Yes. I ran 3.4 miles this lovely Saturday morning. I feel so good about today's run. I finished in just over 34 minutes. That is slow by most standards, but it was an incredible pace for me. I can't believe I'm actually becoming a runner.
I don't really have much else to blog about; I'm just still on my runner's high from this morning, and wanted to get it in my blog!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
First Group Run
This morning I had my first group run with Team in Training. It was awesome. We did a two mile run. That's a little less than what I usually do on the treadmill, but it's a whole different world outside, because outside includes (1) hills and (2) temperatures of 25˚F (-4˚C). Now, that may not seem very cold to some folks who live up north; but I am a southern girl (reverse that concept if you're one of my Brazilian friends!). If the temperature drops below around 67˚F (19˚C), I'm putting on a jacket.
The cold air was pretty hard on my lungs at first, but it got easier as my body warmed up. In fact, abuout three-quarters of the way through, I had to take off my long-sleeved overshirt (good thing I wore layers!). The really tough thing was not being able to control the hills.
On the treadmill, if I set the incline to a hill, I can reduce it when it starts to get too tough; but Earth doesn't have an incline button. So, I had to take a walk break about halfway up most of the hills in today's run. One of the team captains said that today's run was actually really tough for a first run, so no one should feel bad about taking walk breaks.
I feel really good about my run today. I kept a good running pace during all of the flats and declines, and ran up about half of all the hills. What really surprised me was how short the run seemed. Had it been flatter, I think I could have run the entire distance with no walking, and gone another mile easily. I know that as I continue to train, the hills are going to become more manageable (they'll NEVER be easy).
The cold air was pretty hard on my lungs at first, but it got easier as my body warmed up. In fact, abuout three-quarters of the way through, I had to take off my long-sleeved overshirt (good thing I wore layers!). The really tough thing was not being able to control the hills.
On the treadmill, if I set the incline to a hill, I can reduce it when it starts to get too tough; but Earth doesn't have an incline button. So, I had to take a walk break about halfway up most of the hills in today's run. One of the team captains said that today's run was actually really tough for a first run, so no one should feel bad about taking walk breaks.
I feel really good about my run today. I kept a good running pace during all of the flats and declines, and ran up about half of all the hills. What really surprised me was how short the run seemed. Had it been flatter, I think I could have run the entire distance with no walking, and gone another mile easily. I know that as I continue to train, the hills are going to become more manageable (they'll NEVER be easy).
Friday, November 14, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
New Blog Weekly Segment
I stole this idea from another blog I read, Lindsey's Rantings, but I think I will have enough material to keep it up.
I am going to start a weekly blog entry called Wednesday Julia-isms. My daughter frequently says things that make me either 1) laugh out loud 2) scrunch my forehead and say "yeah. um, what?" or 3) fall into a deep philosophical musing. So I'm going to start jotting them down and sharing them here on my blog. I only regret that there have been so many in the past that have slipped through the cracks of my memory.
Tonight's Julia-ism:
Me: I wish I could go through a book as fast as you.
Julia: Yeah. When I'm reading a good book, one that I'm really interested in, someone could shoot me three times in the butt and it wouldn't distract me. I would just like look up, and say, "wait; what?"
I am going to start a weekly blog entry called Wednesday Julia-isms. My daughter frequently says things that make me either 1) laugh out loud 2) scrunch my forehead and say "yeah. um, what?" or 3) fall into a deep philosophical musing. So I'm going to start jotting them down and sharing them here on my blog. I only regret that there have been so many in the past that have slipped through the cracks of my memory.
Tonight's Julia-ism:
Me: I wish I could go through a book as fast as you.
Julia: Yeah. When I'm reading a good book, one that I'm really interested in, someone could shoot me three times in the butt and it wouldn't distract me. I would just like look up, and say, "wait; what?"
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Really, Really Tired
Whew. I did spin and strength training on Tuesday, yesterday, and today. My leg muscles are screaming. I am worn completely out. I'm so glad tomorrow is a rest day; I need it. Not much to report, just happy to be sticking with it; and very, very tired.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Good Evaluation!
I had my three month evaluation tonight, and I'm down three pounds, down 3% body fat, and down some inches all over (I don't remember the exact inches, but the measurements were all good). It's great to see some results after my hard work.
Three pounds doesn't sound like much, but I am fine with losing slow and steady. This is a life change for me, not a quick fix. It would do me no good at all to go on a miserable deprivation/starvation diet for a few months, lose all my weight quickly, and then go right back to my old way of eating. Not only does that not work in the long run, but it is also very unhealthy and hard on the body. It is much better for me to learn the habit of healthy eating, allow myself some mistakes, and train to become stronger and healthier. I'm the tortoise, not the hare.
I did strength training (legs and abs) and spinning class tonight after my eval. Burned 604 calories. It was a good workout.
Three pounds doesn't sound like much, but I am fine with losing slow and steady. This is a life change for me, not a quick fix. It would do me no good at all to go on a miserable deprivation/starvation diet for a few months, lose all my weight quickly, and then go right back to my old way of eating. Not only does that not work in the long run, but it is also very unhealthy and hard on the body. It is much better for me to learn the habit of healthy eating, allow myself some mistakes, and train to become stronger and healthier. I'm the tortoise, not the hare.I did strength training (legs and abs) and spinning class tonight after my eval. Burned 604 calories. It was a good workout.
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Half Marathon and Team in Training
Okay, first of all, let me just say that my cat is the cutest thing ever. I think he's comfortable here in his new home, don't you?
Anyway, I went for my registration meeting for Team in Training. I met the gentleman who will be my coach, and he has a great personality; he is a self-described "fitness nut" and has an excitement for running that is contagious. I definitely think he will be a great source of encouragement and motivation.
He advised me that since I've been running on the treadmill for a while now, to try to increase my speed just a little and to start using an incline of about 2%. This will make the outside runs easier to adjust to, and build my endurance so I'm not at square one at the first group run. Tomorrow is spinning class, so my next treadmill run will be Wednesday. I'll blog on how it goes with the new speed and incline.
A huge part of what I'm doing with Team in Training is raising funds to support research to find a cure for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma. These cancers take many innocent lives each year, many of them children. This is an incredibly important cause for me, and I hope that many of you will support me. My fundraising website is http://pages.teamintraining.org/tn/cmc09/nperson. Please visit this site and share it with those you know. Every dollar counts.
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