miles with two breaks). But there is a fine line between being "able to" and "having to because your life depends on it". That's how I felt today. I had to do it. If I try again tomorrow without having to, I wouldn't be able. But I guess when it comes down to it, the day of the 10k is a "have to" not an "able to" event. So all is not lost!

This trying new recipes goal is cutting down on my healthy eating days. Tonight I made Cream Cheese, Chicken Enchiladas. Sure I used low-fat cheeses and tortillas. But when I tried to eat a second helping it pushed me over the full-edge. Next week I need to make something extra healthy as my new recipe. But I am proud of myself for working an entire day, stopping at the grocery store, running three miles, and cooking an excellent meal all in one day!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Back to the Goal

Another successful weigh in this morning. I lost another 4 pounds, which is excellent; two good weeks in a row. That brings me back to the 20 pound mark, which if you remember was the goal I had listed on my 30 Things list. I feel very motivated right now, seeing the number on the scale move encourages me to keep up the hard work. Not that I did great things this week; I did eat Chinese food. But that was the only bad eating I did. The rest of the week I ate at home (or Subway) and worked out just over six hours. I love it when the system works. Although I have to say, I am a bit skeptical that I won't lose any weight for a couple of weeks now (just because I have had such large losses the last two weeks.) But if I keep working hard, it should continue to move in the right direction. I have this theory about losing weight the second time. I know the experts say each time you lose weight it gets harder (something about your metabolism and the size of your fat cells). But I am pretty sure that when I gain a quick five pounds from birthday cake and too many margaritas, it's stored in a temporary weight facility. And therefore, it's easier to lose when I get back to it. I mean, the first time I lost those pounds they came off 1 pound at a time. Now I have shocked my body back into eating fruit and vegetables and fiber and protein. And I haven't had margaritas since my birthday.

Anyway, we had a sub for BodyPower tonight. Who does Marika think she is? It made me realize that besides a teacher I had in Omaha, I haven't had anyone other than Marika since August. That's six months! Generally I like new teachers because they give you new things to think about and work on. But Katie said just about everything that Marika usually says. Oh and get this, Jennifer likes Marika so much now, she's wants to invite her along the next time we go to Mazatlan after class. Oh how far Jennifer has come!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

What Can I Do?

Today's Running Goal: 2.5 miles straight
Accomplished: 1.5 miles easily. I was thinking: this is great, maybe I could go as far as 3 miles without stopping. Then it all just kind of fell apart. I let myself stop for a drink of water. I ran another minute, I let myself stop to catch my breath, I ran another minute and then just before I reached 2 miles I couldn't go on any further. So I stopped. Another failed run! I have to be able to run three miles straight by the February first. That's a week from today! I better practice again on Tuesday and Thursday.

I did spend 30 minutes in the weight room today. I worked all the upper-body machines three times. I pushed myself to do as much as possible and I even broke out into a sweat doing it. I ate fairly healthy today as well. I saw an excellent number on the scale this morning and I was determined all day to keep it there for tomorrow morning's weigh-in. I did let myself have another No Pudge Brownie but that was just a small treat for all the work I did today.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Going Nowhere Fast

I pretty much had nothing to do today. And yet I kept postponing going to the gym until it was too late to go. Why do I do that? I just wish I had someone to go with, someone to make it a social activity. Or perhaps it's the running I am dreading. I have no problem going when I get to kickbox or lift weights! I must make myself go tomorrow. No excuses. I want to get up in the morning and go before I have lunch with my mom and find reasons to stay home.

Tonight, like the loser I am with nothing to, I cleaned out my kitchen cupboards and reorganized them. Supposedly they are more organized now and I should be able to see where everything is. Mostly I just found out that I have way too many brownie/cake/cookies/muffin mixes. They always look so yummy in the store or I buy them for a special occasion, but I never get around to making them -- I can't eat all those calories. Which reminds me: this afternoon I finally got around to trying No Pudge Brownies. I have seen them in the grocery store several times now (in the organic section) and have wanted to try them. It's just a brownie mix which you add fat-free vanilla yogurt too. They are fat-free and only have 120 calories per brownie. By comparison, a "regular" brownie has 8 grams of fat and 190 calories. They were pretty good, not the best brownies I've had, but a good options when you want to limit fat grams. Super-easy too! Sure, I had one the size of two brownies, but I made up for it with a low-calorie dinner!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I Hate Zumba

I said I would give it three tries. I mentioned that I hated Combat at one point. But the difference is Combat was hard to learn, and awkward, yet the ass-kicking aspect was addictive. Zumba on the other hand, is dumb! Basically it was like a dance class. We went over all the moves; we practiced with the music. Then we kept practicing until we supposedly got it. But I never got it. Once in a while the instructor would pull out the losers and make them work harder, with him, until they got it, or the song was over, whatever came first. I hate that. I don't need to be ridiculed and singled out. Overall, I just have no interest in going back. Guess I can cross that off my list and move on with my life. I'm gonna say it right here: I would rather take a step class than another Zumba class. Next I might try yoga.

We had another excellent workout in Kickboxing tonight. It was so full and exhausting that I had to take it easy in BodyPower. I felt like I was going to pass out for parts of the warm-up and squat tracks. By the time I was allowed to lay down during the chest workout I was better. Still, I let myself go easy on the weight through that. I had to go down on the bicep song again because my arm is still dead. Maybe next Monday I can raise it again. The lighter weight did seam easier after raising it earlier this week. But I was in so much pain from using my bicep during other tracks (back, chest, warm-up) that it was good that I let up a bit.

I ate like crap today. I had Chinese food for lunch - that's never healthy. Then I made a new dish for dinner. It was Potato Soup from a Cooking Light cookbook and overall it was good and low-calorie. It was the wine and dinner rolls that added on all the unhealthfulness.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Great Bicep Challenge

I have been talking for the last couple of weeks about increasing our weight lifting amounts. I have realized that I have been allowing myself to go easy in BodyPower class lately merely because I am so tired of Kickboxing. I really don't want to give up my kickboxing class, so I must push myself to use the weight lifing class to my advantage. So lately I've been increasing my squat weights. It hasn't been too bad for me lately; I am not squatting any more weight than I was doing last summer, I had just taken a break from it. So soon my goal was going to be increasing my bicep weight, which I feel is the hardest thing to improve upon. I tried going up to a Medium and Small last summer, but it was just so hard every time. I figured I should start by adding smalls to the end of the bars for the first half of the track, and then take them off at the break. That was going to be the plan... eventually. But then last night Marika had a challenge for us. She wanted everyone to increase their bicep weight by one small weight. No cheating! And because all of us had to do it, it was kind of fun. She was trying to prove what she always says to us: You can do so much more than you think you can! Because it was a group effort, I wasn't suffering while the lady next to me was taking it easy. Still, it was so so difficult. My arms were burning by the end of the track and I felt like I might have ripped something when it was over and I was stretching. Today though, I feel it even more. I can barely lift anything, which is amplified by the fact that I had a Teen Movie Matinee and had to lift a bunch of chairs down in the meeting room. Mainly my arms just burn all the time -- even while I am typing this. I suppose I should try to do the higher weight again on Wednesday. I just can't stand the suffering. But I just keep telling myself: I will have great arms by summer!

Tonight I am crossing another item off of my Thirty Things list and taking a Zumba class. I have gotten Erin and Sara talked into going with me. We'll see if we hate it. Although I can cross if off of my list once I take it tonight, I am well aware of the fact that I need to go three times before I can give an opinion on the class. Remember how I wanted to quit Combat at one points? Boy am I glad that I didn't! Still, I'll let you know how class goes!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Special K Week

I lost 4 pounds this week. That is a great weekly loss. However, I am still ashamed at how much weight I have left to lose (24 pounds) and how I let myself get so high. This week was very difficult to eat the way I had planned (one meal, lots of cereal and protein bars). I basically gave up on Wednesday evening when I was just starving. Then I tried to eat healthy the rest of the week, but a few things got in the way. I also could have worked out more. I know that if I would have made it to the gym two more hours this week and skipped the party food at Jennifer's work event, I could have lost five pounds. But I must be happy with this loss.

This next week I am going to make sure I get to the gym seven hours. I need to work more my running goals. I need to work on my upper-body weight lifting plan. I need to keep increasing my weights in BodyPower so that I am making the most of every minute I spend at the gym. And most of all I need to eat healthy, without limiting myself to Special K products, but still limiting my overall intake!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

An Unproductive Weekend

That's not entirely true. I finished a good book I was reading; I worked one of the busiest Saturdays we've had in a while; I attended a party with Jennifer's work people; I spent time with my mom and her dog; I discussed the beauty of new shampoos with Erin; and I watched the Steelers make it to the super-bowl. But as far as working out went: I didn't. I had worked out five hours as of Friday evening, so I needed two hours today to get me to my goal of seven hours. I figured this would be easy; I had the entire day off. I had ideas of running some, lifting weights a while and then doing some other cardio for a bit. I had considered doing a new DVD at home for 45 minutes and then going to the gym later in the day. Little by little the day slipped away until eventually, it was 10:03 and I realized it was time for me to put in a movie and go to bed, and I would not be reaching my seven hour goal. Well, a new week starts tomorrow.

I also didn't do well on my eating goals this weekend. There were lots of yummy foods at Jennifer's work party. And since I didn't have anyone to talk to for most of the party I spent time eating that yummy food instead. And drinking the wine and champagne punch. Sunday was better; I ate a healthy lunch with my mom and then had a few snacks throughout the rest of the day, but nothing much. I know that my scale will be done tomorrow morning. The six pounds I had lost earlier in the week have not all stayed away since I began eating more junk again, but I am hoping for at least a 3 pound loss for tomorrow.

This week I have Monday off (thank goodness for bank-holidays) and Wednesday off since I worked the weekend. Those are the two worst days to have off, since they are the days I go to the gym in the evening. So no getting up early and getting a good workout in at the gym. Tuesday evening I am gathering a group to go to Zumba. Thursday is a eleven-hour day at work, but maybe I will make myself go to the gym after work anyway. I need to practice running some more. Or maybe I will stay after Zumba to try out the Goodyear cardio equipment. I am thinking more and more of actually getting a membership there, since I spend four hours a week working out there anyway.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

43 Things

I was thinking of giving updates on my 30 Things to do before I'm Thirty list on this blog. But I have discovered this great site called: 43 Things. I listed all my things on there as I was making the list. I also got several of the ideas from looking at other people's goals and accomplishments. It's a great site if you're interested in making a list of goals. I would encourage all of you to use it. But even better, take a look at all the things I am doing and look how far I have come. I have even posted photos of my first fresh flowers. Since I plan on photo-journaling a lot of the things on my Thirty-Thirty list, I will be adding a lot more photos to the site as well. Enjoy!

Friday, January 16, 2009

What Erin Read

I managed to make it to the gym this evening after a busy day of work. I still have to work tomorrow, and the fifth-out-of-sixth-day phenomenon is exhausting me. I absolutely had to run; I hadn't done any running since last Saturday. My goal was to run 3.5 miles with two breaks. But I just knew I didn't have it in me. The idea of running twenty straight minutes was killer, and running the better part of fifty-minutes seemed impossible. Then I remembered something that Erin read this week: sprinting for 60 seconds and then walking to catch your breath six times, is an equal fat/calorie burn as running at a consistent pace for forty minutes. Now, I had heard of things like this before; interval training is all the rage right now. It is supposedly how you trim your belly-fat. So I told myself that I could run for one-minute at a time as long as I sprinted, which for me is about a 6.0 pace. Of course in order to get my 3.5 miles done I needed to do this much more than six times. In the 44-minutes it took me to complete the distance, I probably ran 13 to 15 fast minutes (I lost count). The thing is, it seemed easier than running how I usually do, and I did this 3.5 miles in the same time as last week's 3.25 miles. So it seems like a win-win. Plus, I worked on speed.

Now, I am invited to Jennifer's to eat pizza. I am going to try and only eat one slice and big-old-yummy salad. I have goals you know! Oh, my skinny pants fit today. Remember the pants I had shrunk too much to wear last week. Well I squeezed them on today. I'm not saying they were the most comfortable pants I have, but at least I was able to walk around in them. Sometimes you just have to prove a point to yourself!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

I Cheated

First, I just couldn't hold out any longer. I got home from the gym last night and ate my bowl of Special K and a banana. I waited a couple of hours and kept busy reading and watching TV. But by 10:00pm I was starving. I could have just gone to sleep, but I was just so hungry. So I ate again. I had some left over pasta in the fridge (leftovers from this weekend). It wasn't enough to have for dinner sometime, and probably only 5 bites (100 calories) but I splurged. It might be considered cheating, but obviously this Special K program was not designed for people who burn a thousand calories doing Kickboxing and BodyPower. No where in the program does it mention working out. I figure I am going to need a few more calories if I have to push myself through these grueling workouts. I don't want to pass out or anything! But if I am not following the program, then all I am doing is eating cereal for dinner, and that's what I did before. I guess I'll keep truckin' along!

Secondly, I slept in this morning. I didn't even set my alarm to get up at the time I normally do. I told myself that if I woke up naturally I would go to the gym. If I slept until my alarm went off at 9:40, then I would skip it. Well, I woke up for a brief minute at 8:15, but then I was asleep again until the music starting playing. So no gym time this morning. I have plans after I get off at 8:00 tonight, so no gym time today at all. Even though I work both Friday and Saturday, I am going to make going to the gym a priority. Not that I have done bad this week, I have four hours in already. But I need to keep on top of my running program.

Third, I said I wouldn't check the scale until next Saturday. But I got on this morning. And yesterday morning. And Tuesday. I'm addicted to the scale, no doubt about it. Tuesday morning I had to reassure myself that the salt/water weight was just temporary. And it was; I was down to 25 pounds. Then Wednesday morning I need to confirm that it was still gone; down to 23 pounds. This morning I just had to see if this Special K thing was working out at all; down to 22 pounds. The problem is I can't credit a 6 pound loss to the cereal. Something was seriously wrong with my weight on Monday. I wish I could lose six pounds each week. Then I would be done soon! Twenty-two pounds is still a lot to lose, but at least it's getting closer to a number I can recognize.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

A Sox Upon Both Your Houses

That's a Shakespeare pun for ya! Look it up if you don't get it. Anyway, last Monday I forgot to bring workout socks to change into for the gym. So instead I went to kickboxing and Bodypower in my normal cute cotton socks. I felt like I wasn't properly dressed. My ankles hurt after 10 minutes of jumping and kicking. My food kept sliding forward in lunges. I was surprised that my feet were not comfortable. I figured a sock is a sock. Sure good ones might keep my feet from sweating, but they don't really sweat. So I didn't think it would matter. Tonight I remembered my normal workout socks. Now these aren't just normal athletic socks. The kind I like have cushioning on the bottoms. So every time I jumped, kicked, pulsed, squatted, lunged, and stretched I had a certain bounce in my foot. What a difference it made.

I just realized today that I don't have to go to work until 11:00 tomorrow. This never happens. I haven't had a weekday that I worked at 11 since August. So my goal is to get up the same time I normally do, or maybe a little later. Then I will use my free time to workout. I need to get that run I skipped on Tuesday in sometime. On the other hand, I haven't had a weekday that I worked at 11 since August, so part of me wants to sleep in a little. Not to mention that I am working six days in a row, and feel like I deserve a little bit of a break. We'll see...

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

A Break for Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. So I took the day off from my scheduled run to go out to dinner with her (as healthy as possible) and hang out with her at her house. We didn't eat any cake or dessert, even though she offered me ice cream like five times. I hadn't taken a day off from working out since last Thursday; so it was probably a needed break. Today was a really rough day of the Special K diet. Since I had to save my meal for dinner, I only ate Special K drinks, power bars and fruits and veggies all day. I was starving by the time it was 4:00pm and I wasn't allowed to eat again until dinner at 6:30. I am ensuring that I eat 1200 calories each day because I don't want to damage my metabolism. But I am not sure if this is the best plan for me. I just like to eat food too much. I have done a little research on the diet though and have found that it is good for a) learning to eat breakfast b) teaching yourself to have healthy (fruit) snacks twice a day and c) jump starting you on a healthy eating plan. I probably already know how to do those things and was doing them well just 10 weeks ago. What I need is the motivation to get back to it. And the combination of that high number on the scale, those pants that were too tight last week and the fact that I want to buy new shorts in a smaller size this summer makes me more than motivated. I will continue to do the diet for a few more days and see how it works out.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Yikes

I've messed up. Big Time. I took too much time off. I stopped caring. I ate too much. I am ashamed to tell you what my weight was this morning. But at least I am ashamed enough to do something about it. I told myself I had to tell you though. I have to write it down, confront it, be ridiculed by it. I now have 28 pounds to lose. If you remember all fall I was stuck at 17 pounds. This means that I have gained 11 pounds since Thanksgiving. It's not like I didn't see it happening. A few pounds before Christmas, a few during the week of Christmas, a couple more the week after new years, and then bam five pounds this week since my birthday. I really, really hope that five of these pounds are some kind of water-weight playing games with my mind and they will magically dissolve in the near future. Please don't mock me, I am turning my life around today.

I have mentioned that I am doing the Special K diet beginning today. And while that is true, that I am going to change my eating habits, I've only named it the Special K diet because of my own awesomeness and it being my own diet! I am going to adapt the two bowls of cereal, two snacks, one meal plan that Special K publicizes as their own into a variety of eating options. I'm pretty sure I couldn't eat only Special K cereal for two weeks, so I have allowed myself to buy several healthy cereals to choose between. Instead of only eating Special K bars, I have other protein bars and shakes to eat instead. Still, it is limited calories, one real meal a day. I absolutely know that I cannot go to kickboxing having only eaten cereal and protein bars all day. So on Monday and Wednesdays my "normal" meal will be at lunch time. I'm generally not very hungry after two hours of working out anyway. On Tuesday (my mom's birthday) I will allow my "normal" meal to be at dinner time so we can go out for a healthy meal at a restaurant.

I am taking this very seriously. I will weigh myself next Monday morning and not before. I am hoping all the junk pounds just melt off as well as a few others. And of course, I will be at the gym for seven hours this week! I will be running and kicking and lifting weights. Here comes the new fabulous, 29-year-old me!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

One Last Bang

My day today was completely full of many things: working out early; attending a bridal fair with Jennifer's entire family, not to mention half of Lincoln; hanging out at my mom's house with my grandma who's leaving for California next week; meeting my aunt and uncle for a 3:00 lunch that was delicious and sinful; taking a 45 minute nap because I couldn't keep my eyes open for one more minute; meeting some friends from work for our monthly dinner out at Lazlo's where I wasn't a bit hungry but enjoyed chips and salsa and one last birthday dessert. At least I started the day off with an hour at the gym with Jen. I didn't work out at the highest intensity, but I was dehydrated, and it was my eighth hour of gym-time this week. Tomorrow I return to normalcy. I am getting back to counting calories and weighing myself and working hard to obtain all of my goals. I will do a weigh-in in the morning, but I have to admit: I am very afraid of what the scale is going to say!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Running Along

I've had a really good workout week, even though it looks as if I haven't mentioned it once this week. The whole birthday thing gets in the way. But as I mentioned earlier this week, I had several days off this week, and that really allows me more time to workout.

Monday and Wednesday I took both the kickboxing and the weight lifting classes. On Monday I hadn't gone to classes in two weeks, and boy was I sore. On Wednesday I decided that I was tired of taking it easy all the time and needed to kick it into gear. I have been going light on weights lately because I am so exhausted from kickboxing. But Wednesday I started working on raising my weights again. So I went up on my squat weights, and made sure that I stayed high on triceps and chest. And again, boy was I sore.

Tuesday I ran three (birthday) miles. As I mentioned I had to take two breaks but oh well, I am getting back into the swing of things. On Friday my goal was to run 3.25 miles with two walking breaks. I did it fine, but it sure was exhausting. Today I decided to take Jen's advice and make today a speed day. I wanted to run two miles, a faster pace than I have been running lately. It was still slow (12 mph) but I have some time to work on it. I only managed to run 1.5 miles straight and then I had to walk the rest. Then I went up to the weight room to work on my upper-body. I have really gotten away from that best upper-body-bridesmaid plan. Now I am ready to work at it again.

Tonight I have my awesome birthday party. I am having a Girl's Night In Cocktail Party. It should be fun. Lots of people are coming. Along with them will be lots of snacks and alcohol. More eating tomorrow, and a few last celebrations with family. Then Monday things get serious!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Thirty Things before I'm Thirty

  1. Run a 10k
  2. Start a Bookclub
  3. Take Piano Lessons
  4. Get Contacts
  5. Renew my Teaching Certificate
  6. Buy Stock
  7. Whiten my Teeth
  8. Buy a Car
  9. Volunteer
  10. Plant a Garden
  11. Meet new People
  12. Try a new Recipe each Week
  13. Get up Earlier
  14. Paint Spare Room
  15. Create a Facebook Page
  16. Go to a Movie Alone
  17. Have a Garage Sale
  18. Take a Zumba class
  19. Lose 20 pounds
  20. Learn to wear Makeup
  21. Develop a Flossing Habit
  22. Buy Fresh Flowers Weekly
  23. Perfect my Cholesterol
  24. Organize Photos
  25. Try a new Restaurant each month
  26. Get a Passport
  27. Give Blood
  28. Read 5 Non-Fiction Books
  29. Take the LSAT
  30. Send Birthday Cards

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Fat Pants

Unlike the rest of America, who start their weight loss resolutions on the first of the year, I don't start until after my birthday celebrations. This year that will be next Monday. So I kind of see this week as a cheat week. Unfortunately this is causing my weight to climb. I don't even want to admit what it is up to now. Then this morning I went to put on a pair of jeans that usually fit fine and they were too tight. Sure I had just washed them; and sure I ended up drying them part way because I needed to wear them; and sure everyone knows that drying jeans is the end of the world. But still, they were so tight that I couldn't wear them to work; even after I wore them around the house a while to stretch them out. I need to make sure that I don't gain any more weight, it's just more to lose next week. And I need to look great at my birthday party on Saturday night, and that does not mean wearing sweat pants!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Birthday Wishes

When I blow out my candles this week I am going to wish for:

  1. My classes back at Gold's Gym.
  2. To miraculously lose 25 pounds by eating cake.
  3. To find happiness within myself.
  4. To have money to hire a maid.
  5. To be naturally tan.
  6. Less work, more pay.
  7. World Peace.
  8. To enjoy running.
  9. A personal chef.
  10. Free cable.
  11. Someone to go sledding with after dark.
  12. Perfectly sculpted arms.
  13. And legs.
  14. That someday I will be discovered for my musical ability.
  15. To have Brad Pitt ask me out and be able to say: well, I would have if you hadn't slept with that skank Angie first!
  16. A shiny new car.
  17. To live some place with 70 degree weather all the time.
  18. For more sleep.
  19. For a home gym.
  20. To have Ryan (from the gym) as a personal trainer.
  21. To have my own library, run the way I want.
  22. Wait that's the Bookstore I want to open some day.
  23. To be a morning person.
  24. To travel the world.
  25. With someone special (but don't for a minute think I am wasting this wish on a boy... it could be anyone special!)
  26. Smaller feet.
  27. To spend more time with my friends.
  28. To win a million dollars
  29. Host a Rockin' 29th Birthday Party.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Happy Birthday to Me!

Another year older and none the wiser! My birthday had a horrible start to it: I woke up at 3:30am and was hardly able to go back to sleep. For some reason I was incredibly itchy; and every time I started to fall back asleep, I would have to scratch something. Finally, around 5:30am I got up at took a shower. I was back to sleep around 6:10; at 6:30 my dad called to wish me a happy birthday; asleep again; at 7:15 my aunt called to wish my a happy birthday; asleep again; at 8:30 my alarm went off. All in all, I will be starting this next year with a huge lack of sleep. And I could tell I was dragging all day. Still, I managed to make it to the gym this morning and run three miles. I had wanted to do it with no breaks (a secret birthday wish) but I just had to walk twice. I feel like I have regressed to over a year ago. Sure, I can run three miles, but I do it super slow, and it is so difficult. But I am excited to train for this 10k. And I am excited for what the next year holds for me. Today I am happy and proud of all the accomplishments I have made. Stay tuned for my list of 30 goals... Happy Birthday to Me!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Birthday Week

After working every day that wasn't a national holiday (read: busy spending time with family) I finally have a day off. In fact, I have three of them. I only have to work two days this week (Wednesday and Thursday), and it's going to lead to a great birthday week and a great workout week. Tonight I will finally make it back to classes at the gym; I haven't been in two weeks! I am looking forward to getting back into a routine. My life has been frazzled and out of control, and finally things will all get back to normal. Here's my plan for the week:
Monday - Kickboxing, BodyPower
Tuesday - Early Birthday Run
Wednesday - Kickboxing, BodyPower
Thursday - Rest Day
Friday - Attempt to run 3 miles, with no breaks
Saturday - Run with breaks, weight lifting
Sunday - More running? Other Cardio

I am going to turn 29 with a bang!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Seventy-Eight Minutes

I was working on my running plan for the month today, and I began thinking about running six miles. I have given myself until June to become capable of such a feat. I have told myself that I just need to do it, no matter how slow I go; how long it takes. But today as I was working on the calendar of goals, I realized that six miles is a long way. If I run slowly (13 minute-miles) it will take me 78 minutes. That's over an Hour. Of. Running! So here's a question I have for Jen: am I going to get faster just by practicing running that much, or will I have to do something special to get faster? Since tomorrow is the first week of the rest of the year, my workout plan starts tomorrow. However, since my birthday (birthday eve, birthday lunch, birthday dinner, post-birthday drinks with my work people, and birthday party with friends) will take up most of the week, the healthy-eating portion of the year doesn't begin until next Monday. Oh the burden of celebrating my greatness! But you only have one 29th birthday week!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

10k Plan

Long-Term Goal:
Be able to run a 10k at the beginning of June (June 8th?) for the Havelock Charity Run.

Short-Term Goals:
February 1st - Be able to run 3 miles straight. Be able to run 4 miles with two walk-breaks.
March 1st - Be able to run 4 miles straight. Be able to run 5 miles with two walk-breaks.
April 1st - Be able to run 5 miles straight. Be able to run 6 miles with two walk-breaks.
May 1st - Be able to run 6 miles straight, no matter how long it takes you.
June 1st - Do it faster!

Plan of attack:
January - Run twice a week increasing running, decreasing walking. Obviously.

Rewards:
February - Buy new running clothes (tank top)
March - Get a massage
April - Get a pedicure
May - Buy summer running clothes
June - Win the race!

Friday, January 2, 2009

A Fine Beginning

I haven't started the "healthy eating" portion of my New Year's Resolution yet. But I have been to the gym the last two days. Wednesday afternoon I did quite a bit of elliptical-ing, which I haven't done in quite a while. I wasn't really sweating, but I was a little winded. Then yesterday I noticed a slight pain in my butt muscles. I must have doing something right. Yesterday afternoon I returned home from my mom's football party to find my house very chilly (my programmable thermostat assumed I was at work like most Thursdays, and therefore had set itself at 58 degrees). My intention was to get home, change into gym clothes and head over to Gold's before they closed at 8:00. I was much too cold to change clothes though. So here was my brilliant plan to remedy this situation. I did a combat track (one of three I have saved on my computer from when I found it on YouTube) wearing my jeans, sweater and winter coat. That warmed me up enough to take the coat and sweater off. After another track I was ready to head upstairs and change into my chilly workout clothes. After one more track in my gym outfit, I was almost too warm to put my sweatshirt on to head out the door. I think I found my cure to cold houses and wanting to hide out under my electric blanket. While at the gym I managed to run 3.1 miles. I haven't run since the end of November (yes an entire month off from running) and even then it was like a fast mile. Yesterday I let myself go as slow as needed, and take two walk breaks. But I was still able to do it in 41 minutes (my original 5k speed). From here I build up. I am devising a 10k plan as I type!

Next on my list of New Year, New Me changes: getting up earlier, eating breakfast at home, not being so rushed in the morning, and making it to work on time (not the usual 5 minutes late that I usually am). So this morning I set my alarm 15 minutes earlier, then set my cell phone alarm to ring at exactly 8:00am. This is about 20 minutes earlier than I usually get up. So I allowed myself to take a long shower. I ate my breakfast at home. I turned on my computer and checked my email. I kept wasting time until finally I could let myself leave for work. I was still 5 minutes early. And let's face it, I don't need to give that library any more of my own time than I already do. I guess I need to learn to get ready more slowly, and really that's what this goal is all about: slow down and enjoy life!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Resolutions

"Another fresh new year is here
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt and fear,
To love and laugh and give.

This bright new year is given me,
To live each day with zest.
To daily grow and try to be,
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity,
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!"

-- William Arthur Ward

I'm sure that getting in shape and losing weight is on the top ten lists of all time New Year's Resolutions. And since it has been my goal for over two years now to get in perfect shape, I don't know if it actually makes it on my list of resolutions. Can you wish to change something you are already working on? But of course, I vow to continue working out (seven hours a week) and eating well (1200 calories a day). I want this to be the year that I get to my goal weight. I plan to run a 10k, possibly in June. I want to wear a size 8 dress to Jennifer's wedding! It's a long road, but I have worked hard. I will continue to work hard; and I will come out even better and stronger than ever!

Happy New Year!