Novice Runner

Morning runs

2010-05-16T17:42:00.001-07:00

I have to admit that since I joined the gym I've only gone on a few, but I have discovered morning runs are the best. I wake up at the unGodly hour of 4:30 and get dressed to go to the gym. This starts my day off right and gives me a rush. Even my Kindergarten students can't keep up with me.

Needless to say, this combined with unmedicated ADHD has caused some (ok most) teachers to ask if I'm alright. I think I look like I'm on speed, but hey my work gets done and the kids behave so it's all good.

Now, my problem is this - staying motivated to get it done. I have huge motivation problems. It's just too easy to hit the snooze button and go back to bed until the next alarm goes off at 6:30. I've tried setting the alarm in 10 minute slots, but I will actually grab the alarm and change the time to 6:30 and go back to sleep. And moving it across the room doesn't help. I just crawl back into bed.

I am the baby that slept throught the night earlier than I was supposed to do. My mom told me that she used to go put a mirror under my nose to make sure I was still breathing because she didn't trust her eyes (I don't know if this is actually true or just a story so that I understand the importance of the idea - since I still love nothing better than a nap, I am afraid to ask).

I've discovered the new Christian Kane EP works wonders on my running, especially The House Rules. He's my boyfriend; he's just never met me and is completely unaware of our deep and meaningful relationship. If Gold's Gym would let me, I would bring a DVD of Leverage and just run as I watched that. MMMMMM... Good in the words of Campbells soup.

Hopefully I'll be here tomorrow morning discussing how Christian helped me make it through another workout. Nothing like a Texas voice crooning in your ear to keep you going.

Koman

2010-05-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I had to walk it since I have been so lazy lately about exercising, but I did the Koman this morning. Thankfully my wonderful friend Sara came and picked me up. I hate driving at all downtown and she hates driving there by herself, so it worked out perfectly. Plus, she is a native San Antonian and knows backroads which comes in handy when you forget to change the alarm on your phone from Mon-Fri to Sat and almost sleep through the race that you have registered for.

Speaking of registering, they lost mine. I waited and waited for the page to come up and immediately registered on December 20th. I decided to raise money instead of paying the entry fee because I wanted to help raise money because my wonderful cousin Marsha is currently battling breast cancer. Yes, I wanted the experience of a race before the Rock and Roll Marathon on my birthday this year, but I didn't want to run to be all about me. Well, I just raised the $125 the night before so I figured that was why I didn't get anything in the mail. I thought it was a little suspicious, so I clicked register for the race and filled in my information again, but they told me I was already registered. Yeah, when I got there, they had no information on me at all. But I told the girl about the fundraising and she said, "No problem. What's your shirt size?" So my friend Sara and I walked to the starting line.

There were SO many people there. It was amazing. I almost bitch slapped one girl behind me on the walk to the car for her snotty, "just stop in the middle of the walkway" comment. But hey, Sara saw a guy wearing a pink tie and tutu and I wanted to see it too. Plus, there are over 30,000 people there. Do you think that you can walk back to your car without stopping????

I don't know about other Koman races, but I am disappointed to say that this one is not very well organized. I had to ask three different volunteers where to go to find the check in table. But I am glad that I was there. I saw wonderful T-shirts - I love my girls tatas; big or small, save them all; etc. It was a wonderful feeling. The saddest part was one man's sign - in loving memory and the end date was last week. In our modern day and age, something as curable as breast cancer should have an in loving memory sign. I'm glad I did something, even if it was a little as raising $125.

What really upset me were some of the sponsers. The T-shirt says: "Eat healthy, exercise regularly" and they had McDonald's there. Now as a vegan, I already find McDonalds offensive. The fact that what was once a little fast food chain could change the face of factory farming to the extent of dirty additives in food is disturbing enough, but even claiming McDonalds as healthy is just wrong. Not only that, dairy products were everywhere. Did they not read the research that says those who do not eat dairy at all (i.e. the Chinese) have the lowest rates of breast and other types of cancer??? In my opinion, the sponsers are helping to continue the cycle. But I guess maybe that is just my soap box. I keep telling myself that people have the right to eat what they want. But I've read how this is just increasing our health care costs. I do what I can. Hell, I quit smoking and boy do I miss it!!! But in my opinion, nobody should have to pay for my stupidity.

But enough moaning and groaning. It was a wonderful experience and I am looking forward to it again next year.

Long Time Gone

2010-02-04T04:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I bit the bullet and joined the gym. Since I stopped running, I can't even make half a mile before my knees start to hurt and I curse the fact that I am exercising. But I've been on the elliptical twice and the treadmill twice. I just need to keep at it, I know. But when your body won't do what you want it to do as fast as you want it too, it gets really frustrating. I started eating junk again (I just love potatoes in any bad for you form). As a result, I gained about five pounds. I joined the $45,000 Gold's Gym Challenge. I doubt I will win the money, but mostly I wanted my body fat measured. I've lost quite a bit of weight already and wanted to see how great that made me. Not so great. My body fat is still too high. I became complacent because people at work started calling me skinny-minny. I'm as bad as a celebrity - I started believing my good press. I knew that my stomache was still a little flabby, but hey, people were calling me skinny-minny. It was all great. Boy can a measurement really stop you in your gloating tracks.

I am feeling bad because today is my scheduled rest day. I know that it is important to rest, but given where I am physically I just want to keep moving. I might go for a walk after work today. I promise, no lifting.

The Wall

2010-01-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

I've heard about this problem and figured it would just happen to other people. I used to run three to five miles every day and do just fine. But I have hit the wall. My legs just won't move past a half a mile. It frustrates the daylights out of me. I want to yell and scream and curse the world. How in the world am I going to run for my cousin in May if I can't manage to get over this hurdle. I was supposed to be up to a mile and a half by now. I wanted to wow my friend when we return to work. But right now, I am running in two shifts - am and pm. I don't know if I am not eating enough carbs or if I need to lift weights on my legs. They just get tired. They don't hurt; there's no ache; they just kind of stop moving the way that I want them to. My lungs (which I was worried about since I quit smoking) are doing great. I think I am going to increase my carbs first. I have discovered the joy of scrambled tofu and as a result, I am not eating my oatmeal as much. I'm thinking that this is not helping my quest for fitness. A girl cannot live on tofu alone (even though it would be nice.)

Itchy legs

2009-12-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

Now that I have started running, I notice a new phenomenon - itchy legs. I don't mean where you have to scratch and then peel skin off. I am talking about the need to get up and get moving. Christmas dinner was awful in that regard. It was the first time it happened and I didn't know what it was. I felt like an advertisement for restless leg syndrom. Nothing I did made me comfortable. I moved around in my chair, I crossed and recrossed my legs. Nothing helped. I went home and took my Christmas nap (don't even get me started on how I derailed my training with only one meal) and felt better. The next morning I went outside because I figured I needed to get moving. I forgot how awful it is to try and run in cold weather. Notice I said try. It was 30 degrees outside and I could not manage to get my muscles warm enough to move around the way I wanted them to move around. I had forgotten this little tidbit of information. But I did do about a 45 minute walk which at least got me moving. My legs felt better and I figured out that this was the problem - I am becoming addicted to exercise in the same way I was addicted to candy before. As addictions go - it is certainly better. But I don't want to be the ultimate runner -at least not yet. I would settle for a good solid hour at a good pace, but I am not there yet.

This morning when I woke up it was pouring rain and I decided not to go out. Right now, the rain is tappering off so I guess I will get moving a little later today. Or I'll just do my strength training. I have the goal to loose four inches off my waist in 8 weeks. You guessed it - there is a function I want to look good at. We have a family reunion and I leave on Feb. 18th for sunny Florida. It's not going to be bikini season, but I am determined to be ready to put it on, no matter what the weather looks like outside. Even if I just parade aound in the damn thing before I get dressed! I will be back in that bikini. 8 weeks probably isn't realistic and I am setting myself up for a disappointment, but I am determined to give it my all. And if it doesn't happen - at least I will be somewhat thinner.

Now all I have to do is charge the digital camera and get some pictures on this blog. It's looking a little dull.

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-12-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

Well, since it is Christmas vacation and the only thing I have to really do is clean my house and work on the never ending thesis, I decided to get back out there and run. In fact, I just came in from a 1.8 mile run/walk, or as my friend Heather calls it - a wog. My shins are sore, my thigh muscles are screaming, and my brain is on that wonderful high that just can't be duplicated. I don't even want to think about how much I smell. I sweat. I am not a glistening girl. I am a full on need to take a shower sweat person. Unfortunately every towel I own is in the washing machine right now. Thankfully I live alone and the only one who has to smell me is the dog - and let's face it - dog breath ranks right up there with runner's sweat.

I've been doing more research on running and have read some more books. I subscribed to Runner's World, even though they made me mad with fish oil in a vegetarian soup. Look up the word people. I am anxiously awaiting my first issue. Of course, no magazine, but they did send me the bill. I also have a training log book and a beautiful calendar to look at. I put the calendar in the pantry so that when I want to snack on (non-existent) snack food, I see a dedicated person running through beautiful running trails that I can only dream of right now.

But the running is good. Slow but good. I'm not really sure why I stopped and started smoking, but I did. Now I just need to get myself back into shape. I lost four more pounds, but right now, I really want to start sculpting. It does me no good to be thinner, but still flabby. I am giving myself to February 14, 2010 to shape it up. It happens to be six months before the marathon.

I also have more than a long term goal in mind. This year I signed up to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. My cousin Marsha battles breast cancer and I am running for her. It feels good knowing that I am running for someone other than myself. What you do should be bigger than just your goals and ambitions.

Lazy bones

2009-12-02T03:41:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to stick to my training regimine, but things seem to get in the way. I have a friend that I run with after work, but there was a problem with electricity yesterday and they closed the school - including the track.

Now the weather is turning cold. For San Antonio, that is not too bad - in the 50s. But now that I have been here for years, it's a little too much for me. I remember running in snow in Connecticut, but here I'm willing to wait until it warms up. My dad says my blood has thinned.

What causes that initial rush of willingness to do exercise? It is always followed by the I don't wanna. Is it the excitement of starting something new? I think so, but I'm not sure. I'm still determined to run the marathon on my birthday next year, so I need to get my butt out the door. I just figure, there's always afterschool.

Rest for the Wicked

2009-11-30T03:16:00.000-08:00

To introduce this blog, I must say that when I went to college, I was an English major. And like any self-respecting book nerd, I research what I want to do before really doing it. The same thing goes for running. I read books and articles and other people's blogs. This Thanksgiving week I read Hal Higdon's Marathon. I learned the importance of rest. My muscles were screaming and I just kept going. This book emphasizes the rest that needs to be done throughout the week so that your muscles can bounce back. Now I feel great and I am ready to get moving today after school.

Newbie

2009-11-25T03:04:00.000-08:00

I am not exactly sure who in the world I am writing to out there, but it feels good to begin something new. Running being one of those things as well. I ran sprints in high school (I wasn't very good) and ran for a while when we lived in Connecticut. And that is a terrible place to run. It's cold there. Ice and snow. Give me my current Texas weather anytime.

Well, I started this running thing this week. Last week at school, the vice-principal made an announcement that one of our teachers had run the Rock and Roll Marathon over the weekend. Now this teacher teaches at the other end of the building and we hang out with different people, so I don't know her very well. But I thought, if she has enough guts and determination to run a marathon, the only thing stopping me is me. So I decided to do it too. Keep in mind, I haven't been out for a run in ten years, at least. So needless to say, I am in the stage that alternates between running and walking. The mile and a half run/walk Iwent on yesterday was long and hard. I've been walking every once in a while on the track at work, but I haven't been regular about it and I haven't gone running at all.

But I thought, I gave up cigarettes, meat, dairy, and eggs. I can give up the sendentary lifestyle as well. I even stopped eating sugar. I lost 28 pounds in 12 weeks and I have never felt better. So I can do this running thing. The marathon isn't until November 14, 2010, which is also my birthday. So the gift to me next year is crossing the finish line. I haven't decided if I think I'll be ready for the full marathon or if I will have to run the half. I figure I have a while to figure it out. Life's a journey, not a destination. I'm sure someone really smart said that before me. I remember it from somewhere. Now I just need to wake up and go back out there.