Running : Week 3 : Day 2

Last night Matt cooked dinner - Chicken with lemon butter sauce, artichokes, bacon and capers.

Because of the bolded words above, I decided I had to run this morning (usually I skip a day in between). The iPod was dead (poor planning on my part), so I took off without it.

Char and I walked our normal way, and then on the way back I just decided to go for it - run until I got tired, walked a little, then start running again. I liked doing this, very freeing. I don't know if I ran more or less than I usually do, but I am pretty sure I did more because I got back to my original location much faster this time.

As for a weight loss update - I haven't seen any dips on the scale, but I see little differences. Last night was one of them - while Matt and I were at the grocery store, I was walking down the freezer aisle and caught a reflection of myself from the side - looking pretty thin! However, yesterday at lunch I caught a reflection of myself in a chair, and my butt area, well it wasn't pretty. I have a long way to go still! But hey, it's only week 3 ;)

Running : Week 3 : Day 1

Last week I was BAD! I was still recovering from being out of town, that's my excuse :)

BUT I got back into the swing of things and had a good outing this morning. It felt really good, I stayed out a little longer than usual... Charlotte was pretty tired afterward! (as was I)

At this point, I'm getting a little sick of it, but I'm also starting to miss it when I don't do it. Every time I hate my life when I'm out there I think about having nice[r] legs this summer.

Running : Week 2 : Day 1

Not much to say, but I promised myself I would log my running through my blog (to keep myself accountable).

Last week I only got out one day because of our traveling, so I'm not going to count that week. This morning went well - it was nice and cold early this a.m. and I was thankful for Matt's wrap-around ear covers from his college days.

I'm still sticking to the run one minute/walk one minute routine - my body isn't ready for the run two minutes/walk one minute routine quite yet. But I'm start to really enjoy getting out there, can you believe it?

Running Day 4

I stayed out an 10 extra minutes today (walked the extra time).

It was such a beautiful day to get out today.

I did pretty well, didn't feel like dying, I think I'm getting the hang of this...

I may or may not get out tomorrow morning, but I'm coming close to the end of Week 1. I'm going to continue with the current "circuit" I'm doing so I can continue to build up my endurance before I move to 1 minute-2 minutes.

I've been weighing myself and I'm still stuck around 142/143 (5'7), but I did have McDonalds and pizza this week. Oh well, we all make mistakes ;)

As long as I can make it through my Thanksgiving holiday without gaining weight....

While we're on the topic of my weight, I was around 135 at my wedding:


{my best America's Next Top Model pose}

I could live with 135 as a goal weight, and I'd be happy with 130. (And for those who are curious - my heaviest was 151 about a couple months ago - I've already lost almost 10 pounds just changing up my diet, thanks to Eat Like Me).

personal side note: I didn't do measurements, I should probably do those in addition to weighing myself. I know muscle weighs more than fat.

Running Day 3

I was lucky enough to have the husband along for the run this morning. He has a meeting in San Deigo today so he was able to "sleep in" with me. I use the term "sleep in" loosely because the man always wakes up before 6 am.

Today was harder than the previous two days - I think because I had Matt there on my heels! But we were able to do a good 20 minutes of walking and running (which is what I've been striving for while I'm just starting out).

I like to eat half a grannie smith apple before the run with a big glass of water and half after the run with a big glass of water - it's the perfect amount of energy to hold me over until I get to work and have my mini wheats (dry) and coffee for breakfast.

I'm going to try to get in 1 - 2 more mornings before I head out of town for Thanksgiving. Maybe my mom will take some long walks with me - but our Thanksgiving week is packed, more on that later ;)

Running Day 2

{I'm attempting to log my running, so I apologize in advance if this is a bore. Feel free to skip on past it!}

Today was Day 2 of running - I woke up early to hit the pavement at 7 (not too early).

I did 10 minutes of walking for warm up, 1 minute of running, 1 minute of walking for 10 minutes and walked back to the house (cool down).

The ipod's battery was dead today so I had to count the 60 seconds of each circut in my head. I'm thinking I didn't count as effective as the ipod's stopwatch because today was easier, and it's only day 2 ;)

Disappointed

Just when I got pumped to start a running regimen, air quality has reached "unhealthy levels" in Orange County and Los Angeles. Looks like these out of shape lungs will have to hold off for a couple days until the fires cease.


{oc register}

Not being able to run is insignificant compared those who are in danger of losing their homes; they will be in my thoughts.

Running Day 1

I went this morning with Charlotte and Matt's ipod in tow. I'm starting off slow; I don't want to burn myself out.

I did 10 minutes of warm up walking. Then I did 1 minute of running, 1 minute of walking, and rotated this circuit for 10 minutes. Followed by 5 minutes of cool down.

Afterward I had pretty bad wheezing and shortness of breath. I've currently completely cooled down and I'm still wheezing with a bad chesty cough. I googled this and found something called "athlete asthma", which is brought on by any sort of exercise.

I'm hoping it's just a side effect of being out of shape. It's not going to stop me; but I may consider going to the Dr. to get an inhaler to use right before running... I've read it works wonders.

Charlotte experienced no wheezing. She's in great shape :)

Any thoughts/comments from you runners/exercisers??

"I only run if someone is chasing me"

I heard this on a tv show one time and it cracked me up - it's exactly how I feel about running. However, I have a great new co-worker who just had a baby 5 months ago and is in the best shape of her adult life. She owes it all to running.

I'm 24, I have good genes (thanks mom & dad!), why can't I run too? Why do I have to be stuck in this "she's tall and has a thin body type but she's not quite thin" limbo?

So, I've talked with my co-worker and she's motivated me to start thinking about running (I'm not going to commit 100% right now because I don't want to disappoint myself when I hit snooze in the morning a million times when I should be getting up to walk/run).

I found a great site that helps beginners. Clicky for much more info, but here is a little sneak peak:

Walk and Run Plan
If you are a true beginner, and cannot run for 10 minutes, you should start out with a walk/run plan. Here’s a good one to start with (do each one three times a week):

1. Week 1: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 1 minute, and then walk for 1 minute. Repeat these 1/1 intervals for 10 minutes, or until you become uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.
2. Week 2: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 2 minutes, and then walk for 2 minutes. Repeat these 2/2 intervals for 10 minutes, or until you become uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.
3. Week 3: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 3 minutes, and then walk for 2 minutes. Repeat these 3/2 intervals for 15 minutes, or until you become uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.
4. Week 4: Walk for 10 minutes. Jog slowly for 5 minutes, and then walk for 2 minutes. Repeat these 5/2 intervals for 20 minutes, or until you become uncomfortable. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down.

You get the picture. The idea is to gradually increase your running time until you can do 10 minutes straight. Then increase the 10 minutes to 12, and so on, each week, until you can eventually run for 30 minutes. Now you’re a runner!

So - who's with me??