Plugging Along

Yes, I know it's been a minute since I've posted, but not because I've slacked off and gone back into hiding, thank goodness. Not this time. I've actually been a very good girl this past week, but a very busy one, as well.

Oh, and all that I said in my last post about getting all frisky and running extra between my scheduled runs?


HA. No need. None.

These girls have been knocking it out of the park on every run we've had since then. I am so incredibly proud of them both! Neither Angie nor her daughter Kailey have ever run before, and they are both smokers, to boot. But they have already gotten to the point where they are pacing me on each run we have done, and are improving far faster than I am.  Of course, I haven't really been pushing myself, either, but at this rate, I will be very, very soon. Maybe even sooner than I'm ready to push, lol.

Not complaining at all. Believe me.

We have been using Runkeeper's Beginning 5K training program, which has us running every other day, and so far, we've only missed one day (Valentine's Day). That was my fault...I had a minor issue that felt like a major one and required an after-work doctor's visit, which cut out our run time that day. Thankfully, it was completely worth it, and I am Not Sorry.  I'm just going to mark that run as skipped and move on.

Today will be our first run in four days. Intervals are on the schedule and I am really looking forward to winding it out a bit.  We'll be going back to the track for this run, but I made the mistake of introducing the girls to the joy of running the Tweetsie instead of track work, and now they're spoiled, so I expect to hear a lot of belly-aching today when we get there. That's ok, there's a place and time for track work, too. Thankfully, it's not too often, and most of our runs WILL be on the Tweetsie, especially on the shady parts of it this summer.

The crazy weather is still holding for the most part, although we did have a bit of unexpected snow yesterday, and as a consequence, is a bit chilly today. But the sun is shining, and there is no snow or ice on the ground. In February. In the mountains.  Color me extremely happy.

And last, but certainly not least, I lost another .5 pounds when I stepped on the scale on Weigh-In Wednesday. Any loss is a good one, as far as I'm concerned....and most definitely a step in the right direction.

 

 How about you?  Having unusually awesome weather where you are?

Running with Friends

This weather is CRAZY. Like, seriously. The last couple of winters here have been really brutal, and I guess I've gotten it in my head that it's the norm, but this year has been very mild so far (knock on wood). I've been really happy about that for several reasons, the main one being that I'm sick of having to deplete my leave every winter because I'm snowbound and can't get to freaking work.  Last year, winter completely derailed me.  And this year, now that I have a treadmill in the house, the weather has been in the 60's with very little snow. I've only been housebound one day so far. One. Day.

Ridiculous.


But in the best kind of way.  I just wish I could say I've been taking full advantage of it.

I've really got to get better at getting outside. I'm still too chained to my desk for my liking, and I've got to get harsher with myself and MAKE myself go walk at lunch, if nothing else.

Monday, I finally started my Beginner 5k program.  I'm so stinking excited to be back out on the track, I can't even.  I convinced my friend Angie to do this with me, so that we can both run the Covered Bridge 5k in June, and she agreed, but she has never run before, so when I say 'beginner', I really mean it.  I am so stinking excited to share this journey with her and her daughter, Kailey! I was kind, though...after 10 months of no running, I had a vested interest in slowing my roll, too, so even though the plan called for a five minute warm-up, followed by a mile and a half of running or walking, we basically wound up doing interval shuffles.  Walked for about a half loop around the track, shuffle-ran the rest of the way, until we got a mile and a half in.  Then we walked a cool down lap. That's cool, because even shuffles mean you're moving.

It was really hard for me to keep it a shuffle, though. I didn't think it would be, but Kailey went with us, and with all the abundant energy of youth, she kept bouncing out in front of us. I told her to keep going, but she hovered, and I'm kind of glad because watching her take off would have made me itch too much to join her.  At the end of the run, I felt like I hadn't really run at all, and I never got out of breath, or really even pushed myself, even though Angie was all in.  They both did so, so well, and I am so very proud of them, especially Angie, who laid it all out on the line....but I was also proud of myself, to discover that maybe...just maybe...I wasn't quite as out of shape as I had led myself to believe.

Today, we'll be headed back to the track for our second training session...intervals. I'm going to work hard to get Angie to push it with each interval (they're only one minute apiece, but that can seem like an eternity when you're just starting out), but I'm not sure that our pace will improve much from Monday's (which I think was in the 21 min/mi range). That's ok, but I find that I'm really feeling antsy, and that's not ok. I really want to run. I want to push myself, to feel my muscles respond, to feel like I've accomplished something hard. And that's not going to happen for a while.

So...I think maybe what I'm going to do is to try and sneak in a run here and there on my own, between my run dates with Angie, on the days I know she won't be running.  Just until the initial training process is over, mind...so I don't think I'll have to do it for very long.  I wasn't sore at all the morning after, or even that night, and I usually am after a run, so I know that if I add a run or two through the week, I won't be overtaxing my body. I really think I'm ready for that step.

In other news, I managed to drop a couple of pounds this week (the two that I gained back last week), so I'm back on track, even if it IS a couple of weeks late.  All forward motion counts, right?

Right!!

How about you?  Ever tried to help someone else get into running or some other physical activity? How did you handle it? Were you successful?

 

 

 

January Wrap-Up and February Goals

So...I'm not able to post as frequently as I used to right now, but I am trying to post at least once a week, and hopefully it will get more frequent as I get back into the swing of things.  More and more I'm finding myself being able to unchain from my desk, but it is a slow-go, nonetheless.  That's ok...I will get there, I'm not really concerned by how long it takes.  This is a process, and it makes sense that everything associated with it would be a process, too.

This has been a bit of a strange week, but not in a bad way. I've been able to get some walking in, but not as much as I would have liked. The plan right now is to do as much as possible to make up the difference this weekend.

I've set the highly ambitious goal of 1000 miles this year, and in order to reach it, I have set smaller monthly goals. Since I've always had trouble in the winter, I purposely set smaller goals for those months.  January only had a goal of 40 miles, nothing when I'm running to speed, but when one is starting back from a 9-month-long dead stop, it's a bit daunting, to say the least.  Still, even with the slow start I had, I still managed to eek out a respectable 25....which just means that my goal of 60 miles in February will need to include an additional 15 miles to make up for January, if possible, and come March, I'll be back on track. Or, I can just add an extra 5 miles to each of the next three months.  I'm not trying to kill myself, but if I can just manage to not fall behind any more, I feel pretty sure that I'll be able to stay on track the rest of the year.  At my top months, I'm aiming for 100 miles, and I've done 120 easily in the past, so I'm really not too worried.

Providing, of course, that the weather cooperates for the next two months.

I feel pretty good about my progress in January. Getting back on the horse is never easy, but I've managed to make a very good start, I think. Of course, my goals for February will be more of the same, but I really want to focus on tightening my game.  And I want to get my run back on.  Badly.  I know that will make all the difference in my attitude and my drive. January was all about getting moving.  February is all about really moving. 

I've signed up for the Beginner 5k training course in Runkeeper again, and talked my friend Angie into joining me. We're slated to begin this on Sunday, always providing the weather holds, but if we can use February and March for this course, then by the time the weather turns in April, we'll be running smooth, and that's when the fun REALLY starts!

Can't wait to get really moving again!

How about you? How'd you do last month?  What are your goals for February?