Monthly Archive for March, 2010

We’ve Got It Goin’ On

Published on March 16, 2010 in Exercise and Health/Wellness. 2 Comments

Sickness that is. From pink eye to colds, we are bacteria central around here. I hope we are on the downhill side of these sicknesses though. It seems like we’ve gotten back-to-back creeping crud at our house.

Last week, I ran on Monday but didn’t get any running in for the rest of the week due to lack of time and not feeling well. So today I decided to dive right back in. Instead of doing week 6 again, I decided to go headlong into week 7, which is running 2.5 miles without stopping. Let me tell you something: it totally kicked my high-knee. After not running for a week straight, I really felt it today. I had to stop after mile 1 for about 20 seconds or so. Then I ran the rest without stopping. In all, my total running time for 2.5 miles was 28:53. Not exactly Flash Jordan but considering I took a week off I guess it’s not too bad. What’s really exciting is that I shaved 13 seconds off my first mile! That last half mile was pretty tough though. I kicked into survival mode. Not the kind of survival mode where you have to start eating bark off  a tree but the kind where you know what you’re doing is really hard but you know it can’t last forever so you just put one foot in front of another. But I made it! I just have to do this two more times this week…ack!

How is everyone doing with their running? I just want to give a shout out to my friend, Cara, who completed week 4 day 1 today and she survived! Go Cara!!! :) Wherever you are with your training, keep it up! It does get easier and you get better at it!

Some Things I’ve Learned

Published on March 8, 2010 in Exercise and Health/Wellness. 3 Comments

Since diving headlong into the whole running scene, I figured I’d post a few things I’ve learned/experienced so far. Keep in mind, though, that this is nothing earth shattering, just some interesting bits of info on yours truly.

1. The first thing is that since beginning running (or just working out more consistently in general), I have noticed my sleep at night is better. I wake up more refreshed in the morning. It also doesn’t take me as long to fall asleep and I don’t wake up in the middle of the night. Not that I woke up in the middle of the night that often before, but now when I crash, I crash hard. It’s great!

2. The second thing I’ve noticed is that my recovery time after a workout has improved significantly. Today after I ran, it didn’t take hardly any time to bring my heart rate down. Not only that, I wasn’t utterly exhausted when I was done. That’s pretty neat!

3. The third thing I’ve noticed physically is that my endurance is improving. When I was running today, I was able to keep up without feeling like I needed to gasp for air. My legs were getting pretty sore, but I really felt like I could keep going. In fact, I did! I was supposed to run 20 minutes today (day 3 of week 5; I was a day behind and will start week 6 tomorrow). Instead of running 20 minutes, I just tacked on another 5 minutes at the end. And you know what? It was great!

4. I am beginning to realize that I really like running. This factoid is earth shattering, at least in my book. I never, ever, ever, in my life thought I would ever say that. I mean, why would someone want to run voluntarily unless a gun was held up to their head? I really think the key is starting out slowly and then working your way up. Like Elizabeth said in her post about setting goals, set little ones along the way instead of going for the big one, losing steam, and then giving up. It was overwhelming when I thought of running 3 miles a few weeks ago. Now, though, it seems totally doable. Just keep at it. One foot in front of the other. You can do it.

5. Another thing I’ve found (and this is probably a no-brainer) is that it is SO much easier to run with someone else! (Thank you, Cara!) To have someone there to talk to is a great encouragement and makes the time fly. I highly recommend a workout buddy! I don’t get to run with someone everyday but I’m sure thankful for those times when I get the opportunity!

I’m sure there will be things to add to this list as time goes on. I’m already looking at a 10k training schedule that looks doable (changing my rest days to Sunday). Keep going everyone! You can do it!

I Came, I Saw, I Got Intimidated, I Was a Wuss, but at Least I Ran

Published on March 1, 2010 in Exercise and Uncategorized. 3 Comments

Let me just say, Exercise really kicked me while I was down today. And again, I really don’t know how I ran those 2 miles before. I ran 1.5 miles total today following the training schedule and wow. It really wiped me out. It felt like it was the first time I ever ran. I was sucking air just wishing it were all over (the run that is; life isn’t that bad). I had a stitch in my side; my breathing went out the window; and it was just plain hard. I had visions of this slim and trim Lisa in a fancy black dress running in front of me, telling me to hurry up if I wanted to look like her (rather cheeky, but she looked great. And yes, I have a slight obsession with this vision of Lisa in a fancy black dress. What can I say? I have issues. At least I don’t talk to her. I only talk to Exercise, but he’s mean and someone’s got to put him in his place).

Tomorrow’s run is kind of freaking me out a little since I have to run 3/4 of a mile twice! David offered me some words of encouragement though. He said when he was in the military, one of his sergeants told him if he wanted to improve his run, he should work on steady breathing and also push hard at first and then you can ease off as you get into it more*. David said he probably shaved two minutes off his run by working on his breathing and another two minutes by pushing hard at the beginning. Wow, really?! That’s kind of what I did today. In the spirit of pushing myself, I, uh, pushed myself. Because I wanted to work on my time, I ran faster at the beginning. David said that is probably why I was so wiped out afterward. He said if you feel full of energy when you’re done running, you’re doing something wrong. So, tomorrow I’ll see how it goes.  I will keep you all updated. In the meantime, hang in there! You can do it!

*Of note, after further talking to David, it appears I misunderstood slightly what he was getting at. He said if he wanted to “kill” himself on a PT (for all you non-military folk, this means Physical Training) test, then he would push hard at the beginning and then ease off. However, if you are not seeking to “kill” yourself, he recommended running at a pace in which it is comfortable enough to talk.

To Boldly Go Where No Lisa Has Gone Before

Published on March 1, 2010 in Exercise and Health/Wellness. 3 Comments

Unless there is another Lisa besides me who has, but I certainly don’t know her, so in my limited knowledge of other Lisas, I suppose the title could be true. But I feel a rabbit trail coming on here so I better get to the point.

I am about to embark on week #5 of Couch to 5K. Technically, last week was supposed to have been week 5, but there was too much snow on the ground and I was, uh, trying to be careful and not slip, yeah that’s it! (of course, it has nothing to do with me being a wimp, nothing at all) What’s on the agenda for week 5? Glad you asked! :) Here’s the skinny (at this point, I would love to insert a picture of me as skinny; however, that will have to wait until I can fit into a fancy black dress, but I wore a fancy black dress on Saturday for a nice dinner, but it wasn’t THE fancy black dress…okay, rabbit trail! Ahem):

Day 1: Jog 1/2 mile or 5 minutes
Walk 1/4 mile or 3 minutes
Jog 1/2 mile
Walk 1/4 mile

Day 2: Jog 3/4 mile
Walk 1/2 mile
Jog 3/4 mile

Day 3: Jog 2 miles without stopping

I’m trying to psych myself up here. I am really convinced that exercise has so much to do with your mentality. On Saturday I ran with fellow runner, Cara. We went ahead and did week 1 of the program and I was kind of pooped at the end. And then I thought, “How in the world did I run 2 miles the previous week?!” Unless it was a dream. And as you know, I do have some pretty nice dreams. So today, I’m going to attempt my running routine. Right now, I’m in one of David’s old Army PT shirts; my hair is pulled back into a ponytail, and I have some sweatpants on. After an attempt to find my motivation, however, I have come up empty handed. But, I’m thinking I may find it at the end of my run today. Wouldn’t that be lovely? And then I hope I don’t ever lose it again. Fancy black dress, come to mama!