Steamy Shower

You know how it feels when you walk into the bathroom when someone is taking a ridiculously long, hot, steamy shower? You know, that almost breathless feeling because it's soooo humid and the air feels super thick? Well that was what came to mind when I opened the front door this morning for my run...ugh! When I stepped outside I could barely breathe. Not quite the weather I was hoping for. I think I could have handled it a bit better if rain would have poured down on me throughout the run, but no such luck. Anyway, you get the point. On to the run...

Well, when I was greeted with less than perfect running conditions I immediately thought to myself that there was NO WAY that I would ever make it through W8D1. I set my i-pod to play Carli's week 8 podcast anyway so I could have some new tunes to listen to and I started the warm-up (haha! As if I needed to warm-up in such sweltering conditions!).

When it was time to run, I did just that. Again, I was thinking I would never survive the whole 28 minutes. Throughout the run I set mini-goals. I'd say to myself, "If you can just make it to the end of the road, then you can stop." When I made it to the end of the road I'd say, "Now, if you can just make it to that mailbox, then you can stop." So you get the point. I did this multiple times and even slowed my pace 2 different times instead of completely stopping. And you know what? My little mental game worked (and the Rocky theme during the last portion certainly didn't hurt)! I completed W8D1 and even went above and beyond with an extra 3 minutes!!

I continue to amaze myself (and my husband too). On multiple occasions now I have overcome the seemingly impossible and pulled through! I'm sure you all have been doing the same in your own runs. We deserve to be proud of ourselves. I know I am.

I hope you all have a great week. Happy running!

In Need of a Run

I'm in need of a run.

I never thought I'd be saying that, but I really do feel like I need to go for a run. I feel a little stressed and I know that it would help to spend some time outside with my running shoes and i-pod. So I guess you could say that I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning's run! It's supposed to be my first week 8 run, but now that my sister's kids are out of school I have to take my youngins to her house before I head off to work. Translation: I have to leave earlier and therefore have less time for my run on Tuesdays unless I drag my behind out of bed even earlier. So we'll see what happens. I plan to do some sort of non-interval running, but can't guarantee that it will be quite as long as it's supposed to be. Such is life!

I know that I didn't post about it, but I actually did complete my run on Saturday. I got up and headed out around 6:50ish. It was my final week 7 (25 minute) run. I was tired from being up for several nights with a sick princess, but I did it anyways. When I returned home, I grabbed a quick shower, got packed up, and headed out of town for a weekend full of birthday/pool parties. And let me tell you, I'm worn out! There's something about traveling with little ones that just takes it out of you. Add to it the pool parties, junk food, and lack of sleep and you have the perfect recipe for exhaustion in my book. So if you were wondering why I haven't posted any sooner, now you know.

I'm working quite a bit more for the rest of June and most of July. I'm still planning to run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and either Saturday or Sunday (maybe both depending on the week and how I'm feeling). I'll do my best to keep you posted on my progress. I hope you'll do the same.

Happy running!

You Did What?... Seriously?

Yep, seriously. I got up as promised this morning and did my W7D2 run+. What's the "+" for? Well, I did the 25 minutes of running that was scheduled plus I continued to jog through the five minute cool down! I know, crazy. Right?!? I'm shocked and amazed too.

My alarm rang as usual. I laid in bed for another two or three minutes trying to wake up some more. Then I got up and got ready. Over the last few runs I have changed my routine a little bit. Instead of drinking some water while I get ready I've switched to juice. This morning it was raspberry/cranberry. Yum! I don't know if it's just a mental thing or if it really makes a difference, but I seem to feel better with a few calories on board while I'm out there.

I hadn't planned on running the extra time this morning, but at the end of the run Cari comes on to give you a one minute warning and to encourage you to "push it" through the last little bit. I didn't sprint or anything but I definitely widened my stride and picked up the pace a little. Once the minute was over I didn't feel like I should just slow immediately to a walk, so I dropped back to my original pace. After a few minutes I slowed a bit more, but continued to jog. Before I knew it the cool down phase was over! I had just completed 30 minutes of jogging without walking a single step! This is big stuff people. I haven't done that in years!

If I can do this I know that you all can too! Keep up the good/hard work. Happy running!!

W7D1 or W6D3 Repeater?

Either way you look at it, I nailed it!! 25 minutes of continuous running two days in a row...holy moly!! Today proves that yesterday's run wasn't just a fluke (thank goodness). I really can do this! Wow!

I finally clocked my run today. I tried to do it on the Google Map Pedometer site (which is really cool, by the way) that someone on the C25K Facebook page linked to, but apparently I live just a little too far into "the country" to get an accurate assessment. So this afternoon I hopped in the car and drove the route. Turns out that I'm running somewhere between 2.3-2.4 miles in 25 minutes. This is better than I thought. There's certainly room for improvement, but at this point I'm just happy to have completed 25 minutes (TWICE!!!).

Hope you all are continuing to do well. Keep me posted on your progress.

Happy running!

Walking on Sunshine

Remember the song Walking on Sunshine from the 80's? You know the one that goes something like this:

I'm walking on sunshine...whoa,
I'm walking on sunshine...whoa,
I'm walking on sunshine...whoa, and it's time to feel good!
Hey, all right now, it's time to feel good...yeah, oh yeah.
And it's time to feel good!

That song fit my run today for a couple of reasons. Much to my dismay when I first walked out the door this morning it felt like summer had already arrived. It was hot and humid at 7am...yuck! I did my 5 minute warm-up, took a couple of minutes to stretch, and I started in on the run. Right off the bat it felt like I was running on sunshine (quite literally). It was so stinking hot that I must have been running on the sun or really close to it.

Secondly, that was the final song that played during my cool-down today following the 25 minute run (non-stop, I might add)! And, man was it a great song to end on! That's exactly how I felt. I had just completed my first 25 minutes of continuous running and I was soooo proud!! I felt like I was beaming and walking on sunshine.

Overall, the run went well today. I think that stretching after warming up helped to loosen my muscles for the running portion (thanks for the advice Theresa). Carli from www.runningintoshape.com kept me motivated with some good tunes and encouragement at the 5 minute mark, halfway through, with 5 minutes to go, and at the final minute. I kept my thoughts pretty positive and when I felt like I needed a break I changed my pace from tortoise to snail. After a minute or two at that pace I'd kick it back up and continue at my regular, slower than slow pace (do you get the picture...I run SLOW!). It worked. I finished the entire thing without any walking.

Good-bye week 6, you've been good to me but I'm moving on!

FYI for those of you who listen to Carli's podcasts--I found it easier to use the week 7 music for W6D3 because it doesn't have all of the interruptions that are necessary for W6D1&2.

Happy running!!

Ups and Downs

Isn't it funny how one day you can complete a run and feel so great and the next day you finish and want to hang your head?!? What's up with that? After my run on Tuesday nothing could bring me down. I was in the zone and feeling stellar. When I got home I showered, got the kids dressed and on their way with my super, amazing sister/babysitter. That left me with some time to unload/reload the dishwasher, clean up the kitchen, and even do some dinner prep. Then at 9am I was out the door and headed to work. Talk about productive.

On the other hand there was yesterday's run. I completed it as per the program (jogged when I was supposed to, walked when I was supposed to, and didn't stray from it at all). I had some moments when I thought maybe I wouldn't complete it, but I DID! I did it just like I was supposed to but yet for some reason that wasn't enough. I was overly focused on future runs and whether or not I thought I could complete those. Sure, I may have felt rough in the moment but it wasn't like I was supposed to run an additional 25 minutes from that point in time. All I needed to do was put one foot in front of the other and finish the task at hand (which only amounted to several minutes longer).

Long story short, there will be ups and downs as I go through this journey and even after I complete it. So what! I need to put the "downs" behind me and move forward. The past is just that...the PAST! Instead of focusing on what I think I can't do I will do my best to concentrate on all of the great things I have done and will do. Overall, I have made great progress and feel fantastic about all of my accomplishments. I feel more confident in my personal life too. I may not have lost a bunch of weight, but I'm actually feeling pretty good about myself again. That alone is worth a ton!

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." --Eleanor Roosevelt

Let's have fun and keep going! Happy running!

Rough Start

Today got off to a rough start. My little man woke up at 4am wanting an escort to the bathroom (I forgot to leave the night light on for him). It felt like it took me FOREVER to get back to sleep. Then around 5am the little princess awoke from her slumber in an all out cry. Not sure what that was about. Thankfully my hubby attended to her. And wouldn't you just know it, my alarm rang right on time at 6:14am. Two minutes later I slid out of bed in order to get ready for W6D2. Just as I got all of my clothes off (figures she'd wait until the un-perfect moment) the little princess started yelling again. In a fury I tossed some clothes on and went to see what the deal was. Apparently she was just ready to be up for the day. I carried her back into the bathroom with me and did my best to keep her entertained as I finished getting ready. I was trying to be a good wife and let my husband get as much sleep as possible before he had to get up for work.

I headed out the door a little later than usual, but no big deal. I still had plenty of time to get my run in before Mr. Man had to leave for the office. I did a bit of positive self talk and sang a little during the warm up. Thankfully no one was around to hear my dreadful voice. Then I was off for the first of my two ten minute jogs. Typically I feel pretty good during the first segment, but there's something about trying to get started again after a walk interval. It's like I'm OK for the first few minutes after I start jogging again, but after that it's a struggle to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I fall into a pit of negativity and start doubting that I can make it through without walking again. Once I push through it and Carli tells me that my run is done for the day I feel good again and as if I could go a bit longer. It's totally mental, I know, but I'm having a hard time breaking this cycle. I try to concentrate on the positive or just get lost in the music, but I find that it's getting harder to do that. Anyone have the same issue?

It probably doesn't help that I looked ahead last night and realized that weeks 7-9 are continuous runs without any walking. To be honest that scared me. I don't feel ready for it. I'm planning to give W6D3 (25 minutes without walking) a whirl on Saturday but I'm not feeling overly confident about it. Hopefully I can get some rest in the next few days and go into it with plenty of energy and a positive attitude. Until then I won't fret. I'll go about my routine and keep my chin up.

How have you been feeling? Leave me a comment and let me know how things are going for you. I look forward to hearing from you. Happy running!

W6D1 Complete

It's official. Getting up early and starting my day with C25K is the way to go. I was up-and-at-'em at 6:15 this morning. I donned my running gear, took time for a decent little stretch, and off I went. Today's jogging intervals were 5min-8min-5min with 3min of walking in between each interval. Not too bad. I know I've said it before, but I think that taking the time to wake up and stretch a little before taking off has it's benefits. I've found that it makes me feel more awake and alive when I get started. Not to say that I don't have my moments from time to time where I need to refocus myself and my energy, because I do. Thank goodness for Carli and her podcast though (www.runningintoshape.com). She really helps motivate me and keeps me on track.

When I left the house it was ever so slightly cool outside (again, I'm really doing my best to enjoy it before it becomes completely hot/humid, aka-miserable, around the clock). It was also pretty foggy. Because of that I stuck closer to home just to be a little safer. Overall, I felt pretty good throughout the intervals. I struggled just a bit near the end of the 8 minute section. I think that it's because I was focusing a bit too much on time. I tried to let that go and just enjoy the music in order to finish strong. Goal accomplished. Yet another day behind me. I returned home to my hubby, who is oh-so-proud that I'm actually sticking to this, and my happy-to-see-me smiley faced toddler. What could be better?!?

I already have my alarm set and clothes out for W6D2 tomorrow. Because of my work schedule for June, my running schedule is going to be less than ideal. My plan is to run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I'm not crazy about taking two days in a row off, but that's just how it's going to have to be for now. I won't let that stop me though. I will power through and do my best to stick with the program. I wish you all the best as you do the same. We CAN do this!!!

Victory!!

It's a small victory for me, but nonetheless I'm proud of myself! I completed the baby monster (W5D3) this morning without walking! I finally crawled out of bed at 6:50 this morning after a little snuggle time with my alarm clock (aka-my daughter). I took my time getting ready this morning and even took a few minutes for a good stretch. Let me tell you, it was nice having a little extra time to wake up a bit before heading out. During the week I basically roll out of bed, get dressed, brush my teeth, and head out the door. I love my sleep, but I'm definitely going to have to consider getting up just a few minutes earlier during the week for a little extra wake up time. I really think it made a positive difference.

Anyway, on to the run...During my 5 minute warm up I really focused on keeping my thoughts positive and taking some really deep breaths to fill and open up my lungs. As I started the run I felt pretty good. I noticed that it was a little warmer and more humid than my morning runs have been up to this point, but I wasn't about to let that bother me. Somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes into it my thoughts started to veer to the negative side. I started thinking too much about my breathing and how my mouth was feeling really dry, despite the gum I was chewing. Then I noticed that my knees were hurting ever so slightly. So I told myself something similar to what I saw someone write on the C25K Facebook page: "Your legs haven't fallen off yet and you haven't coughed up or lost a lung. You're doing fine and YOU CAN DO THIS!!" I realized that I really didn't have that far to go and I just needed to suck it up. I changed the channel in my brain and left the whiny attitude behind.

During the last little stretch I saw my neighbor jogging up his driveway and out of the woods. That was all I needed to kick myself in gear. Suddenly I started to move a little faster and my form improved. It's funny how simply seeing other people out and about is enough to make you step it up a notch. I finished strong and felt really good about it. Obviously I had my moments, but overall I think I did well. I honestly haven't looked ahead to see what week 6 entails. Maybe I'll check that out today. Either way, I know that I can handle it!!

Getting Ready for the Baby Monster

So tomorrow's the big day...my first time (in years) to run 20 minutes without stopping! Notice I said "to run" not "attempt to run." I plan to attack it and not look back. I must admit though, I am a little nervous. Due to my work schedule I have had 2 days off. I'm not too sure how this is going to affect me. I'm hoping it works out to be a good thing. Nonetheless I'm moving forward.

I plan to get my clothes out and ready, i-pod set, shoes and knee brace by the door, and take off shortly after waking up. Chances are this will be sometime before 7am. My daughter makes a wonderful alarm clock and she seems to be waking up earlier everyday (today it was 6:15 as I was preparing to take off for work).

I will be back to let you know how it went. Until then, I'm off to prepare and then get some much needed rest. Happy resting and running!

Repeater

There's something so refreshing about an early morning run when it's cool outside. Today it was somewhere in the mid 60's and it was wonderful. The 60's are probably my favorite temps for exercising outside. I'm dreading the day when it's in the upper 70's and 80's when I wake up. Blah! Unfortunately, I know that it's coming all too soon. As for now I won't dwell on that, I'll just enjoy this lovely weather while it lasts!

This morning I started the 5 minute warm-up walk still not knowing whether I was going to repeat the three 5 minute jogs or if I was going to push it and go for the two 8 minute jogs. It wasn't until Carli (from the www.runningintoshape.com podcasts--by the way, I love these!) came on my i-pod and said that it was time for the D1 folks to slow down for the 3 minute recovery, that I finally decided to go for the 8 minute intervals. My body felt decent and my head wasn't nearly as heavy as it was yesterday so I decided to just go for it. I figured that it would be good practice before my 20 minute monster on Saturday. And you know what? I did it, no sweat (well, maybe a little sweat, but no hardships)!

Now I get to rest for 2 whole days before (dum-dum-dum) a full 20 minutes without stopping. Who am I kidding? I may not be running, but I certainly won't be resting. I'll be working for the next two days (10 hours each), plus taking care of the children, keeping up with the household chores, and nursing a sick hubby. Life continues outside of my new little world of jogging...and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Hopefully I'll be back on Saturday to let you know how awesome I was and how great I felt. If you don't hear from me by Monday, please send someone out to find me! ;-)

Heavy Headed

I went out for another early morning run this morning. I was out the door by 6:35am. In some ways it's tough leaving when the entire house is still all tucked comfortably into their beds, snoozing away. In other ways it's kind of nice; no children to tend to, no breakfast to prepare, no one tugging at my pants and crying for me to stay. Today it was on the tougher side to leave. I was soooo sleepy. My head felt heavy as I put my shoes on and set out. My eyelids felt like they had sandbags on them attempting to push them shut. It was such a struggle to keep them open. If I hadn't been afraid of making too much noise I might have gone back in the house to scrounge up a few toothpicks to prop them open.

Oh well, it was too late for that. I was already out and had locked the door behind me. So onward I went. Today was W5D2 (8min jog, 5min walk x2). My body felt good as I ran, if only my head and eyes could have perked up. It would have been glorious. The air was cool and it was a beautiful morning to be out. I finished both intervals without any trouble. I kind of liked the fact that today's schedule only had two intervals of jogging. It seemed easier for my mind to overcome just two rounds of running vs. having to stop and start 3 or4 times. I'm still a bit nervous about this weekend's 20 minutes of continuous running. I'm going to try to play some little mind games to convince myself that it's just 1 little run. I can do it! This is what I've been working towards.

I still plan to repeat D1 or D2 depending on my mood tomorrow. That will provide me with another chance to boost my self-esteem before taking "the big one" head on. Wish me luck.

Holy Humidity!

My husband went out of town for a fun weekend with some of his guy friends this past weekend. While he was away my daughter got sick, ran a fever, refused to sleep, and was extra clingy. Figures! So when my hubby returned and it came time for me to tackle W5D1 I was prepared with a whole new artillery of excuses. I informed my husband of the rough weekend that he missed out on and pretty much listed each and every reason why I was just too tired to jog. He totally understood. He seemed to be in agreement with me and backing my decision to just stay home and rest. I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason I decided to overcome my exhaustion and put my running shoes on. At 5:30pm I headed out the door into the ridiculous heat and humidity of the evening.

The first 5 minute interval was surprisingly easy. I was expecting it to be miserable and figured I'd never get through it, but quite the opposite. I actually felt pretty good and like I could have kept going. I didn't though. I listened to the prompts and walked as instructed. The next two jogs were each slightly harder than each one before it, but overall it wasn't so bad. I totally impressed myself and finished the run in pretty good shape. Go me!!

W5D1 down. Only a few more to go and week 5 will be in the dust! I'm going to do D2 tomorrow morning before work. Then I think I'll either repeat D1 or D2 on Wednesday morning (just depending how I feel) and move on to the big 2o minute run from D3 on Saturday after I've had 2 days to rest. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it!! Happy running!

Week 4 Down

I got up early again this morning for my fourth and final week 4 run. I did it! Week 4 is behind me. Again, the hardest part was physically getting out of bed. Once I was out the door I was set. The first 3 minute jog-no problem. The first 5minute jog-not too bad. The recovery after the 5 minutes didn't seem quite long enough, but I didn't skip a beat when the lady on my podcast told me it was time to pick the pace back up again for another 3 minutes. It wasn't super easy, but I managed. The final 5 minute jog-not too shabby. I knew I was almost done, so that kept me moving. I refused to let myself walk. It was only 5 minutes, I could do it. And guess what? I DID IT!

I've looked ahead and I'm fully aware of what's in store for me on week 5 and I'm a bit less than enthusiastic. I know that I can do it though. And if I don't? No biggie! There's always another day. It's not like the program has to be completed in a certain time frame. I'm doing this my own way and on my own timetable. (Note that I'm not only informing you, but also working to convince myself here.) So either way, wish me luck on my first attempt at a week 5 run.

As of now I plan to tackle W5D1 on Sunday. I'm giving myself a much deserved rest day. So it's off to bed for now to get the resting underway!

Up to Speed

Let me bring you up to speed on how I'm approaching this whole running thing and the Couch to 5K. As I've said several times now, I'm "loosely" following the C25K program and progressing at my own pace. I started on May 9th with week3 (Yes, I did say week 3). I did that same run again on the 10th, 12th, and 13th. Then on Saturday the 15th I walked/jogged to my own music without a podcast or watching the clock.

This week I decided to move on to week 4 and have completed it on the 16th, 18th, and again today with plans to do it again at least one more time this week. Hopefully by Sunday I'll be feeling well enough and confident in myself to move on to week 5. But we'll see how the rest of the week plays out.

That's been it up to this point. My work schedule is all over the place for the month of May so I haven't made a real schedule. I know that that's something I need to do in order to continue on this path. Otherwise I can see myself falling into my usual routine of putting things off for the perpetual tomorrow. So later today I plan to do just that. I think maybe I need to put it on the calendar so I have a visual and know what to expect each day and can check it off as I go (I love being able to check things off!).

As for additional types of workouts (ie-weight training, swimming, etc.) well, they're not in the plans for now. I'm totally focused on running. It's not to say that I won't do the occasional ab video with my husband (he's on his second round of P90X), but I don't want to put too much pressure on myself and end up stressing over it or giving up altogether (speaking from past experience here).

I'll keep you posted on my progress and my plans. For now, happy running!

My First Early Morning Run

On Monday night I decided that I would get up early in the morning so I could run before heading to work. I got my clothes out, my i-pod set to the right music, and my shoes by the door. I set my alarm for 6:22am (for some unexplainable reason I don't like to set my alarm to go off at "normal" times). I went to bed thinking positive thoughts about getting up in the morning to exercise, of all things.

Tuesday morning the alarm annoyed me right on schedule. Of course I hit the snooze button, which only buys me 4 minutes. After the 4 minutes it beckoned again. This time I turned it off, rested another minute or so and then I actually got out of bed! I proceeded to get ready and follow through with my plan to run. I was out the door at 6:35 and on my way.

As I've said before I'm loosely following the Couch to 5K program. I chose to run week 4. At first I was pretty sleepy, but was able to shake that off during the 5 minute warm-up. I jogged the first 3 minute run interval and felt pretty good. The air was a bit thick from the humidity, but I handled it. By time I got to the final 5 minute run I was feeling the effects of not getting enough sleep the night before. About half-way through it I walked for roughly 30 seconds and then picked the pace back up to finish.

Despite the brief unscheduled walk, I did it!! I completed my first early run! I was so proud of myself and felt pretty good all day. I was even happier with the fact that I didn't have to worry all day about when I would be able to sqeeze in my run. I will definitely be doing some more early runs. It may be tough to get out of bed and get going, but it was so worth the payoff in the end!

Just Getting Started

The title says it all...I'm just getting started. What it doesn't tell you is that I'm trying to start several things. Obviously I'm trying to get started with this whole blogging thing (we'll see how that goes). But what I'm really trying to focus on is RUNNING! I started running on Mother's Day and have decided that I want to continue and try to make a habit of it. I'm a busy mom of two and I work out of the house part-time, so it's going to be a challenge. I've decided to loosely follow the Couch to 5K program and progress as I see fit.

So why have I decided to start running, you ask? There are many reasons. The main reason is a common one: to lose weight and get into shape. My daughter was born almost 2 years ago, and although I'm only carrying about an extra 5-10 pounds it's just not the same. I'm much "softer" than I used to be and the weight distribution is quite a bit different than before. Quite frankly, I just don't like my body!

Another reason to run is because I'M TIRED!!! I'm constantly tired. I think that this is partly because I'm not working out and my eating habits have been out of control. I'm hoping that by taking some time to exercise and somewhat improve my food choices (note that you'll NEVER get me to give up all of my vices like sweets and diet coke) that I'll in turn gain some energy. I want to be able to keep up with my kids as they grow and I don't want to be a sideline mom. I plan to be involved with my children and their activities and I realize this will be easier if I'm in better shape.

Let me tell you though, I’ve always been an all or nothing kind of person (some would say I’m a bit of a type-A personality). For example if I wanted to go for a run but didn’t think that I could go out and run 2 miles without stopping then I figured it wasn’t even worth the effort. Granted, I knew that just simply walking the 2 miles or doing walk/jog intervals would burn calories and be beneficial to my health, but I still wouldn’t do it. If I couldn’t just go out and master it, then I wouldn’t even try. Silly, I know. It’s been a struggle for me to overcome such thinking. For quite some time now I’ve been trying to convince myself that doing something, no matter how small, is far better than doing nothing at all. So here I am to prove that this is true!

I must admit, I’ve always been moderately athletic and I’m embarrassed to think that I have lost so much of my talent/athleticism. I fear not being able to keep up with the program and therefore quitting before I’ve really given myself a chance to succeed. (Note to self: DO NOT GIVE UP!!! See this thing through.) I never used to be a quitter. Where did my mental toughness go, my love for a good challenge, and my desire to succeed at all things? Here's to hoping that all of those things return!!

So what it boils down to is that "I'm Just Getting Started!" Won't you follow along as I try to conquer this running thing?