Sometimes you need to take a step backwards in order to move foreward...

This week didn't turn out anything like it was suppose to.  Thursday I got food poisoning and threw up at work.  YUCK!  I missed my walk that day.  Friday I did my workout and then realized it was wrong.  I was actually doing the workout for NEXT Friday.  I thought it was a big jump in minutes...but didn't check until after I got back home.  Saturday I didn't know what to do with myself, so went out to dinner and had a wonderful blue cheese burger and fries.  And yes - I skipped my workout that day.  Today I decided my best course of action was to go back and do the minutes I was suppose to have done on Friday.  It was really difficult.  Of course I ran early in the day and didn't eat enough.  I was breathing so hard part way through that I scared HotRod with the loud noise!  But...I made it through week 2 and still feel like I am doing the right thing for myself.  My knees still feel pretty good - except those pesky little kneecaps that don't track properly making going up and down stair a bit of a painful experience.  Best bet...don't go up and down stairs.  Wanna bet Merril calls me a whiney ass again? :-o

2 weeks down, 6 to go.  Problem is my first 5k is only 4 weeks away....

Somehow I got it all wrong...

Week 2 / Day 5.  What I transcribed onto my schedule was run 6 minutes/walk 1 minute x6, then run 2 minutes.  It seemed like a big jump in minutes...but I didn't take the time to verify.  I ran that schedule tonight - it was hard but not all that bad.  I just logged onto Runners's World to see what it should have been today and tomorrow.  Uh Oh!  It was only suppose to be run 4 minutes/walk 1 minute x6.  Now what do I do?  I just just jumped ahead to Friday of next week.  Stay tuned...no telling where I go from here.

Who's Zoomin Who?

Basically that's all I heard last night.  With HotRod attached at my waist everyone - and I do mean everyone - wanted to know who was walking whom?  Toward the latter part of the walk/run workout HotRod was doing most of the work pulling me along.  But that's not really cheating is it?  I tried to get a picture of us "in harness" but HotRod wanted nothing to do with the camera.  Gracie, OTOH, kept jumping into the shot.  She's the lovely blur in the foreground.

Last night was run 3 minutes/walk 1 minute x 6, and then run a final 2 minutes.  The hardest part was minute 2 of the 3 minute run.  Not quite sure why that is.  Today my knees are a bit more sore, so not sure how I will do when I have to move up to 6 minute runs on Friday.  I may have to back off just a bit, but hopefully not too much.  Today it is my patellar tendons that hurt, and that hasn't been a problem in a very long time.  I may try a brace, or just see if I can work through it with ice and stretching. 

We did have a less than fun adventure as some Dick Head of a Yahoo decided it would be fun to scare us.  He swerved as if he was going to run us into the ditch.  At that point HotRod was already standing in the ditch sniffing and I was on the very edge.  This yahoo swerves to the point where his tires were right on the edge as well.  Of course I jumped into the ditch and he tore off squealing tires and laughing his butt off I'm sure.  The windows were too dirty for me to see the driver and I had my old glasses on so could not read the license plate.  I WILL recognize the truck when I see it again!!!!!  This is why I don't listen to music on my walks...there is no shoulder for most of the way and there are enough people who think it's fun to scare you.  I need to be able to hear them coming up behind us.  Luckily the one last night was coming from the front.

Just another day in non-couch potato land...maybe I should just stay where it is a little safer?

People who say they have more energy are liars!

All my life I have heard people exclaim about how much more energy they have once they get in better shape and how they sleep so much better...I say these people are liars!  I just feel more tired and I have never slept well...ever.  What's up with that?  Even when I was on school sports teams and working out hard every day I didn't feel more energized, and I have no clue what it feels like to wake up refreshed.  I sure would love to know that feeling!

Last night was a "walk only" night, so I took my older dog, who recently had surgery, out with us.  Gracie did fantastic and trotted the whole way.  Now that makes me happy and energized!

Week 2 / Day 1

Things start to get a bit more serious this week.  I go from running 2 minutes/walking 1 repeated 10 times Monday, to running 6 minutes/walking 1 minute repeated 6 times, then running 2 more minutes by Friday.  Sunday is a day of rest every week.  Yay!

W2/D1 (week 2/day 1) went pretty well last night.  I was huffing & puffing by about rep 7 or 8, but nothing hurt.    The most exciting part - at least to me - is that more running means more eating!  I found out last week that I really do have to eat more, especially in the late afternoon if I want to be able to accomplish what I have set out for myself.  I had started healthier eating habits earlier this year, so that is a big help too.  I am eating the right kinds of foods at the right time of day to fuel the machine.

I'm still digging the new sports bra and fancy running shoes.  I did have to add a second sock on my left foot in order for it to fit the way I like, but that was easy enough to do.

I have attached HotRod to my waist now, and it is taking him a while to get used to it.  He has found that it is not nearly as easy to go pee on something when he has to move me to do it.  It is much easier on me since I have both hands free to run - but can still grab him quickly and easily should that be necessary.  You can get "real" skijoring equipment to make this set up work, but I just use the shoulder strap from an old duffle or camera bag around my waist and it works just fine. 

Below is a link to skijoring equipment for anyone who is interested in the set-up.
http://www.ultrapaws.com/skijorin_sizing.asp

How to tie your shoes...

Did you know there is a right way and a wrong way to tie your shoes?  All this time I have been doing it wrong!  Wonder if it will make any difference?  I'll try it out and let you know.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-319--13001-0,00.html

Glory Dayz

I was going through some old photos the other day and came upon some shots of me when I was actually fit and healthy at age 18.  I know I will never look like that again - and in the case of my hair in the volleyball pic that is a very good thing.  It does give me something to shoot for though.  I still remember the time some woman turned to my Mom at a volleyball game and asked "Who is that girl with the skinny legs and big boobs?"  All my Mom could say was "Um, that's my daughter"...

Tonight starts Week 2 of my training program.  Run 2 minutes/Walk 1 minute x 10.  I am looking forward to it.  Hopefully HotRod will be able to go with me.  Gracie opened up the pantry last night and they both ate some stuff they should not have eaten.  Gracie has a cast iron stomach so nothing throws her off her feed, but poor HotRod was not feeling at all well this morning. 



I so remember the feeling of crossing the finish line first.  I wish I could bottle it and take the feeling with me every day.

Day 4 vs. Day 5 - Night and Day

Day 4 was a run/walk day, and I felt awful.  The temperature was in the 90's and I had not hydrated well enough during the afternoon.  I also had on brand new running shoes. While they feel pretty good the left shoe is just a little loose around the heel.  Of course that foot is attached to the leg with the bad knee.  I mostly just felt tired and sweaty.  No two workouts are the same, thankfully, and day 5 turned out MUCH better.  I ate more - hurray for splurge day - and drank a lot more water.  I actually felt pretty good when I was finished.  Not sure how I will do today (day 7), but I am going in thinking I will feel good and comfortable.  I know HotRod (my 3 year old whippet) is really digging the increased pace of our daily outings.  

This is me last Sunday with my friend Dawn, who had just finished the Danskin Triathlon in Seattle.  It was an incredibly inspiring day and I hope to be a participant very soon...not just a bystander and cheerleader.

This is how HotRod REALLY likes to run, but no way I can keep up with that!

Is it wrong to love a bra?

I am in love with my new sports bra & I am not ashamed to say it out loud. Thanks to my friend Dawn, I now own the "Big E" as she and other friends call it. The Enell Sport. This thing is nothing short of miraculous in it's technology and architecture. It aint pretty, but for the first time since I was 12 years old I can run without all the bouncing and swinging just under my chin. The girls are held tightly, but I don't feel like an encased sausage. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. So now all I have to worry about are those pesky knees, and my lower back, and my feet, and...well you get the picture.

How I got to this place in my life...

Once upon a time I was a jockette - when I wasn't playing sports I was watching sports. It didn't hurt to grow up with 4 hyper-competitive brothers and my one sister. I was even named Most Athletic Female in my Senior Class in High School. I was fearsome when I competed, and just a little TOO competitive. (or so I'm told). Then the knees start to hurt and a few surgeries later you don't participate anymore. Heck, I don't even watch much anymore, except a little college volleyball, football, & track. You can see me in the red uniform in the photo.  Don't you just love those uniforms?  NOT!

In my mid-40's I started competing in racing and lure coursing with my whippets, where I often found myself huffing and puffing to and from the track. No fun and just a tad embarrassing. But I love it, so something had to give.

In January 2009 I started thinking about thinking about getting healthy. I had good friends running half marathons and doing triathlons. It exhausts me just to think about getting in that kind of shape - but deep down knew I could if I just put my mind, and competitive nature, to the task.

Well...I have 6 months to get in shape before my 50th Birthday, and I have taken some bold steps to get there. I bought myself an iron bra and some fancy schmancy new running shoes, and most exciting of all signed up for my first 5k race at the end of September.

Wish me luck - my goal is to run a 1/2 marathon by that birthday in February 2010.