Day 2: Run/Walk Method

Today was my second day to do the run/walk method of Jeff Galloway. When I did it Sunday, I ran for 30 seconds and walked for 30 seconds for the entire 3.11 miles. I felt pretty good and decided to bump it up to 1 minute:1 minute to see how I did. It is amazing to me how close my times were. But, it was a harder run for sure.

Now, I take a Zumba class on Monday evenings, and this being my second run after a Zumba class, I am here to tell you that I can definitely feel it in my legs. Whatever muscles are used in Zumba are screaming at me while I'm running but geez it feels fantastic. No joke. It makes me feel like something is working. So I'm not totally sure if it was a harder run because I bumped it up to 1:1 or if it was because of the Zumba. Or both.

Tomorrow is a rest day. THANK GOD. I'm not gonna lie, I like my rest days. My legs like my rest days. I NEED those rest days.

Because I love visuals, I am going to post the comparison of today's run and Sunday's run to show you how close they were.

Summary                            Tues 01/31/12                  Sun 01/29/12 Distance 3.11 mi 3.11 mi Time 38:43 38:14 Avg Speed 4.8 mph 4.9 mph Avg Pace 12:28 min/mi 12:18 min/mi Calories 368 C 364 C Moving Time 38:04 37:53 Elapsed Time 38:43 38:14 Avg Moving Speed 4.9 mph 4.9 mph Avg Moving Pace 12:15 min/mi 12:11 min/mi Max Speed 7.2 mph 7.2 mph Best Pace 8:20 min/mi 8:21 min/mi                      Laps Split Time Distance Avg Pace Time Distance Avg Pace 1 12:17 1.00 12:17 12:32 1.00 12:33 2 12:34 1.00 12:34 12:33 1.00 12:33 3 12:36 1.00 12:36 12:04 1.00 12:04 4 1:17 0.11 12:10 1:05 0.11 9:58

Wait, what?

Good grief, Charlie Brown. Has it really been over a week, almost 2 actually, since I last updated my blog? I've meant to update it several times but for some reason I have not. Chalk it off to the funkiness I have been in, I guess.

My last post was about evil bloated woman where I gained 3.4 pounds. &^%#%@ Yea, 3.4 lbs.. Mind you, no one forced the food down my throat or twisted my arm to eat whatever bad foods I ate that I probably should not have. But when evil bloated woman is here, I have NO self control. NONE. Really, I don't.

Moving past the 3.4 lb. gain, the next day I walked 13 miles with my fabulous sister-in-law. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy those walks? The high that I feel when done with that kind of walk should keep me going for a great start to the week leading up to the next weigh-in. But not last week. I didn't walk the Sunday after. And not that Monday. I did do a strength training work out (which, by the way, I felt for days). On Tuesday I walked 3.11 miles. I wanted to run, but my legs could not would not do it. Regardless, I walked it and got it done. On Wednesday, I did nothing. Nada. Same on Thursday. Thursday is normally a no workout day anyhow, but the guilt was there since I skipped the day before. When I walked into WW on Friday, I had no idea what the scale would say. Whatever it said, though, I would have to own it. I am the one who decided to not workout when I could have, or to eat whatever it was I should not have. Amazingly, I was down 1 pound. Honestly, I think the pound I lost was the fact that evil bloated woman was finally gone, at least until she rears her ugly head again in a few weeks.

That 1.0 lb. loss gave me a little jump start,. I was happy. I was even happier when my sister-in-law and I walked 14 miles on Saturday. That is nothing to sneeze at, my friends. It was a HARD walk this week. It was hot and humid and when we were done, my feet (especially my right foot) was screaming at me. My SIL had to stop at mile 12 due to blisters on her feet. It was brutal. But we gave it our best. I burned ALOT of calories, 1239 calories to be exact. Again, this should have kept me going into this week.

Where did this funk come from? Why I am so blah this past week and not really caring about what food choices I make? It's irritating, and to be quite honest, scary. I don't want to give up, I don't want to quit, but I feel like something else is controlling me.

I got home yesterday and should have walked. It was raining so I didn't. I should have gone on the treadmill, but I didn't. I got home today, no rain, a little bit of a breeze - I should have walked. But I didn't. WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME??

Someone needs to give me a virtual slap or something. I don't know what needs to happen, but I have got to snap out of this funkiness. I don't want to be tired and blah and just whatever. I don't. I want to be that girl who comes home, changes quickly, and runs out the front door and knocks out 3.11 miles as quickly as I can. I want to walk back in the house, dripping with sweat, and post what I did, and enjoy the rest of my evening knowing I busted my butt.

If anyone can help me find that girl that does those things, I'll be eternally grateful. I'm really not sure where she is this week. I need her.

Why I walk

Today I had the perfect excuse to not do my walk/run. It has been raining off and on all day. A consistent, wet rain that lets up for a little bit and then it's pouring again. Add in some lightning and thunder for effect, and that's how the whole day has been. And all I could think about was, this is going to screw up my walk.

But, I have a treadmill. I've had it for almost 8 years and I used to use it all the time. It used to be my favorite thing to do. I don't know why. The last couple of years, it's not been used nearly as much as in the past. But it serves a purpose and today was that exact purpose. When it was clear that the weather was going to keep inside, I knew I was lucky to have my treadmill as a backup.

After spending so much time walking/running outside, the treadmill is very different. My pace seems different and the time may as well be doubled. You know, like dog years vs. people years? An hour outside may as well be two hours on the treadmill. Why is that?

My time on the treadmill today did not have the full effect as if I had been outside, but the important thing is I did it. Not only did I do it, but I ran longer than I have outside as I posted on daily mile. This made me feel great and I was even more thankful that I had my treadmill and didn't just not do it.

Why do I walk? Why do I run? I've mentioned many times that it is as much for my mental health as it is my physical health. These are the reasons why:

• It's MY time and I am doing something for myself
• It's the only time I can find the "OFF" switch to my brain. I am a worrier and I am constantly thinking about everything. It is very rare that I am able to shut off my thinking and just not worry. Except when I am out there walking or running. The "OFF" switch works perfectly then.
• I love the fresh air (another reason I prefer outside over the treadmill).
• It's cheaper than therapy.

I am on a nice little high right now after running so far today. I am already thinking about tomorrow, hoping the rain is over by the afternoon so I can get out there and do exactly what I did on the treadmill today.

Bee an inspiration!

One of the blogs I follow is Bee Fit, written by an amazing gal named Colleen. She started her weight loss journey at 272 pounds and joined WW on Feb. 24, 2010 weighing 252.6 pounds. This past June, she made her goal at WW, losing 102 pounds. Her weight loss is AMAZING and her progress photos really show the hard work she has done to get to this point.

But what I love most about her story is her determination. When she reached her 220's, she started jogging. She ran her first 5k in September 2010. Since then she has completed several half marathons and many more 5ks. This is incredible to me. You read so many stories of people who say "when I reach my goal and lose all the weight, I'm going to run a half marathon". Not Colleen. She didn't wait. And I love that. And she's not stopping anytime soon. She just completed another half marathon over the weekend and is training for her first full marathon in November.

The reason I'm telling you about Colleen today, besides the fact that you should all go visit her blog and read for yourself how incredible she is, is to tell you that she inspired me to do something. I read today's blog post while I was eating my lunch. It was about the half marathon she completed this weekend AND set a new personal record for herself. Pretty amazing, huh?

A couple hours later, I read it again. I kept thinking about how incredible I feel to go out and walk 3, 4, 5, even 10 or 11 miles. And then I wondered how incredible she must feel about herself with all she has accomplished. To run a 5k would be a huge thing for me. To run a half marathon? Well, that almost seems out of reach for me but it is something I would love to do and it's a dream I have.

So I was driving home from work, trying to beat the rain clouds so I could get to the park and log my 3.11 miles for the day. On a normal day, I will alternate walking and running - mostly walking with probably a third of it running throughout. A little bit here, a little bit there. I tend to run more near the end as I am trying to make the most of my time, always trying to beat my best time.

Today I decided I was going to run 1 mile - all at once. Colleen's ability to go out and run a half marathon and train for a full marathon inspired me to run the first mile, just to see if I could do it. And I did. It took me 12:02. Not a fast mile by any stretch, but one that was comfortable for me. I DID IT. It felt great and kept me going for the rest of my walk, during which I did more running. As always, I am thankful for my strong legs that allow me to run and push myself.

Another exciting tidbit to mention... I have a new personal best for my 5k - 40:48, beating my previous best by 17 seconds. I am SO competitive with myself.

Now, I know I can run a mile. I'll work on that for a bit and then I'll try 2 miles. And one day you'll read about me running a 5K. Maybe I'll inspire others the way Colleen has inspired me.

Don't forget to check out Colleen's blog Bee Fit . You WILL be inspired.

com·pet·i·tive

com·pet·i·tive

–adjective

Having a strong desire to compete or to succeed 

This morning's walk/run was my best to date. My 3 best times so far are:

41:04

43:34

43:35

Last weekend I shaved 1 second off when I finished in 43:34. 1 SECOND.

This morning when I hit the start on my nifty Nike+ app on my phone, I decided I was going to beat that 43:34 by more than 1 second. And I did, by 2 min. 30 sec. to be exact.

I start out walking and I have certain landmarks at the park where I will run - between signs, etc.... It's a great way to alternate walking and running with an end in site. A lot of times, I'll push my running a little farther - not to this tree, how about the next one. It's always fun to challenge myself.

I am not a fast runner. And it's certainly not pretty when I run. I am the person who looks like I'm going to keel over - heaving breathing, shoulders hunched, and a bright red face. But you know what? I'm doing it. I will never be that person who runs so gracefully it looks like they are taking a leisurely stroll. My pace will get better and over time I'll be able to run farther than I do now, but it will never be pretty.

I am VERY competitive with myself. When I beat my previous time by 1 second, my first thought was I can do much better than that next time. I ran more than normal and when I did run, I tried to run a little faster. And it made a difference. My legs feel great and they feel strong and I am super proud of myself.

My next goal? To get under the 40 min. mark. That is just a matter of time. Because I am crazy competitive with myself, moreso than anyone else.

I took this picture at the park this morning - isn't it beautiful??

Eagle Lake Park

It's like a drug

After a great walk / run last Saturday, I skipped Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Sunday got away from me without it happening and Monday and Tuesday were busy work days and I was beat by the time I got home. EXCUSES, I know. By the time yesterday evening got here, I told hubby I HAD to go and walk. It was a necessity. So off I went. And man it felt great.

I set my super cool Nike+ GPS app on my handy dandy iPhone for a 5k and off I went. I had finally loaded some music on my phone and imported it into the app and enjoyed having music in my ears while I walked my little heart out. Back a few years ago, my last time on WW, when I was running alot, I would pick an artist randomly and whenever one of their songs came on, I would run. For yesterday, my artist of choice was System of a Down, what I like to refer to as my rage music. Wouldn't you know, several of their songs played for me so I got some good running in. My heart was pounding and I was a hot sweaty mess but it was great.

I can honestly say that walking / running is like a drug to me. No other exercise has that effect on me. I can be in the worst mood or stressed out or whatever, but when I'm done with my walk, I am a different person. So when I said yesterday that I needed to walk, I meant it.

Having only walked 3 days since my last weigh-in last Friday, we'll see how tomorrow's weigh-in goes. I don't really have any gut feelings on it right now. I've been keeping up with my 64 oz. of water a day which I know has been a big help. We will see tomorrow morning!!

How lucky are we?

We have a beautiful park right up the street - Eagle Lake Park. It's been open almost a year now and I can't tell you how many times I've been there with Blue, my little walking buddy. There are all these little lakes and trails and I could spend hours there. Today I walked from our house to the south end of the park and back - total of 3.45 miles. We were stopped several times by people who just had to ooh and ahh over Blue. He is such a little ham and eats up all the attention he gets. I am trying to get back into running and I know he will make a great running companion. He is easily distracted at times, but I think with some practice he will run right along side of me and we'll both get the exercise we need. One thing for sure, we have the prettiest park to walk at, right here...