Oh, My!

I am not a TV watcher. I have to be doing something or I get antsy. I also like very little of what is on TV. I saw some TLC at a friend's house, and I remembered it as being an educational channel - not a channel for brides to knock each others' weddings or for people to make others cry about what clothes they wear. I know a lot of people like that stuff, that's why they show it. But it's not for me.

I usually watch a movie or series on DVD (Firefly, etc.) while exercising. I watch Glee each week, and would watch Big Bang Theory if I could ever remember when it came on. But that's about it. I know a lot of people on here watch The Biggest Loser, but I had never seen it. So I decided to check it out.

Miss Priss and I watched the first three episodes in one evening. She watches very little TV also (Ruff Ruffman on PBS about 3 days a week, and what she sees on Sundays at her Nana's, and usually something with Joe & I on Friday nights), so she will watch anything. We have now watched the first 5 episodes on Hulu. I am hooked.

The thing is, I haven't been able to do the C25K 20 minute run yet. I did 12 min. in April at the 5K, and I did 15 earlier this month at the gym. Every other time I get up to 5 minutes and slow down. Tonight I decided to try running after biking, to see how I could handle it when I have to do it in the triathlon. I used the stationary bike for 20 minutes, immediately got on the treadmill running, and ran for 20 minutes without stopping! Granted, it was at my unbelievably slow pace, but that is the most I've ever done and I did it after biking for 20 minutes!

I can't figure out how I did it except to chalk it up to watching The Biggest Loser. I told my husband that maybe seeing what they can do even being so much bigger than me must have motivated me. He said watching it guilted me into working harder.

Or maybe it was that I had Mexican for lunch with cheese dip. There's some guilt there.

The 5K

It was a beautiful morning. I got to the park about 7:15. I signed in and got my packet (they were out of XL shirts even though I preregistered. I took it as a sign from above that I will need a Large in the near future). There was a small plastic square with a chip in it that I fastened to my shoe with twist ties. I walked around some and visited with my brother in law until I had to move to the back of the pack.

I was supposed to run 20 minutes for week 5, day 3 of couch to 5K. I only made it about 12 and a half minutes. That is still better than Thursday's 8 minutes, so I'll take it. Plus, it was outside and not on the treadmill.

The previous two times I had timed myself going 5K were 55 minutes each. At the halfway point, I was over 20 minutes. I thought it looked pretty good for me to get in under an hour. As I got closer to the finish line, I could see I was going to beat the 55 minutes, and maybe even get in under 50. I crossed the finish line at about 45:02, give or take a couple of seconds. By that point in time, the 10K runners had been passing those of us still going (they shared the last 1.7 miles with our path).

It was very cool crossing the finish line. There was a big clock with the time and lots of people cheering. I never in a million years thought I would be doing something like this.

I was nowhere near the last person to finish, but I wasn't really close to 'the pack' of runners at all. I felt fine afterward, except for a little bit of "if I had pushed a little more, I could have been under 45:00!" But now I have a goal for next time.

And I figure a first time of 45:02 is just fine for a 200+ lb. 40 year old who could barely run 60 seconds a month and a half ago! If you are thinking about trying the Couch to 5K program, just think - if I can do it, you can, too!

Hi, Everyone!

I know I have been missing for the past week and a half. Had some stress going on at work and Miss Priss has had strep throat. I hope to have a longer post today AFTER I FINISH MY FIRST 5K!!!

I am at Week 5, Day 3 of Couch to 5K. Today is the 20 minute run. I'll be doing it during the 5K. I am over halfway done with C25K!

Wish me luck!

Gulf Wars, Randomness, and Slacking

Still having sinus issues. I go see an ENT on Monday.

Gulf Wars was fun. Friday I dressed as 14th century, which is way later than I usually dress (Anglo-Saxon or Viking). I think I will be more comfortable with it once I figure out how to deal with the veil. My cotehardie is already a little big for me - I will have to take it up before I wear it again - you can tell how it puckers under my belt.



Totally random item #1: I got a pair of the Sketchers Shape-ups shoes. I have been wearing my running shoes to school and I want to save them for running, so I thought I would try these and see what they are like. I doubt ALL the claims they make in their propaganda pamphlet are true, but they were comfortable enough for me to buy.

Totally random item #2: I got the Eat Clean Diet book. Sounds interesting. I might try to incorporate some of it into my life. I just started reading it.

Totally random item #3: I got a bike helmet and Joe bought stuff to fix our bike tires - yay!

Totally random item #4: I got a bunch of seeds for herbs and veggies (I got, I got, I got - can you tell we got our income tax refund?) and I am going to try my hand at growing something. Maybe I have outgrown my 'black thumb' and they will actually live.

I have hardly exercised the past few days. Monday I did circuit and yoga for a total of 2 hours at my new gym. Tuesday was 1/2 hour of wii fit. Wed. was 1 hour yoga. Thursday I did nothing. Friday I did about 2 minutes on the treadmill and then started tidying up my random exercise stuff. Today Miss Priss and I walked around a nearby wildlife refuge for about 2 hours, but it was slow walking (short six-year-old legs!). I totally blew off the Couch to 5K I planned to do Friday. I WILL do it tomorrow. I am going to chalk it all up to getting over the crud and being a little run down. I also think week 4 scares me.

I really want to get back on the bandwagon - I feel like I've fallen off. I think part of the problem is we are having a huge high school art show at a local gallery this week and I have been focusing on that, and I haven't had time for SparkPeople like I normally do. I am hoping tomorrow to have a little time to catch up with what all my SparkFriends have been doing this week. I really enjoy seeing what everyone is up to, and I miss it and kind of get mopey without it.

Good Things

Good thing #1 - Yesterday I finally got up the nerve to tell my husband that since I like the Wii boxing & Gold's Gym Cardio Boxing so much, I wanted a punching bag. I knew we couldn't get a new one, and my brother got one a few years ago that I don't think he uses. So I told Joe that I wanted to ask my brother if he'd sell me his. Joe told me that he had one in his car that his stepdad gave him to get rid of. He was going to take it to his work (the Habitat ReStore). So he gave it to me instead! Joe took me to the local sports store & got me some pink boxing gloves.

Good thing #2 - I am losing weight - the weigh-ins are going well.

Good thing #3 - I did Week 3, Day 1 of Couch to 5K today with no trouble. After I finished I continued to walk for the rest of 5K. Same as last time - 55 min. but I know during my intervals I was walking pretty slow to catch my breath. At least it didn't take longer than last time!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

I Did It! Neener, Neener, Neener!

Today my daughter had a 2 hour activity across the street from a park with a 1.5 mile walking trail. I did Week 2, Day 3 of Couch to 5K after not having done it for several days (I did day 2 Friday of last week, and couldn't finish running the last interval & a half). I did it no problem! I do SO MUCH BETTER outside than on the treadmill. Not only did I finish Week 2, but I walked around the track 2 more times to take up the full 2 hours.

I saw a little old lady using a metal detector under a swingset.

I think I might have been going the wrong way on the track - I was constantly meeting people going the other way. I only saw one jogger and one bicyclist going the same direction as I was. But all the mile signs were facing me, so I don't know.

I am so thankful for Podrunner Intervals. I think one of the reasons I do better outside is that I'm not watching the seconds on the treadmill and waiting for the running portion to end. When I'm outside and feel like I can't go on during the running part, I say to myself, "if I make it to that trash can and it hasn't given me the signal to switch to walking, I'll go ahead and stop." Then, when I get to the trash can, I think, "surely, it'll be over by the time I get to that light post." And it always is. I can hold out just a little longer when I can't actually count the seconds.

I am ready for Week 3!

Off Track and Okay

I am feeling much better about my exercise issues. I didn't like falling behind on the Couch to 5K, but the comments I got on SparkPeople made me feel better. I kept feeling the pressure to 'make up' what I had missed and 'catch up' on my schedule, but last night I was exhausted and gave myself permission to lay off the exercise until I'm not coughing so much.

It made me a little nervous, because I had missed exercising and we had gone out for dinner (first time since I re-started Spark) and I was thinking, "here it comes, I'm going to go back to my old habits, going out to eat, not counting calories, not exercising."

But I only ate 3 chips/salsa and I didn't order cheese dip, and I drank water, and yesterday I stocked up on some more healthy food. I didn't 'fall off the bandwagon!' I am keeping within my calorie range and I will start back exercising this week when I feel better.

I have to learn that it's not all-or-nothing. I think I'm doing what I need to do.

Setback

I am beginning to learn my limitations. I am having trouble with Week 2 of the Couch to 5K program. Here is what I have done so far:

Wed., 2/24 – W1D1 (Week1, Day 1), did okay. Walked 4.0 Km/hr, ran 6.0 Km/hr. 2.0 Km/30 min. total.

Fri., 2/26 – W1D2, did okay. Walked 3.2 Km/hr, ran 6.2 Km/hr. 2.0 Km/30 min. total.

Sun., 2/28 – W1D3, did great. Outside, so don’t know speed, but did over 2.6 Km/30 min. total. Kept walking and did 5K total in 55 min.

Tues., 3/2 – Sick with sinus infection.

Wed., 3/3 – Went to the Dr., still sick, did W2D1 anyway, one day behind schedule. Walked 4.5 Km/hr, ran 6.5 Km/hr. Had to hold on to the front of the treadmill twice. ‘Speed walked’ the last two running intervals instead of running. Felt awful afterward. My head was full of pressure and I had a raging headache. Not sure if it was caused by the sinus infection or maybe my blood pressure was up? Will exercise raise your blood pressure? I know some of the decongestants that I am taking may raise it.

Fri., 3/5 – Got up super early so I can get back on my schedule. Still one day behind. I figure if I am supposed to have a rest day between sets and I am behind a day, I can do W2D2 early Friday morning and W2D3 late Saturday evening and be back on schedule. Started out great – walked 4.5 Km/hr, ran 6.7 Km/hr (this is actually more comfortable than the 6.5, which seems too slow. Also, the faster pace won’t allow me to ‘speed walk.’), and I made it almost all the way through. Halfway through the next-to-last running interval, I had to stop. I felt like I was going to throw up. I walked the rest of the half hour, still got 2.1 Km in. I was shaky for a little while afterward.

I don’t know if it is because I am just so out of shape, or if it is the sinus infection and medicine that is causing me the trouble. I am hoping it is the latter, but since that’s pretty much only affecting my head & sinuses, I think it may just be that I need more time. Also, I think I sped up my walking interval too fast. I’m not getting my breathing as controlled as I would like it between running sets.

I am still going to do W2D3 tomorrow (Sat.) evening. That will get me back on my schedule. It should be lovely weather outside, and I seem to do better outside than on the treadmill. If it is as easy as W1D3 then I will go on to Week 3 next week. I will probably slow my walking portion down to 4.0 Km/hr. to make sure I can catch my breath between running intervals. If I have trouble, I guess I will have to stay on Week 2 until I can do it. I will be a little disappointed, but I’ll get over it. It might actually be good for me to have a setback, because I have been afraid that I would ‘fall off the bandwagon’ but I don’t think I will.

If I am able to stay on track, there is a local 5K run that happens on my last day of the Couch to 5K program. If I don’t stay on track, there’s another race Memorial Day. That’s still over a month before my main goal of running a 5K by the end of June, so it will be okay.

What’s funny is right now, I feel great! I am excited about running outside tomorrow. I hope I am over the sinus crud so I can enjoy it.

It Took Almost an Hour, but I Did It!

I did Week 1 Day 3 of Couch to 5K today, and outside for the first time instead of on a treadmill. I think using the treadmill is causing me to go slower - I normally get 2.0 km in 1/2 hr. on the treadmill and I did over 2.6 outside in 1/2 hour. Plus some slight inclines. I kept walking after I was done, and managed to do 5k in 55 minutes. I walked around for a few more minutes to get in a full hour. I was surprised that my body could do it!

Which makes me wonder - when you enter a 5k, how long do they give you to finish? I was surprised when I realized I made it in under an hour, but disappointed when I figured out that I only went about 3.4 miles per hour on average for the whole hour.

It was so beautiful outside, and the hour went by much faster than even 1/2 hour on the treadmill seems to. I can't wait for spring so I can get out more. I said hi to several people in the neighborhood, gave one man directions, and laughed with another lady when I ran by her fence and her dogs startled me and made me squeal. I felt good. It was still hard to do, but only physically - not so much mentally.

What is Wrong with Me? Couch to 5K

One of my goals was to begin the Couch to 5K program next week. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it through the first day, so I decided to try it last night just to make sure I could do it. I started out walking at 4.2 km/hr and running at 7.2 km/hr and couldn't do it - so I slowed down to walking at 4.0 km/hr and running at 6.0 km/hr and it was really tough, but I did it - and I only had to hang on to the front of the treadmill once.

I felt like it was killing me, and my legs felt like jello when I was done, but I did it and felt fine afterward. My legs aren't even sore today. But what I don't understand is that all day I have been impatient for tomorrow so I can try it again. You are only supposed to do it every other day. I know when I get on that treadmill tomorrow, I will be thinking about how crazy I was to be looking forward to it all day today. I'm not sure what is up with that. Anyhow, I consider myself starting the C25K as of yesterday.

I used the Podrunner Interval Podcast while I was doing it, and it helped me keep my speed up - even at that slow pace I was going much faster than I normally go on the treadmill. And I felt like I had a much better workout when I was finished.

I am going for time, not distance. When I make it through week nine (or whenever I finish), then I will start increasing my speed to improve my distance.

Today, my off day, I did 45 minutes of Helix (just got it for wii, one website called it "DDR for your arms") and 15 of wii boxing. Can't wait until tomorrow!