I can still run!

I don't know why I'm always surprised that I can still run after not running for a month (or so), but I am always surprised. For some reason, I expect to suddenly lose overnight everything that I had built up. Huh.

But, as you might surmise from the shiny, pretty stars at the beginning of this post, yes, I can indeed still run, although I've definitely lost some conditioning.

Tuesday 11/18: 2 mile run in the evening, blistering wind

Sunday 11/23: 2.5 mile run (12:16 min/mi) in the beautiful crisp morning under a blue sky, light wind

All I can say is thank Bob for my running partner, because who knows when I would have made it out the door with my running shoes on if I hadn't committed to running with EM.

Also thanks to Merry who has been both motivating and inspiring. Again. It was Merry who help to inspire me last fall to get the running thing going again. Merry, ever consider motivational speaking?

Oh, and Xenia, who was also motivated and inspired by Merry last year to start up running, well, she's running in her first marathon next weekend! Go Xenia!!!

And CMS/Keziah, finished writing her book!

I haven't mentioned Team CB for a while, but we four are the original members. It's been a year since we joined together in a virtual sort of way to motivate and encourage each other. And I'd just like to take a moment to say: Well done, Ladies! Well done all of us!

And yeah, I can still run. :+)

Weekly Running Log

I haven't posted one of these for a while. But, yay! I got three runs in this week for a total of 6.64 miles!! First time in a long while that I've managed this. And they were good runs for me, 25-30 minutes or so with only one walk break between the three of them. So my endurance is improving, although I'm still a slow poke with over a 13 minute per mile pace. I've decided that will be my goal for the up coming Oxford Fun Run that I'm running with Xenia, to run the 5K at a 13 min/mile pace.

And now for everything else on my agenda for this weekend...

Weekly How I'm Doing Log

It's been a good exercise week! I actually got three runs in this week (see stars to the left), plus dance class and pilates class. Woo!

I also did better on the sleep front, i.e., actually getting myself to bed consistently at a good hour. This is something that is incredibly hard for me, and yet so much hinges on it. Staying up too late throws everything off the next day (exercise, work, healthy eating, etc.) and increases the likelihood of a headache by probably 1000%. I have a ways to go before I can say I'm back on track with proper sleep habits, but this past week was definitely..err..sleeping in the right direction. :+)

Healthy eating? Hmm...well...I guess ups and downs would be the best way to describe the past week. Some days I ate very well, and most of the other days would have qualified as good if it wasn't for the chips and chocolate and excessive amounts of cheese. Mmmm, cheese.

Next week I'll be traveling part of the week, which means that all of the above will be about 10x more difficult. So we'll see how I do. I will definitely be taking my running shoes, so hopefully I'll have some fun running in a new place to report.

One last running related bit to share - I've decided to put aside the running schedule that I was following from the Beginner's Running Handbook. The goal of this schedule is to train one up to run a 10k race - something that is just not important to me right now. So I'm just going to work on getting my three runs in each week, gradually increasing the length of the running intervals. If I can get two, 20-30 minute running workouts during the week plus a longer running workout on the weekend, I'll be pretty happy and I think that's enough for now. At this point, it just doesn't matter (much) to me whether I'm doing 5 minute running intervals or 10 minute intervals, as long as I'm getting out there and getting at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise 3x a week. I'll revisit the last 1/3 of the schedule from the the Beginner's Running Handbook later this summer, and maybe sign up for a 10k race in the early fall *gulp*.

Running Update

While I was away over the holidays, I'm happy to report that I upheld my running end of Team CB. (The healthy eating end, not so much.) I think I ran a total of 5 times, and I have the shiny, pretty stars on my wall chart check list to prove it. Some of this includes going to the gym with my dad to run on the treadmill, but I also ran most of the way around the block where my parents live. These are country roads, so around the block actually adds up to over 5 miles! I'm talking intervals of running/walking. I'm no where near to the point where I could run all of it without walking breaks.
Of course then I got back home on New Years Day and promptly did no running until Friday, when out of desparation I joined a gym. Because I am whimpy about running in yucky weather. We got snow here in Edinburgh! What's with that?

The reason I was feeling kind of desparate was because one of the things that came in the mail while I was gone was this:

It's my entry number, timing chip, and race-day information for the BUPA Great Winter Run. I look at this and I wonder what I was thinking signing up for a 5K race! Yeah, yeah, if I'd actually stuck with my training schedule, I would be prepared, but all those weeks of only running twice instead of three times means just running for 10 minutes straight (the longest I've run without a walk break) is still quite the challenge.

So I'm trying to remind myself that just by running I win. Obviously, I'll be taking walk breaks. But, I still get nervous every time I think about it. What was I thinking!?!?

Weekly Running (and Dancing) Log

I have to admit that I only went running twice this week. So why, you might ask, do I have three stars at the top of this post? Because last night was the annual Christmas Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), and there was dancing! Specifically, Scottish country dancing with a live band that included a bag piper. Some men even wore kilts to the party! I danced maybe half the dances, but after each one, my heartrate was up, my face was red, and I was sweating. As this is what happens when I run, I figure it counts as a workout, albeit a very enjoyable one. So I say that I earned three stars this week!

Today was my second run of the week. I ran for intervals of 3 min running, 1 min walking, and I could definitely tell that I've been taking it easy over the past few weeks. I think I've lost just a bit of my cardio-vascular fitness gains. So I when I was running, it was verrrry sloooowly. Seriously, the swans were swimming faster than I was running. But I was running, and I felt pretty good when I finished. Next week I'm determined to get my three runs in.

As you may have guessed by my mention of the swans, today's run was down by the canal. There were three swans today. I actually saw one of them fly in. Have you ever seen a swan fly? They are BIG. There was also a new kind of duck (black and white). This is the second time I've seen this duck, so maybe it's going to stick around for a while. Tomorrow I'm going to try for a walk down by the canal with my camera, to see if I can get any pictures of our new wildlife.

And now, off to go Christmas shopping!

Weekly Running Log

This was a so, so week as far as exercise and general self-care. For the third week in a row, I only got out running twice, my nutrition has been lacking, and I screwed up my sleep again midweek. Actually, derailing my sleep has a lot to do with everything else. I know why I stayed up late (ok, all night) reading, and a good book is only part of it, but knowing why is unfortunately a far cry from stopping that particular destructive habit.

So I'm struggling now to get back on track, to take control again. I've done it before, so I know that I can do it again. Going running yesterday helped. Cooking so I have nutritious food to eat for a couple lunches this week helped, and I will cook some more today. I'm trying to remind myself that last week was ok. I did go running twice, and I went to pilates class on Friday. I'm getting stronger. I resisted the lure of large bags of potato chips at the grocery store, and only secumbed to a small bag one day at lunch. Yes I ate a lot of chocolate, but at least it was dark chocolate. (Hmm, potato chips and chocolate. Can you say stress eating?)

And I really want to thank Christina, Mary, and CMS because without Team CB, I don't think even the minimal amount of exercise I managed this week would have happened. I know that thinking about you guys is the only thing that got me out the door last Sunday. So a great big ((HUG)) and thanks!

Weekly Running Log

This week was only a two-star week, meaning that I didn't meet my running goal of 3 runs. Bummer. I basically sabotaged myself by staying up way too late one night reading, which then threw the rest of the week off and sent me scrambling to play catch up with just about everything. It was a very good book, but I didn't need to read it all in one go. What are the odds that after 25 or so years of doing this that I will eventually break myself of this bad habit? I am a book addict in the worst way.

But I've gotten off topic. Even though I only ran twice this week, considering that it was in danger of becomming a one-run week, I'm not too unhappy with myself. Last night, I got myself home from work, threw on my running clothes and shoes, and got out there without thinking. Yay! And this next week is an Easy Recovery Week on my schedule, so maybe I'll be able to make up my lost run.

After I got back, I plotted the route I ran (not down by the canal, since it was dark) on Gmaps Pedometer, and it turns out that it was almost exactly 5 kilometers! So now, when I get to the point in a month or so where I can actually run-run (as opposed to run-walk) for a full 5 kilometers, I have a route that I can use to time myself. That's kind of fun.

Go Mary, Christina, and CMS! Go Team CB!