Stairs

Jake and I went for a nice long walk this morning and "ran" the Taylor stairs. That was ROUGH. Those stairs are brutal...that's good though, since running is getting kind of monotonous, so now I have something new to do that will make my legs super strong.

Good run today!

Really good, long-ish run today. It was about 4 miles, in about 35 minutes. It was pretty warm/cool...too warm for long sleeves/long pants but too cool fir shorts and short sleeves. That hill was rough, but I got up it, so that was good.

May 27 (late post)

Quick, short run today. Did two miles in under 20 mins. That was good....it was really hot though, so I didn't do the hill at the end that I had planned on doing.

On another note, Jake and I went to look at a house today....we're going to sleep on it and keep our options open :)

Ballet

I spent the day doing hw and just got home from ballet. Wondering what I should do over the summer when I don't have ballet classes (the summer classes run when Jake and I are on vacation). I'm thinking yoga on Monday nights, but it's kind of expensive....we'll figure it out.

Class today was really good. I really think I'm making progress:) I didn't swim today since I had soooo much work to do and I ran hard yesterday, so figured I could stand to "only" work out once today.

hot

good run today but it was hot. also got really tired really fast...but the new shorts worked REALLY well. yay. ran down to blvd park and back, ran 38 mins total.

Ran today

good run today. did the same as yesterday, but non-stop for the 1/2 hr. nothing real exciting...got too warm again. guess i should wear shorts and short sleeves when its 60 or warmer....I did just work it out and it was about 3.8 miles and I did it in about 30 mins. Huzzah.

Cloudy and muggy

It was cool out, but it was really muggy so I got really warm really quick. Ran 26 minutes. Went down 32nd to Donovan, up 21st to Bill McDonald and back down. It was pretty good. I walked a little bit of it, but it was pretty good.

Ballet

Good class today too! And I'm no longer the newest one in class, so I actually know some of the specific steps! Yay!

Amberswimmer

Swam today for 45 mins. I got really tired really fast, but it was great. I haven't swim in about 2 weeks, so that was hard, but just pushed through it. Getting ready to go to ballet in an hour.

Good run

Ran it out again today. It was pretty darn good. Ran to the park and back, and sprinted back up the hills. That was great. Mostly great. Before sprinting up the hills, almost got hit by a car on State St. A car in the right lane was nice enough to stop for me, as I was coming back up Laurel St instead of all the way to Chestnut or one of the others w/crosswalks. Next time, I will though. Anyway, a car in the right lane was nice enough to stop, so I started crossing and the other lane was clear until I was most of the way through when people behind the car that had stopped started making to pass them. At that point, I was running full bore, so I don't know how close they actually were to me, but it did scare me anyway. Why do people have to be so rude? Obviously the stopped car is stopped for a reason....the same thing happened to a 5th grader in my hometown about 6 yrs ago on 15th Ave NE.

Anyway, great run, I kept really good pace the whole time. I think I am getting a lot faster than I was, and I ran for over 40 mins this time (including those hill sprints, that's pretty damn good)--so my endurance is improving too.

I definitely wore sunscreen today, and shorts. The shorts were a distraction, but it was too warm for pants. I need some shorts that fit better since these ones ride up and I'm self-conscious, and they just aren't comfortable. I love these sunny days!

Sun and run to the water

What a perfect day. Worked during the day, so ended up with the evening off. I was so excited for the sun that I consciously didn't wear sunscreen--I may have burned, but that's okay. I figure I need some vitamin D in my life. Ran down to Boulevard Park and back (clearly didn't run the WHOLE way, but mostly). It was amazing. I also sat by the water for a bit, which was really nice. There were tons of people at the park, but it was still nice.

Ran for 40 mins total. It was pretty warm, I should have worn shorts, but my shorts don't fit very well, so I feel kind of awkward in them. I should sign up for another 5k next month. Next time I won't get sick. I should probably swim tomorrow since my legs are getting tired.

...and I'm back.

The last week has really sucked. I was sick all weekend and pretty much all week. I didn't go to school or ballet on Monday...I really felt guilty about that one. I ate a lot of garbage all week, when I had a appetite, but mostly it was being not hungry and eating soup.

Today, I finally had the energy and motivation back to go for a run. And I had time, which was nice. I ended up not having to work today, so I went for a run this evening. I had wanted to go during the day, but had no energy during the day. I think it was a combination of stress from school (so burned out!!!), and still trying to get over this cold. In the mornings, I am still pretty stuffed up and it's so hard to get out of bed, but pretty much back in the evenings, so that worked out for the run today.

Angela also said I should run today, so I had to do it. Unfortunately, at 7:30, I remembered that I could have gone to ballet tonight to make up for Monday's missed class. Oh well...I think the Wednesday crowd is different from the Monday crowd anyway. I'll just have to go back Monday.

I just did the quick 2 mile down and back on 32nd. Kept pretty good pace, even though the point was to take it easy since I may still be sick...but it felt too good to just go, so I went.

Now that I'm back on, I will have to keep going.

Sick and depressed

Well, the sickness kicked in this morning....ended up not running the race since I feel so bad. Headache, sore throat, cough....bad enough that I'm just going to lounge around all day. Ugh. I hate this crap....I will sign up for the next local 5K though and run in that one.

I wanted to run this morning an d then go to the mall for Mother's Day stuff and some new clothes for me since a lot of my clothes are too big for me now (yay!). Oh well, next week, I guess.

race tomorrow, good run this morning, even on no sleep

This morning, I had a great run. This was pretty surprising since I haven't slept yet and I have pretty much just eaten garbage all week and haven't worked out since my ballet class on Monday...yeah, it's Friday. It is 7:29 am and I haven't slept yet. Actually ended up working a 14 hr shift last night (did I mention I LOVE overtime? so of course I said yes). Actually worked a 14hr shift last night but need to stay up until 10am to make it to class today. I know if I sleep between now and then I won't get up, so I figured a run would be a good way to recharge. So far, it feels pretty good, esp since it was a really good run. I got my mile time down to 9:02, and the second mile was 9:24...I would have gone longer today, but wanted to quit while I was still feeling good considering the garbage food and lack of sleep. Tomorrow morning should be pretty good. The plan is to get up at 7, eat a light breakfast, run around a bit to warm up and go. I'm just going to treat it like a regular run and not psyche myself out. It should be a pretty good run though, especially after today's.

ugh, sick, no time....race on Saturday

So of course I'm getting sick and haven't run since Sunday....and this week has been really crazy, so I haven't had any time or energy. Today, have to work extra, so definitely can't fit a run in there....maybe tomorrow, but I may just need to sleep all day. The race on Saturday should be interesting then to say the least. As long as I do better than 30 mins, I'll be happy.

Why?

I used to run pretty regularly with my old roommates, Tania and Jason. That was really good, and I felt great when I was doing it. Then I went on a backpacking trip to/through Mexico and didn't go back to running. In October 2007, I went to the doctor, and my weight was at the point where I knew it was going to be a problem soon. I always said, "at least I don't weigh that much." I didn't weigh "that much," but I was right around the corner. It was around that time and all through the winter that I was pretty much a useless blob on my days off from work or school. I was tired ALL the time, was sleeping a lot, and was not eating well at all.

That was when I made time to go to the gym or to go swimming when I could fit it in, but it wasn't quite a priority. Once the weather started to warm up (kind of) in March-ish, I decided to head out for a run. It was pretty painful, though it felt good enough that I went back. I started at about 2 miles, and now am up to about 4. I'm running in a 5K this weekend--Angela could not believe that ("you? are you sure it's you?" She's funny). That should be interesting and fun! Maybe then I'll be a real running junkie, and hooked on races. Buying new running gear is also a pretty good motivator:)

I also try to swim 2x a week and am also taking an adult ballet class once a week. It's all going well, and I generally feel great and am eating better too, since I just don't feel very good if I don't eat well.

After a solid month of healthy choices and devoting myself to them (as shown by the workout log, rather than casual working out, etc) I am down about 15 lbs, but I'm not really keeping track, since that wasn't really the goal. The goal was to feel good and actually want to go workout, establishing healthy habits, which so far I have done pretty well. I have been feeling really good lately and my legs get a funny feeling in them on days when I don't work out, so even on rest days I may take a walk or something just to keep moving.

I should probably get some new clothes soon, since I have to wear a belt with ALL of my pants now so they stay on. But maybe I will just use that dough on some new Chacos....hmmm, decisions, decisions.

One of these days, I will get Jake to go with me. I am thinking that on the next long run day, I may have him chase/follow me on his bike. It would be nice to have a companion once in a while, though I get pretty zenned out when I run. Going for walks with him is pretty great though. Together we should really make more time for that.

May 2008 Archive

Here are the last of the previous "posts" off my computer. Next post will be a fresh and new and will probably look a lot better since it won't be copied and pasted from Excel.

Date	Route	Distance	Weather	Reflection
2 May Fri	34 Indian Holly State Blvd	50 min ran	cloudy, muggy	Ran for 50 mins total during this whole "run." It was totally awesome. I finally made it to the water, which was
	Harris 21st Bill McDonald	6.7 mi total		my goal when I started running. Next long run I do, I'm going to do this one again next week. It was generally the
				best run ever. Can't wait until I can run this one out the whole time.
4 May Sun	Blvd Park Walk w J	45+	nice, cool	Walked in the evening with J. Really wanted to run, but wanted to spend some time w J. Walked around the park
				and the trail toward downtown. Also got coffee at Woods. It was pretty good.
5 May Mon	Ballet			Really good class today. Really wanted to swim earlier, but figured that ballet would be a workout enough so J
				and I went out to lunch instead. Had Diego's, got a torta. For dinner made rice and beans, and it was really good.

April 2008 Archive

Since I kept the log in Excel, and am now converting it to the blog, here are my "posts" from April 2008.

Date	Route	Distance	Weather	Reflection
2 Apr Wed	Rec Center-Treadmill	2.5 mi	indoors	I should have run outside since it was really nice that day. The run on the treadmill was okay, I just ran on campus because
				I had classes all day. It was nice to have a constant speed, but I think that gave me an excuse to walk at certain intervals.
				Next time I will try to run outside. Outside is way better.
4 Apr Fri	Old F Pkwy via 32nd	3.9 mi	clear and cool	This was probably the best run ever. I ran pretty hard the whole time and just walked a bit on Donovan ave after the Old Fair
				Pkwy section. Then I made it all the way back from Donovan to the stop sign at Fielding. It was a great run, and was about 45
				or 50 minutes. Not bad for walking part of it. I think I really like running in the evenings--working in the evenings makes this
				really difficult but I do my best runs in the evenings and find myself most motivated in the evenings. I wore my purple long
				sleeve and the yoga pants, and was the perfect temp the whole time. I need some running shades and new shoes still.
				I think I want to do a 5k sometime soon. That would be pretty neat.
5 Apr Sat	Old F Pkwy via 32nd	3.9 mi	cool, cloudy	It was almost raining, kind of cold. Good run, but still tired from yesterday I think so felt kind of sluggish. Only went to 22nd
				St on Fhaven Pkwy rather than all the way to 20th St. The goal is to eventually get to the water on the run. That would be
				good. Wore the yoga pants and the black long sleeve--good choice since no sun today. I'm going to start the adult ballet
				class Monday too, that should be good. Ended up walking most of Donovan Ave and when got back to 32nd, only made it
				to Rosewood Villa--that's okay though. I have to work tonight and worked last night too. Still thinking I want to do a 5k, so
				we'll see.
7 Apr Mon	Treadmill/elliptical	25 mins	indoors	Well that sucked. I hate the treadmill, it's too easy to just slow down or stop. So then I hopped on the elliptical but that was
				lame too. Oh, and I tried the stair climber thing, but the pedals weren't working properly and some guy was on the stair one.
				The plan is to run hard tomorrow morning before school. That should be invigorating. I also was supposed to start ballet
				today but that didn't work out because they are closed for Spring Break…next week for sure. That should be fun. That was
				also part of why I wasn't really feeling the workout today. Tomorrow I will have a great workout. I quit the treadmill and the
				whole trying to work out indoors thing. I think I am going to register for the Haggen to Haggen 5k.
8 Apr Tues	Donovan via 32nd	2.1 mi	rainy cool	Running in the rain is the best thing ever. I always say that and then avoid running in the rain when I can. I also got up at 7
				and was out the door at 8, need to work on this run in the morning thing. It feels pretty good. Tried to go balls out down and
				back but it wasn't as fast as I would have liked, but I did go non-stop so that's a plus. Wore the black long sleeve and yoga
				pants, still need new shoes. That was a really good run though, probably a good pace for the upcoming race, but I will keep
				at it as I need to add distance and speed. Registered for the Haggen to Haggen 5k yesterday. That will be pretty fun too.
9 Apr Wed	Swimming	45 min		Swam pretty much nonstop for 45 minutes. It was great…need to eat more/better in the mornings though. Felt pretty bad
				all day--ate a breakfast cookie before swimming and some grapes and then some almonds and a breakfast cookie after. Didn't
				have time in the morning to make a PB sandwich. Felt pretty good though to be able to go nonstop. Just ate a quesadilla
				and will take a yogurt to work with the leftover ziti. Hopefully that's all I eat today. I am trying to just fuel rather than
				eat and eat. Running tomorrow morning before work is the plan.
12 Apr Sat	Donovan to OF to 19th	4 mi	warm, sunny	Pants were a bad choice. New shoes were great. Tried some faster intervals, but by the end of the run, it was just hard to
	to Connelly Cr Trail			keep going and going any longer was really difficult. Took about an hour--did some walking, it was really warm out. Otherwise
			NEW SHOES	good run. I'm just pumped that I'm still going and still improving.
13 Apr Sun	BillMc 21st OF Don 32	4.3 mi	warm, cloudy	Tried for long and slow, so did keep running pretty much the whole time. Not so much on the long side, though. I thought that
			some rain	skipping the middle section (by mostly staying off Donovan) I was going to lengthen out the run. I did, but only by about .4 mi
				It still took 50 mins just like all my other runs do. It was hard going up Bill Mcdonald first, but that was a good hill run. I really
				just need to run that race course, but I'm kind of worried about running through downtown. Guess I just need to do it, because
				I know it will be 3 mi out. It was a really good run though, kept good pace the whole time so that's good.
14 Apr Mon	Ballet			Totally awesome. I am so excited for more classes. I just hope that the pro-dancers don't feel like I am ruining their class.
				But I am not the one who decided to make it open for all.
15 Apr Tues	32nd OF Trail 32nd	45 mins	cool, cloudy	A tree tried to pollenate me but my skin was not having it. After hitting the trail, I noticed that my head was really itchy--
				I thought I might have lice or something, but it was burning like crazy. I have never gotten hives like that before. I'm guessing
				it's from a tree or something. So I got home and took a Benadryl, and then called my mom and Sharon--wasn't sure if I should
				shower or not or if that would just inflame it more. Had to take a shower though for work and to get the stuff off my skin.
				That was scary though. Runwise, not my best run…really had to dig deep for the energy, not sure where it was. Had eaten
				toast and an apple pre-class and then went to Pho 99 but it was an hour before the run, so I figured I'd be fine. That may
				have been the problem--too full. Later took leftover potatoes and an apple to work for dinner, not the best idea as I was
				hungry all night for lack of protein and ate a bunch of candy and such at work…..protein super necessary. Came home and ate
				a grilled cheese sandwich after work for doing the rest of homework. We'll see how I feel tomorrow with minimal sleep
				and the after-effects of eating poorly all this evening. I will be in the pool, though, which is always nice.
16 Apr Wed	Swimming	30 mins		Swam today, but had a hard time focusing because I was thinking about Laura's racist remarks from the night before and
				needed to call Sharon. It was a good workout, but I should have gone longer, esp since I slept in that morning. Oh well…then
				went to work that evening.
19 Apr Sat	None, aw crap			Haven't worked out in three days. Tuesday was an intentional day off, Friday Jake's birthday so ran out of time in the day. We
				did go bowling though, but my finger still hurts…so couldn't bowl. Just drank some beer and ate some fried garbage, that was
				pretty good. At that point, I knew I had to run today, but just slept all day since I had to work tonight and lounged with the
				kitty--that was pretty good in and of itself, so no big deal. Tomorrow for sure, need to run and eat better and do hw. Lots of
				hw, damn it. Oh well, at least J and I will both be home tomorrow. Time with him is great, so is time with the kitty, hence the
				lots of lounging today. Need to work out tomorrow so it doesn't get to easy to say no.
20 Apr Sun	Racecourse	3.7 mi	warm, sunny	Tried to run the racecourse today, but got lost and ended up taking Cornwall instead of Broadway. That's okay, it worked
				out, and I ended up running longer than the course actually is. We shall try again on Tuesday, that was pretty good though.
				I walked a little bit, but it wasn't bad at all and by the time I got to the end, I could have just kept going, so Tuesday I will try
				again. Running through downtown wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it was a little warmer than I thought it would be
				so I got kind of warm in the long sleeve, and should have worn sunscreen too. That's okay though, it was a really good run
				but getting lost was a little discouraging. I should have eaten more before the run than I had, as I had only eaten some
				peanut butter toast and ate like crap yesterday and Friday. Oh, and I worked last night, so I was pretty tired anyway.
				Overall it was a pretty great run, and I really needed to get off my ass, as I spent the weekend on the couch. Tomorrow the
				plan is to swim and ballet. Yay!
21 Apr Mon	Swimming	45 mins		Great swim today, went nonstop. Got really tired midway through, but that was good. Ready for ballet tonight. Just swam
				hard and fast for most of it, but then just went long and focused on my form. Ballet class in about 45 mins. Wish my weight
				would just get lower. This is taking forever…I think I am eating fairly well though, I'm not that much of a pig.
	Ballet			Good class today. Did some hard new steps. I love the class. My shins are really tight today. I guess I need to roll them out
				on the rolly foam. Today ate an apple, a breakfast cookie, leftover pasta, some skittles, an iced tea, and hamburger and potato
				salad for dinner. It was pretty good…not sure how conducive it is to the weight loss plan. Time for a long-ish run tomorrow.
22 Apr Tues	Rest			My shins are sore, and I pretty much worked out 2x yesterday, so rest today. Maybe I will strength-train tomorrow.
25 Apr Fri	32nd Don Trl	2 mi		Did it in 25 mins…and that was with some "fartlek" style bursts. But there was also some walking in the trail section, so I guess
				it all evened out. I was really tired afterward. Wanted to do a quick and dirty kind of run, so just wanted short and fast.
				I wish I could go faster though, as 25 mins for exactly 2 miles is not that impressive, especially considering that I was trying
				to go fast. Tomorrow, going to do a long, slow run. And cannot take four days off anymore, that's pretty bad but ran out of
				time yesterday, and my shins were sore the other days. At least now I'm not that sore anymore. Tomorrow will be good.
27 Apr Sun	32nd Don OF 24th D 32	3.4 mi	cloudy, muggy	Run started out pretty well, did the first mile in 9 mins (probably my best), then it went terribly from there. Spent a lot of
				time walking, ended up taking me about 50 mins to do the whole thing--that really sucks. That was a lot of walking. Today
				ate a banana and some PB toast. Yesterday ate lots of fried bar shit and probably 5 pints of beer….then my stomach hurt
				today and had pretty bad diarrhea this morning. Wasn't even sure if I should run, but decided that I had to in order for
				tomorrow to be easier. I need to get my shit together and eat better. No more fried stuff ever again. Good run tomorrow!
28 Apr Mon	Swimming/ballet	45 mins/		Swam for 45 minutes straight, it was great. I was really tired afterward, but it was good. Barely made it to my ballet class, but
		class		at the first wasn't focused and was overthinking it instead of just going and feeling it. When I finally stopped thinking it out,
				I was able to do pretty well and just listen to the music and move with it. She let me start a few things from 5th and I started
				on the first steps to pirouettes. That will be cool, once I can move a lot better. We ate dinner with my parents tonight, that
				was good. We went to La Fiamma, since I wasn't too hungry, pizza is a good choice when not super hungry. Then went to
				the casino, and lost about 8 bucks…not too bad for an hour of fun. Then we rushed home and I ran off to ballet. I think that's
				part of why I was so distracted, since I had to rush to ballet and couldn't get into ballet mode on my way there. When I finally
				got into the mode, it was great. I am excited to get better and better. I just hate that sometimes I feel like a clumsy elephant
				especially when the skinny girls are behind me on the barre so they have to follow me, I know I am not the best one to follow.
				I don't think they think I am holding them up, but I still feel bad. Today though, she had me and one of the other girls do the
				same thing, so that was good, since I wasn't the only one taking baby steps. Then when I came home, I was showing Jake a
				few things we had done today, then we were messing around and he had me climb up onto his back. I broke his phone holder
				and then fell backward and onto the floor. It was pretty ridiculous and I was just embarrassed that I had fallen and started
				to cry because I always feel like a clumsy elephant and him seeing me like that just added to it. It's pretty ridiculous generally.
				I think it may be because my weight is kind of stuck here and after the bad run yesterday, I just feel like I'm losing and am not
				sure how to get back up. Of course, I will keep running and such, but I don't know how to get my mind back.
30 Apr Wed	32nd Donovan	2 mi	Sunny warm	Did a quick and dirty run. Did the second mile in 9:40….beat 10mins! I've always been a 10 min miler….so that was good.

Welcome!

So, I keep a log of my workouts in an Excel file on my comp, and figured I should make them into a blog to maybe inspire others and to have more people involved in the keeping-me-motivated thing. And to keep my fam, etc. abreast of any races or anything else I may be partaking in.