W2 R2: round and round we go

Rest day yesterday was a nice break especially since it was Monday.  I always found Monday's to be one of the hardest days to workout on so it was nice to not have to force myself.  When I got home from work my husband was in casual clothes and asked if I was running today.  He almost seemed a little disappointed when I told him it was my "off" day as he was planning to go with me.   I was a little surprised as he is not a big fan of just "running" but I appreciated the offer and having him for company.

When I got home we had the steak we planned on having Sunday, caught up on one of our favorite TV show then headed over to the track.  We live near a high school that has a great track with a fairly new surface that was meant for running on.  It is like running on a cloud compared to concrete sidewalks.

The sun was behind a bunch of angry looking clouds and the windy was blowing pretty hard but it was nice to get out there. 

I ran the 3km distance steady which felt really great to do!  I kept my heart rate in the prime zone between 160 and 175 going into the high 170s but it felt good and I just kept breathing through my nose to keep my heart rate below 180.

Ever wonder what it looks like when you just run a around a track a bunch of times...yup, you guessed it, it looks like a bunch of scribbles.  

W2 R1: Going the distance

My legs were still pretty sore from my last two runs but the schedule had me down for a 7km long slow run today. 

I decided to venture down to the beach path in Hamilton on the other side of the lift bridge.  The weather was perfect and the path wasn't too busy.  

From my Runtastic stats it looks like my 5th km was the best one based on time. I wasn't able to run the entire time and walked back most of the way after the halfway mark. I know with time and practice I will be able to run for longer distances so I am not sweating this, I am just happy I went the distance! 

I also took at least one stretching break along the way, again this session today is to begin getting into the habit of the longer runs and speed is the not main concern. 

The sun came out from time to time and the breeze was perfect.  Tomorrow is a rest day and I think my legs will be thankful for that.

I burned over 700 calories today so I know I am really going to enjoy my steak dinner tonight! 

W1 R2: Well THAT was better

I mapped out a 3km route before I left the house this morning for my solo run to continue with week 1 training.  I put my ear buds in, clipped on the belt for my water bottle holder (which I never used so I doubt I will bother with that again for the shorter runs) strapped on the chest strap and watch for my heart rate monitor, laced up the runners and out I went.  

I kept a close eye on my heart rate and practiced the run 10 walk 1 method.  Now, when I say "run" I what I really mean is a fast walk in a running motion, I am not really "running", I guess for me when I think about "running" it means ALL OUT, heart thumping and my lungs and legs burning.  As I continued down my street I noticed immediately that I was able to run for longer distances and I could actually breath through my nose which was helping my keep my heart rate down.  Thursday when I went out with the group I got caught up in "keeping up" with the others and maxed out my heart rate within the first few minutes and by doing that my body was freaking out and trying to tell me to slow down. 

I felt good on my route this morning, I felt in control of my breath and only stopped an extra time as I was climbing a slight hill and wanted to keep my heart rate under 175.  I surprised myself a little too in being able to maintain my pace and I guess with time my speed will improve as I get my level cardio up and I get my running legs back.  I was just really glad to see that there was some running memory there, I just need to remember that I need to go at my own pace.

Tomorrow is the long slow run which I find hilarious cause that's all I do is a slow run, tomorrow will just be more than twice as long.  I guess though, this is part of the mental training needed for the race. I remember reading some advice posted on Adena's blog, he said the first few weeks were actually more important as you were training your brain not your body (or something to that effect).  So for now, I will not worry about speed or pace, I will just focus on getting out there and going the distance. 

Week 1: Run 1 (if you can call it that)

Or What the %$&@ was I thinking?
Or "back of the pack".

Or "Oh my god I am going to throw-up in the store".

All of the above easily could have been the title for this blog but I I thought I would keep it short and sweet and to the point.  Tonight marked my first training run for the 1/2 marathon I signed up for, you know the one I have been talking about and of burying my head in the sand when I thought it about for the past 3 months.  I ended up signing up for the program offered at the running room to gear up for the race as I have NEVER completed any kind of running race before and after a talk with Adena one night, ended up registering for this run...why...how...how did I let this happen?  Oh well, my registration was submitted a LONG time ago and they already have my money so no turning back now! (Or so I am trying to tell myself). 

Anyway, besides this being my first training run for this race, this was actually my first real run outside, kinda ever.  Ya okay in booty camp last summer we did 20 minuets of cardio twice a week but this is totally different.  Plus I was in fairly good shape last summer after working out all winter long.
When I first arrived at the store there were already a lot of people there and most of whom looked like runners.  I noticed a few ladies that didn't look like typical runners, they were talking up at the front of the room and just assumed there were there for the running group.  I thought to myself, well okay if they are here no problem I can do this.  No sooner did this thought come to me did they get up and head out for their walk, I guess I should have looked at their t-shirt and noticed "walking room" not "running room".  The instructors went up to the front, did introductions etc and then to get an idea of what types of runners they had in the group they asked everyone who had already completed a 5km race to stand up.  I think there was one other person sitting and that's when I got nervous and figured I was going to be the last to make it back.

We made our way out the back door of the store and people where standing around for a minute and then everyone just sort of took off running.  We went down Cumberland, cut across the bike path (which is paved now and much better than the gravel that use to be there) went up Woodview and east on Rexway to Thornwood then I don't remember the next street that took us back to Woodview to connect back to Fairview back to the store.  It was a whopping 3km and it took me 26:16 and I burned 337 calories.  My max heart rate was 190 (which may have explained why I tasted metal in my mouth after and seriously thought I was going to throw up in the store in front of the 10 people that were still there) and according to my hrm I  was at 94% on average at 179.  I really have to slow that down.

Besides all the negative self talk I was giving to myself along the way I also had a couple more positive thoughts.  I figured there was one benefit to being at the back of the pack and when I say I was at the back of the pack I am by NO way exaggerating...I was last.  I realized that I have no where to go but up so to speak.  I also figured that tonight was a great night to take on this challenge as today is the last day I am 30 so I figured it will be the last day I spend out of shape.  I know magically over night I won't become some svelte model, but I am one run closer to getting back on my workout wagon.   I ended up walking quite a bit, I don't know if it was half though but it really doesn't matter.

I finally made my way back to the store and grabbed a copy of the training schedule.  I found Rick, the assistant store manager who I registered for this course with on the weekend and asked him quite frankly if it took me this amount of time to finish, is it REALLY possible to be able to run 21km in 16 weeks?!?  He was very kind and said that if I wanted to change my goal I should decide by weeks 4-6.  But he did say it is possible to run it, as long as I do the work.  I know doing the work is not the issue I can do the work, I proved that to myself last year. 
I got home and asked my husband "when I said I was signing up for a half marathon, why didn't you wheel me away from the computer?" I held back the tears (what can I say, I'm a "cryer") and I told him I could change to a 10 km program if I felt the 21 wasn't going to be possible.   But really, I think if I wimped out and reduced to the 10km now without really making the effort for the 21 I won't be satisfied with that.  He gave me a pep talk and told me he was proud of me for signing up and taking the course and sometimes that little extra motivation or support can really make the difference, especially when you're at the back of the pack.

who's that girl?

I KNOW I am not this girl anymore...                         But I don't feel like this girl anymore either...

 

I feel like I need to figure out who THIS girl is...and what makes her tick (and what will keep me committed to my healthy lifestyle)!

I think it's time for me to focus on activities that I enjoy doing because I really enjoy doing them, not because I "should" do them... it is time to break out the rollerblades ladies and gentlemen!

I also cancelled (again) my account with MFD since I really haven't used it in months.  The money is better spent at yoga.





getting back on track

I was away for about a week and half at the end of May, we travelled to Europe and I walked and walked and walked some more!  During my vacation I enjoyed myself and didn't worry too much about what we ate and drank, we also didn't go overboard so there wasn't anything to worry about.

As I didn't sign up for booty camp again, nor did my friend and fellow former recruit Ali so we decided we would begin working out together but on our terms and schedule.  We went last week and went again yesterday starting out with walking.  Last night we went about 3.5 km in about 40 minutes.  We both know this is not great, but we will improve with every walk.  

I found an app call Runtastic that tracks calories, time, distance pace, speed etc.  It is free and pretty cool so we can track and see the stats as we progress.

I really have to kick it into gear and hope my body remembers what it is like to run as I had been off due to an medical issue last month and basically had to stop ALL activity.  This was hard for me as I have never had to stop due to an issue with my body, usually when I stopped it was because I feel off the wagon, never because I "couldn't" work out.  I was supposed to run my first race on May 8 but wasn't able to and am just getting back to working out what will be my first face on June 18th.  It is a walk/run and will probably walk more than I would have but I am looking forward to the experience.

I have to start training for the 1/2 marathon that will be here before I know it! OMG

To get my eating back on track I whipped up the mango black bean salad for lunch this week. I love how good I feel when I am eating less animal protein and more vegetarian meals...bring on the beans!

has it really been this long

since I last posted?  A few things had been keeping me busy over the past month and a half. The Easter long weekend took us to Pennsylvania where I have family on my mother's side.  We drove down Thursday after work and got into town around 11:30.  Friday we took off to Virginia to attack the Cabela's store which was about an hour a fifteen from where we were staying.  I think this was the first time he has ever out shopped me.

Saturday we made our way into downtown Pittsburgh.  I recently became a big fan of the Penns while watching the HBO 24/7 Special they ran for the build up of the Winter Classic, which is the outdoor hockey game they play on New Year's Day.  I figured since we were going to be so close by it was the perfect opportunity to go and buy something from the Arena.  On Friday we learned the Penns were playing Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at HOME at NOON! 

We made our way into the city through the tunnel and parked across from the arena.  The vibe was awesome with so much excitement in the air.  We didn't have tickets but thought it would be great just to be there during the playoffs.  I ended up getting Marc-Andre Fleury's jersey.  For those of you who don't know, he is their main goalie and happens to be Canadian (along with about 50% of the rest of their guys lol).  The game was about to start in 10 minutes so we thought we would just walk around as far in the arena as we could get without tickets, just to check out the place.  We passed an older lady working in front of the ticket booths and she asked us if we had tickets we just laughed, being from Toronto where the tickets are hundreds and hundreds of dollars a piece to see the Leafs and none are ever available we just assumed they were sold out.  She said to us "you're right here, why don't you just ask and see?" and we were SO glad we did!  We ended up getting two tickets in the lower bowl in section 110. 

It was incredible, we just laughed and laughed that we actually got two tickets together for a playoff game when we knew that NEVER would happened back home.  It was extra special for me, since it was the first time I had been to an NHL game and it was for my new favorite team, during the playoffs in their new house!   I was like a kid in a candy store running to my seat as I could hear the intro music the Penns start every game with.  Unfortunately they lost the game but all in all, an amazing day.




***

Since the beginning of May, I have not been able to work out but I am pretty much good to go now and look forward to getting back on the work-out wagon. 

I just got back from spending my 5th anniversary in Europe where we walked and walked and walked and walked but it was an amazing trip with lots of sight seeing and lots of just experiencing life overseas.  It was our first time making the trip across the pond and I loved every minute of it.  Today and yesterday has just been time spent getting rebalanced with the time change, but tomorrow will bring exercise back to the forefront.