Gettin' Serious

Time: 31 min. (Week 5)
Distance: 2.02 miles
Avg. Pace: 15:21/mi.

Walk with the boys
Distance: 1.13 miles

Today I was up and out of the house before 7 to do Day 1 of Week 5. It went okay. Not too bad. I didn't die.

Once I got home, I told the kids to hurry and get dressed, because I was planning to take them to our neighborhood park. Early in the morning is the only time we can go out, because it just gets too stinkin' hot to be outside in the afternoon. I wish we had a pool.

We ended up having to rush the three blocks home because Child #2 needed to poop. Sigh. After he took care of business, we walked BACK to the park. I kept them there til nearly 10. Once we came home, we were home for good.

And now onto the serious part. I have been doing pretty well with my exercise. Now it's time to get serious about my eating habits. I started today. My birthday is exactly seven months from now, and I'll be 36. I'd like to lose 36 pounds by my 36th birthday. That is about five pounds a month which is completely reasonable.

I'm not going to go to Weight Watchers, but since I have been a member in the past, I understand the process, and it is practical. I'll be using the WW lifestyle to keep track of what I eat. Today was a pretty great eating day.

I found a recipe in Cooking Light magazine for a Peach/Tomato salad. I would never have thought to cut up peaches, onions, and tomatoes and drizzle them with oil, vinegar, and honey! The recipe made eight servings, and I think I ate over half the bowl! It didn't matter because each serving was only one point.


Yummers!

I am also starting a three-week challenge to drink at least 64 ounces of water each day. That officially starts tomorrow. I think I got close today. No more sodas. Also, no more fake water. No flavor packets. No aspartame. Just clean, pure water. These two blogs are the creators of this challenge: ALL THE WEIGH and THE DAILY DIARY OF A WINNING LOSER. Both of these blogs are extremely inspiring.

Water, exercise, food. That seems to cover it. Getting serious.

Not Feeling It

Time: 30:46 min.
Distance: 2 miles
Avg. Pace: 15:22/mi.

I guess I am still feeling a bit sluggish from being sick. Or maybe I'm just tired. Or maybe I'm just lazy. Whatever the reason, I cut my run short this morning. That is something that I haven't done since I started running again five weeks ago. I hate that I did it, but I felt so weak out there.

In total, I got in a mile of running before deciding to skip the final 1/2 mile. I just walked until I hit the two mile mark and called it a morning.

I think I am going to move on to Week 5 in the program next week. The perfectionist part of me wants to finish Week 4 1/2 in a positive way (as opposed to how it ended this morning), but I have to get over the fact that not every run is going to be great...or even successful...or even finished! It's okay to move forward even if I didn't feel like I conquered the prior week. And by conquer, I mean finish, even if it is with super slow times.

On a positive note, I have stuck to my short sessions of weight training. I did my arms this morning.

We are going to go see Despicable Me today. My daycare provider is on vacation, so I am taking Child #2 and Child #1 (along with the rest of the summer school kids). He has never been to a movie before, so we'll see how he does. I am fully prepared to hang out in the lobby if he can't handle it, but I hope he enjoys the movie.

Walk

Time: 30 min.
Distance: 1.59 miles
Avg. Pace: 18:54/mi.

Easy, pleasant walk this morning. My throat is a bit scratchy. I'm hoping it's just congestion or allergies.

Not much else going on. We are smack in the middle of those lazy days of summer. Next week I am teaching summer school, so I'll be a bit busier. It will be good practice to see if I can still squeeze my workouts in in the morning. I hope so.

________________

Edit: I went to the doctor, and she confirmed that I have a sinus infection. I pretty much didn't move all day. Even reading was too much effort. Now I'm wondering if I should attempt my run in the morning. I've already got antibiotics running through my system, but I'm so wiped out. Maybe I'll take a rest day tomorrow and resume on Friday. Being sick sucks.

New Ring

Time: 37:29 min.
Distance: 2.55 miles
Avg. Pace: 14:41/mi.

I was sooooo tired this morning. It could't be helped though. I have very important tv to watch on Monday night so as to keep up with my celebrity gossip. It is terrible, but I am addicted to The Bachelorette and True Beauty, and just about anything reality or trashy. What can I say? It is mindless entertainment.

Anyhow, I was tired. I managed to get up one minute before my alarm went off. It was so tempting to get back in bed and forget running. But I didn't do that. I ran. I always think to myself, I'll never regret getting out there and exercising, but I'll probably regret NOT doing it.

Today's run was an improvement over Sunday. I love it when that happens. I went a smidge further and cut off about a minute of time.

Later this afternoon Child #1 and I drove to a childhood friend's ice cream shop. She has the cutest shop. It was fun because my mom and her friends were there, too. We had a great time talking and eating.

I also bought the cutest little ring while I was there. I think rings are going to be my new accessory fad. I wish I'd also bought the big orange flower ring. I just might need to go see Julie again very soon!


Isn't this cute?!

Fun day.

OW!!!

I dropped a five pound weight on my foot this morning. See? I knew I shouldn't be doing strength training! It is tender, and I'm sure there will be a bruise, but other than that I think I'm fine.

Time: 38:21 min.
Distance: 2.54 miles
Avg. Pace: 15:06/mi.

Week 4 1/2 of Couch to 5K. I followed the distances as opposed to the times for Week 4. It took me a while to finish, but that's okay. I just kept chugging along.

We were at a wedding last night. Granted, we were home by 8, but I was still tired this morning. I let myself sleep in an extra 20 minutes. Once I was up and out the door, it felt good to be moving. I just wish I could crawl back in bed right now. That won't be happening. My mom and sister will be here later for the 4th. I need to shop, cook, and clean.

Happy Fourth of July!

Better

Time: 34:56 min.
Distance: 2.25 miles
Avg. Pace: 15:33/mi.

This morning I ran three minutes and walked three minutes. Ran three minutes and walked three minutes. I did that until I got to two miles. Then I did my cool down walk and came home.

I wasn't following the Couch to 5K program, but was just doing my own thing. I want to build up to four days of running and two walking. I just finished Week 4 of Couch, but I am going to repeat Week 4 instead of moving on to Week 5.

This past week I followed the times (run 3, walk 90, run 5, walk 2 1/2, etc.). This week instead of following the times I am going to follow the distances. I can run 1/4 miles in 3 minutes. Did that consistently in today's run. However, I can't do a 5 minute 1/2 mile pace. My paces are somewhere in the 11 minute and change range.

I figure I'll follow this plan for the rest of the Couch program. First week follow times, and the second week follow distances. The 8-Week plan will turn into 12 weeks, and that's okay. I'm not going anywhere, and the roads aren't going anywhere. The Susan G. Komen race isn't until October, so I'm good. Last year I didn't start training until August, and I did fine.

I got back from my run and did five minutes of leg strength training. Oh how I hate strength training. However, I notice that my legs are pretty fatigued on my runs. I think having stronger muscles might help with that. I know five minutes isn't that long, but it's a start, and I'll build from there.

We are off to a wedding this afternoon. Looking forward to a long weekend.

Same Time, Same Distance

Time: 31:30
Distance: 2.17 miles
Avg. Pace: 14:30/mi.

My stats listed above are the exact same stats for Sunday's run. I compared the two runs, and there are slight differences in the individual walk/run segments, but overall, I was moving my body at the same speed as I was before. However, it somehow felt easier than Sunday. It definitely felt easier than running on the treadmill on Tuesday.

I wore one of my running skirts this morning. I like the way it fits, and I like how it looks. I slathered Body Glide on my thighs, so chafing wasn't on issue. The skirt didn't bunch up between my legs. But, there was a problem. The waistband slid down and the my shirt rode up leaving about two inches of my belly showing. Ewwww.

I spent quite a bit of time either trying to hike the waistband up or trying to yank the shirt down. I think that might have accounted for some of my slower run segments. Not easy yanking and tugging while trying to run.

I HATE having my belly showing. I felt like I did when I was pregnant, and I was constantly worried that the stretchy panel in my pants was showing. I was always telling my husband to tell me if the panel was showing so I could yank my shirt down.

By the end of the run I just had to let it be. Of course, normally I see NO ONE at 6 a.m., and today I must have seen 20 people out running, walking and driving. Where is everyone going at 6:17 in the morning?

Short of pinning my shirt to my skirt, I'm not sure what to do about this little wardrobe issue. Maybe I'm just self conscious about it because I don't exactly have a flat stomach.

On a happier note, it was a glorious 60 degrees out this morning! Yahoo! It felt so good to be out in the cool, fresh, nippy air. It is still supposed to get into the 90's this afternoon, but that's okay. I plan to be indoors when that happens.


Non-running related photo of my boys and their blankets. They aren't even aware of me. Probably watching SpongeBob. Good thing they are such active little buggers during the day.