Week two redeux.

Today was interesting. My goal today was to complete a 30 minute “easy” walk. That didn’t happen. What was supposed to be a half hour was more like ten minutes. I was not feeling it today. This is only the second week of training for the Couch to 5k program and it felt more like week 20, or something similar. What a difference a day makes!

My first week was fine, by most standards. I accomplished the full week as it was designed in the program, and felt pretty good about myself. The second week has proven that I am still as arrogant as I was in my younger days. I have concluded, based on the condition of my body, that I totally suck at this (for now) and need more than the nine weeks allocated in this program. Week two will be a redo.

The addition of a mere 30 seconds to the running portion of this program has been a struggle for me. And a revelation of how much I let myself go over the past several years. Nearly thirty-two weeks remain until the MCM takes place. At this point in my training I can allow for an extra week or more of regrouping and readjustment until the big day arrives to run the 26.2 miles I am striving for. However, I am thankful I decided to begin this program, and training, early enough to allow room for extra conditioning.

I ran the three days required for the second week of my training program. Each day I found that I was struggling to complete the final 20 seconds of the run portion, and found the 2-minute walk/recovery portion much to brief. My legs ached. My breathing was labored the first two segments of the six total repetitions of this week’s walk/run series.

That I was out of town this weekend did not deter from my training. Even if I was still in my section of Virginia I would have had the same result. My body is the issue here. It is woefully under conditioned for anything other than work and sex. (Ok…I admit it’s TMI, but truthful nonetheless.)

The first day of week two was on Tuesday (previously blogged.) Day two of week two was Thursday. Ouch. I felt like crap when that session was done. That day was sh**ty by anyone’s standards. Work was a drag (sorry BBss), I went out much later than planned, and was at a place located too close to evening traffic where I breathed in exhaust fumes from passing motor vehicles. Not a good day at all. Day three placed me in Pennsylvania with cool, fresh air at a good spot to complete the last day of the week. After the first of the six running segments, my legs were very tight and my left knee felt like Jell-O.

I’ve concluded I have to include tow more conditioning methods into my program. I need to get back to the hot (Birkram) yoga I once practiced, and add more fluids into my day. I adore red wine and coffee. However, both seem to leave me a bit dehydrated and that had made a huge difference in my recovery from the walk/run seesions. It took this week with the longer runs for me to realize the difference.

Happy Valentine’s Day to me.

Week two begins.

Monday’s weather was clear, cold (34 degrees) and windy. I went out for a 1-1/2 mile walk ; an easy 30-minute walk around the neighborhood and by the lake near the office.

But oh my, that wind! I had tears streaming from my eyes while I was walking. My sunglasses were little help. I listened to the radio, a news program, on my Mp3 player (not an iPod—they do not have FM tuners) and strolled along hoping to get the walk in and me out of the wind as quickly as possible.

Day one of week two of the walk/run program began on yesterday. The forecast called for rain moving in the region by the afternoon. Okay, I was up past midnight on Monday and didn’t get up to go to the fitness center to use the treadmill. It was as cold as its been these past few mornings, so the temperature shouldn’t have kept me from getting up and going. I just wanted to sleep an extra hour. So I packed my outdoor clothing and took it to work, betting the rain would come after my lunch break and not before it. My coach (I work with her) even got on me for not going in the morning. She doesn't want me to go off track.

Turns out I made a good call. (Whew!)

I went out around noon to partly cloudy skies and 36 degrees and breezy. No teary eyes. This second week’s series are to run for 90 seconds and walk for two minutes, six times. It’s still a 20-minute series, excluding the 10 additional minutes for the warm-up and cool-down. Let me tell you that I really those few extra minutes of running in my legs. They were really tight by the fourth time. I stretched long after, and took a hot shower. At home I took another long, hot shower.

I am happy to report that I was less winded (out of breath) than before. Small benefits were gained from taking baby steps. In the past I would have overdone the running, and pushed myself as hard as I did during my Marine Corps days. Injuries would follow, sidelining me for long periods of time and the whole cycle would start again. By using this beginning runner’s program to gradually bring me up to a 3-mile run in two months, I’ve had no shin splints, pull muscles, hamstring or quad issues, and my feet are feeling good.

I think the difference for me is that I had to accept that I’m in my mid 40s, and my body is no longer a 20-something dynamo that can do anything and everything. I did grieve for my old body. Physically, she was lean, strong, and (I thought) cute as hell! Not too skinny, and not too big…just right with broad shoulders, long, toned arms and legs, and a tight abdomen (yes, even after I had my baby.) And then I lost her. She made a resurgence in the early 2000’s, but slipped away again. Blame it on the happy hours, cheese won-tons, and bread sticks from Oscar’s and fish tacos from Rubio’s. She’s not the same. She lost a lot of ground. But she’s gaining momentum and starting to get strong again. This time I have the patience to give her all the time she needs to return to me and stay with me forever…healthy, vibrant, and a runner once again.

But she has to get her ass back out there tomorrow! ☺

One and done.

I completed week one of my training. Yep...done.

That's all the energy I can muster right now. I'm tired. My body actually feels pretty good. My fatigue is from a lack of sleep, thanks to my inconsiderate 21-year old upstairs neighbor who thinks he lives in a college dorm and not a condo with working adults. His little party went on well past 3 a.m. I'll deal with that matter tomorrow when the HOA office opens up. That nonsense aside, I'm pleased with what I've accomplished--getting started. The first step is the most difficult one.

Friday I was up at 5:45 a.m. and went to the community center. Arriving there at 6:10 a.m., I found there was only one open treadmill. I got on and started walking in order to warm-up. But I found it tricky to program the intervals I needed for my specific walk/run series. On the way over, the weather outside was cold and cloudy and no rain at all. Heck...I went on outside. I was dressed for it anyway. It was cold, about 33 degrees. Once I got started my body temp increased, and by the end of the series I wasn't cold anymore. Other people were out with me: an older woman, and a man who looked to be in his 70s, with his walker! If he can get up and out there in the cold with an apparatus to assist him anyone can.

(Lesson: Inspiration comes in many forms, and not when one expects.)

My workout was indoors yesterday. I had a hair appointment at 12:30 p.m. The weather here yesterday was a rain & snow mix, later turning into snow. I should have gone to the fitness center before the appointment and walked the treadmill for half-an-hour. Nope. I lingered at home and was on the phone and let the time tick down to noon before I got dressed and left. Oops. And no, I didn't go after my "do" was done. By then the snow was sticking to the roads and they were getting icy. And the wind was gusting up to near 50 mph. I went straight home and used the weights, worked on my (missing) abs, and stretched for a while. I did work up a sweat, which doesn't take much for me. :-)

Today our weather is sunny with a high temp near 29. I put on my heavy duty sweats, knit cap and gloves and went out to the track at the community center. There is little ice on the ground. After all the wet, then cold, weather we had here I was surprised how well the roads are. Nothing close to the icy road conditions here last weekend. I was the only one on the track today. I played my podcast and once the music ended after the cool down, I cued up Submensas (my honey's band--awesome!) and walked another quarter-mile. I felt that good. In spite of sleeping for just four hours.

Having the podcast as a coach has been a huge motivator. I can focus on my breath and not worry about time thanks to the verbal cues. This really helped me today because I was really tired and didn't even want to go out. Thinking of "Walker Man" got me off my duff and out the door.

Now I'm back home. I had a late lunch, and need a shower. I've got laundry to do and a tax return to get started on.

Week two begins on Tuesday.

I got over the Hump Day

Yesterday was Wednesday, a.k.a. Hump Day. I got over it by finally completing a full walk/run series. I did not find my watch, and my dislike of any retail shopping around the first of the month has still kept me out of Target and Walmart to get another one. That purchase would be a waste of money now because I found something better--iTunes!

Thank you Robert Ullrey for Podcasts for Running: Couch to 5K. This podcast made my walk/run much easier. I used the stop watch feature on my cell phone the first time out and that was crazy because I had to keep resetting it in 1 & 2 minute intervals...a bit tricky to do while walking and running. I went out on my lunch break yesterday with this podcast on my Mp3 player and it was like having someone out with me to remind me to warm-up, when to run, when to walk, and cool-down. Check iTunes, or www.coolrunning.com for the Couch to 5K podcast.

What beautiful weather yesterday. The sun came out around 1:00pm and the previous day's rain washed nearly all of the ice away. It was around 38 degrees and breezy. My eyes watered in the wind at first. Then my podcast coach told me to start walking briskly. Then he said to start running. Sixty seconds later he told me to walk briskly again. I'm like, "Okay!" I did everything he told me to do. Walk. Run. Slow down to a brisk walk. Ready to run again? Go! And so on until the series was over. And then the neatest thing happened during my cool down. A nice woman was walking with her dog. This precious creature (the dog!) started wagging her tail when she saw me and came right over to me. "Heidi likes people," the woman said. I had to stop and pet her. Heidi is an all-white German Shepard with a pink nose. OMG, what a gorgeous dog! I would love to be able to knock on her door and borrow Heidi for my walks/runs. Meeting Heidi and her owner on that trail by the lake was the highlight of my day. I felt like it was a reward for getting my butt out there. And on the way back to the office I saw a Blue Jay. So cool.

Shoot, I'm going on more about the dog than my walk/run. I felt pretty good afterward. I stretched my legs out pretty well and have very little soreness today. My quads are the only muscles that have some soreness. My calves, shins, and hamstrings are fine. I also slept better than I did the night before. Small benefits are already coming through.

I'm concerned about the weather forecast again. Rain is moving in with a mix of snow tomorrow and Saturday. Yuck. I don't want to join a gym. In short, I hate them. But I couldn't dismiss the advantage of access to a treadmill on bad weather days. Then I had a light bulb moment. My local community center. I joined today. Just $15 for a one-year general membership and I can go to any of the seven centers in my town. And only $10 a month for use of the fitness center with--treadmills! Its the best deal in town.

My soup is finally hot. I'll be at the community center in the morning. Week one is almost complete.

Groundhog Day

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. Six more weeks of winter.

The office was closed yesterday. Seems VDOT either allocates all of its snow removal funds to the Northern Virginia area, or they just don't plan very well for treatment of icy roads. The sidewalks down here are also a mess.

There is a very nice, walkable route by a lake near my job. It's too icy and slick. I didn't get my walk/run series in today. Bummer. Its raining tonight and temps are to increase to near 35 tonight and be in the 40s again tomorrow. Hopefully the ice won't be an issue tomorrow. I'm bringing my workout gear so I can spend my lunch break outside hitting the pavement. I looked everywhere for my watch with the timer/stop-watch feature. Can't find the damn thing! Shoot. I can get another one in the morning.

So tonight at home I did an hour power yoga workout to combine strength and cardio. Plus the breathing. Your breath is so important. Yoga has taught me how much my body, mind, and breath need to be in harmony.

But that little shit who lives upstairs from me is enough to get my heart rate up and forget to be calm. His constant noise kills any peace I can attain at home. And the racket he makes has cut into my sleep time. I want to go up to his 3rd floor unit and throw his snotty little butt out of the window. I am so over apartment living. And I live in a condo! Built in 1987 with the thinnest, f%*king walls ever made. Argh!

(So where was I... Oh, yes!) My training has begun with lack of adequate sleep, icy pavements, and no stop watch. No excuses anymore.

I'm so sore. But I was a Marine, so no pain, no gain. Ooh-rah!

(F&^% me!)

Right now the show Biggest Loser is on the TV. I love-love-love Jillian Michaels. She's better than a drill instructor. The DIs in boot camp (1981 @ Parris Island) screamed at us to get us to move. Jillian doesn't just scream at you. It's like she reaches inside of your gut and pulls out all the bullshit that has kept you from achieving your personal best. I was once that determined. I had plans. I was hungry for everything life had to offer. And then it got in the way--life that is. Now it's 30 years and 40+ pounds later. I don't have Jillian here to help. I now know I have someone better--me!

Three weeks until my birthday.
Six more weeks of winter.

38-1/2 more weeks until the race.