Day 92 cross training

It has been raining non-stop since morning. I was reading 'The cat in the hat' for my daughter and the first 4 lines describe the general mood here.
Did not feel like doing a 50 min walk on the tmill which was on schedule today. Then heard my husband and dtr trying to outskip each other. She can do 200-250 in one go. i tried it and did 10, then another 10, then 20 , short spurts yes but no breathlessness or feelings of imminent heart failure. That warmed me up nicely so went and did 20 min of free weights and some stretches.
Is skipping a good crosstraining activity? I wonder, but since then have some stiffness in the right knee so I dont think i will be making it a regular feature.
The Diet is going Ok, well, not so OK, had talked myself into eating a bowl of warm cereal as soon as I come in from work to prevent the munchies, but no, still am a regular visitor to the pantry, peanuts, PBJ sandwiches, you name it.
Off day tomorrow.Might do some yoga- gentle.

Day 91 - Rest day

Went to NB's place straight after work. Drove along the same path I usually run, a scenic view, and, and the road just didnt seem to end. I was like, if this is 1 mile, how the hell will I run 26 miles?
NB had just finished her workout on the treadmill and was not feeling very good about it. She told me 'Today's workout didn't go well :(, read my post'. Our conversation nowadays is something like 'Did you go to the gym? No. Why? Uhh, read my post'.... 'I read something very interesting on the web, have written about it, read my post'
We don't waste energy talking about whatever has been put down in our blog, we conserve it to use later in our runs :)

Day 91, what happened??

30 min/R4.6mph,2min /W3.0mph 2 min for total 20 min /1.67miles.

What happened?? Today I was going to do my version of the speed session, 2min at 4.6mph and 2 min of 3.0mph for 40 min just like last week , the only difference was 4.6 instead of 4.5mph.
Started off with warmup very slow at 2.8mph and then started running. 2 sessions of the run at 4.6mph and the shinsplints started, verry verry bad and oh so painful, the legs esp the right one grew heavy and I started dragging it. Now I remember I had these previously and had decreased my speed to a shuffle. On top of that was huffing and puffing like Thomas the engine.Ended with a slow cooldown holding onto the tmill rail all the time. I was so happy last thursday, was it really last thursday?- I will check , that I was running at a respectable rate again but this is so demoralising.

Later on I thought I could have continued for some more time but I think it was OK to stop. I dont want to end up with a chronically painful condition tho it is very tempting to keep running to build up the mileage. On the other hand there are only 13-14 weeks to the half marathon and I wonder if I will be able to finish it. At this time , the aim is only to finish, and I hope I can do it with a smile instead of crawling to it.The worrywart in me worries that I will not be able to do it, the sane , practical me says there is no reason not to finish if I do as the program says.

Tomorrow is another day.Tomorrow I will do the walk, hopefully outside if it is sunny. Then the rest day and the LSD of 2.5miles including hills this time.

The Diet is not going too well either, I eat the same amount even tho it is spread out over the day instead of at lunch and dinner. Will look into it.Wish I could lose 10-15 pounds by the half marathon, but as some great soul once said'If wishes were horses...', yup you guessed it'everyone would ride.'

Day 90 - Completed 3 months of marathon preparation

ha ha ha.....I am still here?? I am still thinking about running a marathon???? wow! I am surprised at myself, my lazy self....

In these 3 months, even though have been inconsistent in training/workouts, have seen -
- a remarkable increase in stamina, running/walking for 3 miles is not a huge deal anymore
- no change in weight, am still obese by 15 pounds (BMI)
- preference switch from treadmill running to outdoor running
- slight change in attitude for the better.....want to run this marathon now....

Day 90, 3 month review

OMG!!, 3 months over, three whole months of marathon preparation.Time sure travels fast.
OK, now lets review.

Month 1 and 2- sporadic workouts, max of 35-40 min length, getting tired and pooped at the end , aching knees and ankles.Did finish the C25K program and did run for 30 min continuously exactly 3 times. Unable to repeat that feat since then.

Month 3-more regular workouts, max. of 50 min length, getting tired only at the end of the long runs, pain in knees but no generalised heaviness as before.Enjoying the runs.But do not run continuously, take walking breaks in b/w.That is big question- if I am planning to do the marathon with walking breaks, it should be OK if I cant run 30 min continuously, so I should just concentrate on increasing the distance?

Our speed is still average 4.0 mph. Just cant seem to break the barrier. If go over to running at 4.3-4.5mph then walk at 3.5-3.7mph so average is 4.0 mph. To complete the marathon in 6 hours and before that the half- marathon in 3 hours, have to run consistently at 4.3 mph. Recently dont seem to be able to run continuously more than 3-4 min at a time.
But I am hoping that will change once get more into the marathon preparation.

Today was a slow day , walk/XT according to the schedule and I did walk for 50 min at a very slow speed. It was rainy and windy as usual and while at work I thought I would walk outside, once in the warm house , I became a wimp and did the workout on the tmill watching T.V and zoning out . My husband calls it my "walker" workout 'cos I hold onto the tmill handrail and just walk slowly.I dont know how much it helped with building endurance/ working the walking muscles instead of the running muscles/ calorie burn etc but I sure crossed it off my list with a bright red marker.

Goals for month 4:
Finish all the runs/XT as scheduled.
Add on free weights- that seems my biggest block at the time.
Do 4 sessions of speed running -one each week so that by the end of the month can increase speed to 4.3 mph on the long run.

Day 89 - Wonderful day, back to marathon preparation

Went for a run in the evening one hour after having a salad (and unfortunately cookies). 3 months back would have made an excuse - Oh, I can't run/walk for atleast 2 hrs after eating as I get side splits, which was quite true, but I used to give up without making an effort - but today, decided to go ahead.
Ran about a mile and suddenly had a pain in the lower left of my stomach - more of a muscle pull or a tight muscle, never had it earlier. Started walking and was ok in about 5 minutes. Remembered a joke from 'In the Spirit of the marathon' - 'They wouldn't let a woman run a marathon in olden times as they thought her uterus would fall out' :)

Day 89 Goals

2.85 miles, 50 min, R 1min 4mph/W1min 3mph

Very slow today and tired , had to push myself to even run the 1 min at a time, tried to slow down but that felt like dragging my feet and didnt speed up thinking would not be able to do the whole 45 min.Finished in 50 min including a warmup and cooldown of 5 min each. But finished strong, could have gone on at the same rate for another 10 min atleast if didnt have to cook dinner.
Ended with atleast 10 min of stretches , learnt my lesson -try to be more regular with those to prevent the aches and pains.
The eating was average, took the kids to TacoBell after school as both had half days. So ate a bean burrito and some cheesy potatoes, but then had some chips and a scone because GB dropped by after work for a cup of tea, so its GBs fault that I went off my Diet.
I am having a good effect on my family- my husband is pretty active-runs 3-4 times a week, today he came from work and I , me, myself motivated him to workout- its another story that dinner is not ready and I want to post this too.

Goals for this week:
1. Run/Walk on M,W,Sat-LSD of 2.5- include hills
2. Tues,thurs,Sun-walk for 40-45 min and stretch
3. Any 2 days free weights for 20 min each session.
4. Diet: No 2nd helpings- eat anything(except packaged goods) but only ONE portion.
5. Buy waterbottles, one snack to try while running, SHOES.

Best of luck:)

Day 88 - 25 mins of Wii

When I saw NB at the door, ofcourse I was surprised - just 20 minutes ago she had told me that it was not a good idea to walk outside as it was cold and windy. Ofcourse I was annoyed, so after letting her know exactly how I felt, I decided to play tennis on Wii. So after 15 mins of tennis which is a good warmup, I decided to be honest with myself. Even if NB had said its ok to walk outside, I wouldn't have bcos I was planning on playing Wii today. I had thought about the walk and was a little inclined towards missing it today, because still needed another rest day (maybe just in my head) after the long walk yesterday. Then had another 10 min round of boxing on Wii and was perfectly normal after that. Kind of understand what ppl say go for a walk when you are annoyed. Have tried walks, but I think the Wii was faster :)
Discussed NB's plan with her. Am a bit skeptical of doing just 2.5 miles next weekend, am more interested in doing 6 miles, but NB wants to follow this plan - Jeff Galloway, so I'll go with it.

Day 88 Walk , knee pain

walk 2.8 mile 50 min

Today was a walk day as per the preparation for half marathon in May 08. First it was raining and windy, then the rain stopped and it was only windy, GB called and I told her I might walk on the tmill because too windy to go outside. As soon as i got off the phone, I went to change into my workout clothes and my dear hubby called saying he would like to do the tmill. Went into the closet and saw his plastic running pants and decided to try to go out instead of arguing with him about who would use the tmill first. So I covered myself nicely with a scarf, gloves, jacket and was as warm as a teacosy- and probably looked like one too. Then thought -why not go to GBs house and drop off the marathon preparation worksheet I had made for us. So walked to GBs house.
She was very very surprised to see me and felt let down that I came for a walk without telling her, I know the exact feeling. Its the feeling one gets when your best friend who is dieting with you calls and says she is having a craving for chocolate icecream.At that time you have no such craving but are reminded of the nice mocha almond fudge in your fridge.Then when you call her half an hour later after having gorged on the mocha almond fudge, she turns around and tells you she managed to overcome that craving. So who's left feeling foolish?Yup I know that feeling. So I too felt bad for a while but then realised I didnt mean to do this- in my life I just do things as and when I can, planning doesnt work because there are 3 other people in this house who can wipe out any well laid plans of mine.But yeah, I could have called her and asked her to meet me halfway which I didnt and will keep in mind for next time.

Yesterday looked up Runners knee again. Pain on going downhill, and after sitting with knees bent for some time.
2 reasons:
--wrong shoes
--weak thigh muscles.
My shoes have worn out at the heels and I have to change them before next weekend.
I was doing quadricep strengthening exercises before but got out of the habit, too lay. Now realise that the twice a week sessions of stretching and strengthening were really helping, so will start again.
Run/Walk tomorrow.

DAy 87 long slow distance

5 miles, 1 hour 20 min.

Beautiful day today, it had been raining continuously for the last 2 weeks almost and the weather has been dreary and gray, were wondering if we would be able to do this walk, had decided would go if there was a drizzle but not in case it was windy. And then woke up this morning at 6.45 with a glow on the horizon, blue and orange skies, calm breezes, lovely.
And the whole run was good- I dont expect it to go smoothly all the time.
Started from GBs apt. and was OK till came to a downslope and started to run- took the first step and felt a sharp pain in the left knee, carried on down the slope slowly with GB offering to get the car if I was not up to it.
But as soon as came to level ground, tried to run and I was able to do it without any discomfort or even a hint of pain- I would have stopped otherwise. Finished the first 3 miles in 45 min so that is ok, the last mile GB got the side splits and we had to slow down but our average speed was 4mph for the run, which included stopping at the red lights a min each time, so this is good at this time, I think.
At home I was able to do my chores without much problem tho every now and then I get that sharp pain in the left knee and the right one is just sore. I hope I am not overdoing this but I usually have sore knees the day of the long run . Previously I would have sore ankles and knees when I was not exercising regularly so I guess this is better.Most probably I need new shoes , these ones have worn out heels now, so shoe shopping this week.
GB is feeling tired overall and I know that feeling- generalised soreness , fatigue, headache, irritability, I was reading the Marathon book and this happens after overexerting oneself during a run, and it is bound to happen if we miss the weekly runs and then do 5 miles on the weekend.
Things we will do differently for our long runs:
1. start carrying some snacks- trail mix or one of those bars everyone keeps talking about- the best idea I read was carrying a PBJ sandwich and eating a quarter every 2 miles, I love PBJ, kids dont eat it anymore, so this is an excuse to get it again.
2. Get a 16 oz bottle of water each time, tho that is added weight and carrying it will be a problem.
So assignment for next week is to look into ways to carry snacks and waterbottle.
Next week it will be 2.5 miles according to our half marathon schedule and I for one am looking forward to that.
The diet did not go too well today, one is the mindset that I can eat anything since I exerted so much- about 400 cal. and secondly I just cant stop eating when I am busy with the chores and tired on top of it.-mindless eating.Tomorrow will be better.

Effect of long run of 5 miles

Not good, the effects are not good.
I reached home exhausted. Stretched, bathed, went to NB's place for breakfast. Returned home with a slight headache which got worse. Felt fatigued. Went to sleep, didnt really help.
So presently, I am not having any particular ache (except for the headache which is much better with the ibuprofen), but am feeling like there is no energy in me. Talked to NB, she is ok except for the knee issues she had in the morning. She returned from the run, made breakfast for family, took her kids shopping, came back and cleaned the house and slept for 40 mins somewhere in between...phew!!
When I was running 3 miles in dec, I kept saying that I could go a little more, but today, after the 5 miles, I am totally depleted. Before the run, I kept saying I would do 6 miles next week even though according to NB's plan we are supposed to do 2.5 miles. But after the run I am going to take her up on her proposal to do only 2.5 miles next week.

Day 87 - Long run of 5 miles

NB called at 7 am asking me to get ready by 8. Had asked NB to wake me up only if it stopped raining. Surprisingly, I woke up readily, maybe a little enthususiastically - hint, maybe I have really started to like running. The weather was nice, not windy, not cold. A morning just right for a long run, and it remained so for the duration of the run.
About 10 mins after we started, NB felt a pain in her knee. I wanted her to stop in case it got worse, but she carried on and was ok or said she was ok after some time. The first three miles were good and we ran most of the time, well, more than we usually do. Fourth mile I started getting tired and slowed down. I asked NB to carry on without me at exactly the same place I had told her the same thing last time. Had side splits off and on but enjoyed the run :)
For the first time, I felt real need of water in the fourth mile and for the first time was really tired after the run. Maybe, because it was the first time I had completed 5 miles ;)

Day 86 - Rest day? Is this marathon preparation? Hilarious

Still raining!

Rest day since we are supposed to go for our long run tomorrow (per NB). Now, even though I really want to go for the long run tomorrow, chances are slim because of the inclement weather. I could have been honest with myself and gone to the gym, but my overworked (ha!) body needed to be fully rested before the long run tomorrow....what should I do about myself???? lazy, no drive, no goals, no interest :(

I am not going anywhere with this....december was a good month and I had seen an improvement in my workouts.....but I think I hardly ran/walked in Jan. I don't want to back out now as there is no real reason/excuse too. Also, there's every reason to continue...when I was running/walking in dec, I saw an improvement in my mood, skin and general health...shouldn't that be motivation enough???

3 months of marathon preparation has taught me how consistent effort shows results, even though slow, but results are there....if I stop now (as if I am doing anything :(...), 6-8 months down the line I'll think about where I would have been had I continued....

Enough of these thoughts....time for humor, something I found on the web:

You know you are a runner when:

• when you use the words "easy" and "long run" in the same sentence.
• when you spend more time on sites like this than you do work :)
• when you dream about running. (NB had her first running dream yesterday, so I guess she entered the league :))

Day 85 - Marathon preparation

Has been raining forever.

Had decided yesterday that would go to the gym earlier at around 5 pm than make an excuse later that it's too dark and cold. Remembered at 5 pm that NB and I had decided that we would go to the one day special screening of ' In the spirit of the Marathon'. Since the show started at 7.30 pm, decided to go to the gym and then the movie. Completed 1.75 miles in 30 mins - sorry state of affairs :(
Was late for the movie as it was raining and wasn't too familiar with the area. NB couldn't go as her kids wouldn't let her. Almost all the seats were taken, got one in the first row. Nice movie, more of a documentary, but didnt really effect me. I mean I didn't come out crying or determined or motivated or impressed or inspired or...
There were a couple of funny moments - a person holding a placard in the marathon saying 'All of you are crazy' :). One character's husband saying "Why would you want to do distance running? Anything longer than 5 miles and public transportation is available..she (his wife) always ends up where she started" I related to him because I used to and maybe still think exactly like that. Why the hell would you want to run 26 miles?
On a serious note, I did think about my attitude after the movie. NB has been the one who has always wanted to do this, and I am kinda giving her company. I have always been a skeptic....I really don't know in my heart of hearts why anybody would want to run a marathon. So why am I doing it - Because if I back out now, I will regret it 20 years down the line, I know I will, as one of the things I never tried.....secondly, I have heard and read that it changes you forever, I want to check that out ;)...thirdly, it may have a positive effect on my health, tho cant see any yet.......and last but not least, I need to motivate NB on :))))

Day 85 a little bit faster

R/W, 2min/2 min, 4.5mph/3.0mph, 2.5miles, 42 min.

I like these days when I try to run a bit faster for a shorter time, cant sustain the faster pace but atleast for 2 min feel I am running instead of shuffling.
Almost wasnt going to do the workout today , then realised had not done the basic 5 aerobic workouts this week, so pulled myself out of the bed and at the end felt real good.
The eating wasnt so good- ate a veggie burger at BK because had missed lunch and they always put the mayo on even if I tell them 10 times to miss it. But the burger was good,and if I only eat some veggies for dinner (which I doubt)I should be safe with the calories.Surfed the web and found a site to log in daily calorie intake www.fitday.com. Its easy to use and free for one thing, will explore it some more and see if have to make it a daily feature or go back to using my paper and pencil.
Rest day tomorrow.

Day 84 of Marathon training.....marathon??? training???

It's been raining since 3 days :(, the weather is just not easing up.

Yesterday I was reading an article on ppl who don't get enough sleep and was thinking how I need atleast 8 hrs. Well, had a 7.30 am meeting and just couldn't get myself to wakeup at 6 - realised how I have been sleeping for only 6 hrs since a couple of days. I have early morning meetings and promise myself everyday that I would try to sleep early, but endup sleeping late at around 12 or 12.30. Today I was craving for food and realised it was because I was running low on sleep. Kind of screws up the whole day.
Rested/slept for an hr in the evening and woke up feeling better. Decided to go the gym at 8 pm, but at 8 changed my mind as it was raining, and I felt kind of uncomfortable going to the gym when there would hardly be a soul there. I have been to the gym this late, just that it was raining and dark and there were hardly any people outside. No, it's not an excuse, I really wanted a change.
So I decided to clean my apartment and not sit on the couch for atleast an hour. And that's what I did, better than just laying on the couch. Felt better with a cleaner apartment :). I have a 7 am meeting tomorrow, so should be ideally sleeping at 11pm to wake up at 6 am. Hopefully, will have a better day tomorroww. Also, have told myself that I may not like to go to the gym late so am aiming at 4 or 5 pm tomorrow.
NB is looking into marathon training plans, I'll try to follow what she decides upon. If only the weather gets better. I have mapped out a 5 mile route for our Saturday run. I really hope it doesn't rain and we are able to run the course.

Day 84- planning

No, did not do my walk as planned, just didnt feel like getting up in the morning and then didnt have time in the evening.
But did find a few things, looked up the half marathon preparation plans from Hal Higdon, Jeff Galloway and the coolrunning site, liked the Jeff Galloway plan the best, because :
1-it covers 17 weeks of gradually increasing activity and the other 2 are over 12 weeks.
2-only the long runs are long - the rest of his weekly workouts are all of the same length of maximum 45 min whereas with Hal Higdons program one has to do runs of 6-7 miles by the end of the program which means putting in more than 60 min of running during a weekday- not happening for me.
3-Also JG's plan has a very gradual increase in the length of the weekend long runs with going up and down the mileage slowly .
Disclaimer: I am not putting down the other 2 plans, this is just a reasoning as to why they would not work for us.
So from next week will start from week 4 of JG's half marathon plan for novice runners and should be ready for the May 3rd American River half marathon. The two 5k's we are planning to do will be a part of the training plan. Then from May 3rd till October 19th -will do the 6 month marathon training plan. Good
Calorie requirement for a moderately active woman: 2000 calories.
Woman 31-50 years of age.
Moderately active: walking 1.5-3miles per day at aspeed of 3-4 mph.
Referenced to a female with a BMI of 21.5
Source : www.webmd.com, browsed thru many sites and this was one which seemed most authentic.
Since my BMI is not 21.5 does this mean that if I do consume 2000 cal/day and be moderately active , I will lose weight and ultimately have a BMI of 21.5?
I guess so.
Run tomorrow.

Day 83 - Missed the workout - GUILTY!!!

Right now is the time I was planning to go to the gym. The gym is right next door.....but, but, but it's cold (excuse), i am sleepy (another excuse), i like the program i am watching on tv (yet another excuse!) and I am ashamed to admit this, I want to finish the bag of chips I opened in the evening.
Went for grocery shopping and coerced myself to buy the smallest bag (yeah!!) - a teeny weeny step towards diet discipline. But these small steps do add up. About 3 months back I was a complete couch potato - the only exercise - a walk from the parking to the office and back. When I started with the workouts, I still remember, running 2 mins straight was a chore, wow!!!, and now I can run/walk 3-4 miles in an hr :).....but, but, it's time to stop gloating and start pushing myself again. Umm..., I think that's the issue, I am constantly comparing myself to where I was 3 months ago and am happy and content with my progress - which is wrong, I am far far away from the state where I can actually run a half marathon, let alone a marathon.
But in all honesty, I have started to like running, but only outside. When I started the workouts, I hated running/walking outside and loved the treadmill but now it's the opposite (another excuse why I didnt go to the gym today). But yes, having never run before in my 35 year obese life, I like this :).
So hopefully it will be a sunny bright day tomorrow and I'll go for a 4 mile run. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Day 83 not so good

50 min ,2.6 miles, tried running but no, today was just not my day, tried very hard, didnt give up mind you, but nope. Tried to run faster, slower, shuffled, walk breaks of 2 min and then 5 min and then 10 min but just could not.Got shin splints after the first min of running,then went out of breath in the second half of the workout- today was not my day.
Thats Ok, have surfed enough blogs by now to know that this is the norm for everyone.Surprisingly this didnt get me down, and thankfully tomorrow is a walk day so I should be OK, will worry about the run on Thurs when come to it.
So the plan is 5K in march, april and half-marathon in May and the marathon in October. Will start the half marathon peparation with the new week and the marathon preparation in April , so the 5ks are going to be adjusted in the preparation for the marathon. Will post the plan for the half marathon soon once decide which one to do- hal higdons /cool-running/jeff galloway/ mix of all 3 catering to GB and my low level of activity.
On the eating front, this is how I sabotage my own efforts. The aim was not to stand in the pantry with my 2 hands in 5 different bags of junk. So what did I do? I took my daughter to mcdonalds. Did she ask for it? nope. But it was raining, the house was cold, I had a 30 min gap before I had to pick up the 13yo from school, I didnt want to go into the cold house and start stuffing myself, so I took her to McDonalds.Got her the nuggets and the fries and the chocolate chip cookies 3 for $1 and because the 2 would have fought over the third cookie, in view of my sanity I ate the 3rd cookie and ofcourse 10 french fries- looking back not much damage for the first day on a Diet if I may say so but there is still an hour before I sleep and if I start watching American Idol and my kids open a bag of chips..., no not today, not after blogging about diet and exercise.
Dont know my daily calorie requirements - last I recall were around 1600- have to confirm this. You know I am an avid reader of health mags and books but my knowledge is so sketchy that I just cant speak out any fact for sure- I mean I must have read about calorie requirements ten hundred times but I dont know mine for sure.I am a reader for sure, not a doer - dont like moving, can watch the Travel channel and the Biggest Loser and the Sports channel- tennis but hate moving, and so if am able to do this marathon it will be a personal first,and best.
Walk tomorrow and find about calorie requirements for me.
Again no packaged / processed foods tomorrow.

Day 82

Rest day

Still sore after yesterdays walk even tho did some yoga in the morning. Ideally I would like to do free weights 20 min, yoga and calisthenics on my 2 free days, but we do not live inan ideal world, so I just manage to do 20 min of yoga - very light.
Browsed thru lots and lots of runners blogs on complete running.com.There are so many others with the same goals of 1st marathon in 2008.Was telling GB I would like to see a place where all the first time marathoners aiming for Spring/summer/Fall/winter 2008 could meet, so as our goal is Oct 2008 we could exchange training tips with other 1st time marathoners with a goal of Sept/Oct/Nov 2008. After my long winded explanation during which I thought I had got the best, world changing idea, my computer savvy sis turns around and says-its called a forum! Well, there are 2 I regularly go to - coolrunning and completerunning but I dont know, I guess I should start a forum there for Fall 08 marathoners.I will have to learn how to bookmark the blogs I like and start new threads on the running boards etc.
The running is going Ok , now I have to concentrate on my weight, I have gained 5 pounds in the last 3 months and it doesnt show any signs of moving in the opposite direction. So I have decided to bite the bullet and use the D-word in my daily vocabulary.I personally do not agree with the whole concept of dieting , more like eating right , problem is too much of the right foods still become lard on the hips and in my specific case- the belly.I tried doing weightwatchers at one time and lasted a month max, too much math involved.Today tried to count again, by mid afternoon had inhaled 3 days worth of points.No, seriously I have to do this, just so that can improve my running times.
Starting this week, again no packaged goods(how many times have I started this???), no cookies/chips.And no standing in the pantry eating first something sweet and then something salty and then something sweet to cover the salty and doing it again and again till even my tongue gives up and there is no taste.
So which behaviour to replace this? because each bad habit has to be replaced by a good one. knitting is out of question, cant concentrate enough to paint, tried doing a 1000 piece puzzle and gained 2 pounds, because what do u know-I think better when I snack- something about glucose being the primary food of the thinking brain.So what? This is something I will have to research and do, because whatever I do it better be more interesting than standing in the pantry reading the food labels and stuffing my mouth with the high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, enriched flour, sugar, traces of nuts etc.
OK , enough rambling, R/W 55-60 min tomorrow

Day 81 - I am so sore!!!

I had intended to skip writing the blog today as there is nothing different from what NB has put down.
But got off the couch and realised how difficult it was. In my 80 days of marathon preparation, I have never been so sore. The only reason I can think of is that I didnt stretch after the long run (if it was a long run!) yesterday. I felt a little sore yesterday but I thought it would go away after the walk today, but no, it has got worse, I can hardly walk and switching positions is a pain :(
I was planning to take a rest day on tuesday, but the way things look, I may have to do that tomorrow. Awwww, legs hurt!!!!

Day 81

Walked 3.3 miles in 60 min, this included a small hill.

Woke up late and then had to run some errands so the walk kept being pushed further and further down till at 4 pm I managed to just rush out. Called GB who as usual took some time making up her mind- she cant wake up early in the AM and then by PM shes not motivated enough- needs major research as to what is the ideal time for her to move.
Anyways, thankfully she had already mapped the walk for 4 miles but we finished only 3.3 'cos I was in a rush to come back home and prepare for the next working day. I kept imagining my household falling to pieces without me- the hubby irritated and antsy, the kids whining and bored. It is very humbling tho' that when I imagine that, I usually return to find things going on smoothly- hubby had baked some frozen buffalo wings in honor of the football games- he actually said-oh u'r back so soon, 13yo was busy chatting and 6yo was busy doing something.So all that rushing and cutting short the walk was no use.But again reinforces my belief that early AM is the best time to be done with the workout and it will be an ongoing battle to do that.
Off tomorrow, then tuesday R/W - am hoping to run slightly faster than usual even .2mph faster will be good.

Day 80 - Went for a run - finally!

The day started with NB calling me at 7 am and then twice after that with me begging her to let me sleep. I HATE, simply HATE getting up early. Well, finally I was up at 9 and gave her a call to ask how she was doing. She was just leaving for a run and I suddenly felt like I should go too since I had nothing better to do (my apmt was clean for a change, and I didn't want to sort my clothes in a messy closet). So, a nice girl as she is, she changed her program at the last minute and landed at my place. She mapped a 4 mile route quickly and there we were, on our run. At the supposedly 2 mile point, I told her that that route was not right as i had been to this point earlier and it was definitely not 2 miles from my place. Well, we turned back at that point.

In the last 1.5 mile, as I was breathless, I kept asking NB to leave me behind and continue at her pace, but she did not. Half seriously, I did tell her that at marathon time, she has to continue, she shouldn't slow down because of me. We really need to discuss this.

Well, we reached home in an hour with NB totally happy about doing 4 miles in 60 mins. I mapped the route again as I was still doubtful about the route being 4 miles, discovering that we had covered only 3.7 miles. NB was sooooo disappointed. I kept telling her it was her fault as she didnt map the route properly ;). Actually, it was my bad since I asked her to take a short cut which I told her would be the same distance. A shortcut since we were walking late in the morning and the sun was shining right on our faces :(

Plan to do 4 miles tomorrow. Let's see.

Caroline, I went through your blog, I am awed....though I don't understand some of the terms and the machine names, what workouts....wow!! and ofcourse, now I am more aware of the extent of my ignorance :)

Day 80

3.7 miles in 60 min including a small hill.

The plan was 4miles for LSD today. Woke at 7AM, called GB who refused to go , thought I would have some tea till the morning got a bit warmer, in 10 min the 6y.o woke up and wanted pancakes stat, then the hubby and the 13y.o also wanted their bkfsts, then GB called and said she would go with me provided I came to her house and we went from there. I hadnt marked the course from her house and did it in a hurry on mapmyrun.com and didnt realise it was less than planned. So LSD less than planned. Then hubby kept calling frequently because he wanted to take the kids for tennis and wanted help with getting them ready- since when can a 6y.o cant dress herself up??So I couldnt stretch properly afterwards.
But realised that even 5 min make a huge difference- if I had managed to get out of the house before the younger one woke up, I would have done the full 4 miles without disturbance. But then I wouldnt have had GBs esteemed company during the very slow R/W we did today.
And she was doing this after a gap of 15 days, so atleast it broke her houserest.
I will still take this as 4 miles, so 5 miles next weekend for the LSD and we will go on the road I select.
The best part of today was the sun- beautiful sunny morning, really bright and cool, fresh, the kind of morning which makes you glad and grateful to be out of the house.Hopefully will experience many such mornings.
I am glad I started the LSD on the weekends- before I would wake up on a saturday and start with the chores, racing against time to finish everything before Sunday evening. I would be in a bad mood half the time and would end up yelling at the kids most of the time.Now the LSD is priority and I try to arrange the chores around that time. Will do a websearch for some trails to run around this area.Want to involve the kids too, but dont seem to be interested yet.
Walk 4 miles tomorrow.

Day 78 - speed workout

40 min workout, 5 min each of warmup and cooldown , ran at a speed atleast 0.5mph faster than normal 2min, walk 1min for 30 min.

Thanks, kch, for the comment about doing faster workouts during the week and slower lsd for building endurance.I read that comment 2 different times and it did not register- I know , some of us are a tad slow ( pun totally intended,sorry!). Anyways this morning got up 10 min late which meant shaving 10 min off my workout, so knew I would be running for less time , so thought I would try and pick up the pace, and lo and behold, I was able to sustain my pace of 2min R at faster speed and 1 min W for atleast 1/2 hour. So now this will be a weekly workout of speed running.I actually really enjoyed myself tho I had some shin splints at the end -the workouts had been getting a bit boring recently.
I did browse through kch's blog site and it has a great article today on motivation- we all need that occasionally.
Day off tomorrow- yoga, weights, stretches.

Day 77

Walked 3 miles in 55 min

The marathon seems so far away and our progress so slow; few gains made over so many days. The r/w pace is so slow that doing it to cover 26.2 miles seems laughable. And each day a new thought takes over, maybe am not doing the right way? Looking back to 10 weeks before the speed is not much improved but have increased the time and distance.Usually the speed is the last to come.That reminds me -have to update the log.
Anyways, for now the goal is the Shamrock 5K in March. To that effect i am starting a beginners program covering 10 weeks till the 5K, then the next one in April and that 5K will be the first long slow distance run for the marathon.
Spend every waking moment thinking about the marathon preparation but still dont feel like a runner- I know I run but I still feel like an outsider in the world of runners-can I have this thought after just 2 and a 1/2 months of running?Will visit this thought after another 2 months.

Day 76

R/W 55 min, 3.06 miles.

Does it ever get easier- I know its not easy-this running business , but can I hope for easier??
Started off good , ran at a good pace for 5 min 3 times with 1 min walk breaks but then had to take walk breaks every 2-3 min of running.
Have started reading a few back issues of Runner's World just for motivation and hoping to pick up some tips.
The eating part is not going good atall-today was hubbys b'day and GB got a huge coffee icecream cake which we then proceeded to demolish. The difference between thin and fat is this- my 13 year old dtr did not eatthe cake since she just had the pasta and was full, me I had the pasta and the humongus piece of cake even tho I was full and did so not need the cake.
Ongoing battle, will win one day.
Walking 60 min tomorrow.

Day 75 - 10 days without a run/walk

10 days back I had pain in my right foot which went away in 3-4 days. So what was I doing after the pain got well? I don't know. I have no excuse, no reason for not running/walking. Or, maybe I have one. After a week of vacation I was back to work, and maybe still looking to set a schedule???
It is one thing to shirk away, when one makes excuses for not exercising, but this past week I have been kind of feeling low, not depressed, but not really intersted in doing anything. Have been wondering about my job or my goals or passion in life. What do I really want to do in life? Well, I guess that should be offtopic for this blog and more suitable for Steve Pavlina's forums :)

So yesterday I picked myself up and mentally even fixed a schedule for the runs. So lo and behold, there I was with a bad bad bad backache today morning. Don't know why except have felt it coming since the past few weeks. I am a little worried as I had a major backache problem in the latter part of 2006 because of which I could barely walk for a month. So here I am, on ibuprofen with a Thermacare heat wrap around me :(

The only positive thing I can find in the above is that all these days, I have thought about and wanted to run outside. I guess it was because I really enjoyed the last outside run I ran. Did I mention that the weather has not really been conducive to running outside lately :( ?

So hopefully, this backache will improve and I'll be able to go for a walk if not a run tomorrow. I really want to go back to doing the runs. In retrospect, I enjoyed them. It's another thing, that one magnifies the enjoyment and minimizes the pain while contemplating the past.

Day 74

3.10miles, 60 min walk, did have to stop in between a couple of times to cater to the kids needs. Felt Ok at the end of it and not overly tired the way I am at the end of a run.

Decided upon the events I will be taking part in:
1.Shamrock 5K on March 16th 2008
2.Local 5k on 12th April
3.American river Parkway half marathon on May 3rd 2008.
There is a 10 mile event on March 29th but thats too close to the 5k on March 16th.

The other reason (which I dont think i mentioned before)for why I am not too enthusiastic about the Aug 3rd marathon is because it is time limited to 6 hours and I dont want that kind of pressure , so I am veering more towards the Oct Nike marathon. Now to register for it in time-that will be the real challenge.
Will try and register for the above events within this week and ofcourse GB has to give the green signal too, where is she??

Day 73

3 miles, 50 min, R/W ,5min/1 min 3 times, then got tired and did R/W 3min/2min 4 times, warmup and cool down

No motivation, feeling down, dont know why, tired,-jetlag?, winter?, weight gain?. Want to pickup the frequency of workouts to atleast 5 per week and the duration atleast 60 min this month.
Read/skimmed through JG's Marathon and chose the 'to finish' schedule.There is one for 'beginners' and another 'fat burning schedule' and the only difference I could see is the time of the weekly workouts. I am aiming to make each weekly workout atleast 50-60 min long.Whichever schedule it is, the main point is I have to do it and doing it is the difficult part, atleast right now.

Now the question of the marathon itself-which one?
First we had decided the SFM on August 3rd. Now I got the Runners World for Jan 2008 and they have a listing of the marathons this year. So I picked up the Nike marathon in SF on Oct 19th. The problem with this one is that the registration is quick and finishes fast in 3 days, it starts some time in March/April so we will have to be really on it all the time which ,you know things can be missed, and if we miss registering for the Oct one , then we run out of our 1 year time( can I hear a tinny voice going 'good!!').
Also the schedules to prepare for the marathon are 6 month long with very precise building up of the mileage and then tapering it down-very scientific I am sure. So for the August marathon our training should start in Feb and for the Oct one in April, by which time I am sure my interest and motivation will be at an alltime low.Decisions, decisions, will discuss this with GB tomorrow- she seems to have vanished from here -maybe needs a little, big sisterly motivational talk.
In between there is a 5K in April, 1/2 marathon in June I am planning to take part in.

I still dont understand how they say to run the long slow distance at a speed less than you would run in a race- I mean if I train at 4.3mph then how will I be able to run faster on race day?? Too many questions, too few answers.
Will try and walk tomorrow.

Day 70

R/W total of 45 min, approx 3 miles, ran for 10 min at a time with 2-4 min walking breaks.
Feeling good, stretched properly after, no knee pain thankfully.

Have started taking points from JG's Marathon.
So far - the most important part is the weekend long run for building endurance.
-weekly runs for maintaining the endurance gained on the long runs.
-taking regular walking breaks right from the beginning of the workout.
-the weekly long run at a speed 2min per mile slower than projected marathon speed-this is laughable right now-already am running at 16 min mile so shd I go down to 18 min mile ?
More to follow.

Day 69

I am back.
Had some good time off. Did run on some days, average distance of 2.5 miles, but didnt keep a log. There was a lake in the town and we went there almost every morning, watched the sun rise, the ducks and the swans, the cold air, other joggers enjoying the same scene. Unfortunately that kicked off a massive appetite and inspite of the exercise and sightseeing I managed to gain 5 pounds.
Did go for a run/walk of 3 miles yesterday, in 45 min. But then my knees hurt everytime I went up and down the stairs. Looked up on the net-runners knee probably. Thankfully improved after 2-4 hours with ice and stretches.
Once the jetlag is over will be seting up a schedule for the next 6-8 months. Resources I will be using are Runners World Jan 2008 which has the marathon races for the year, active.com which has the events listed near my county, the book Marathon by Jeff Galloway as a guide for the workouts, other runners blogs regularly for motivation.Will do this by this weekend.

Day 67 - First injury?

Day 65, friday afternoon, while sitting on the couch, I had a sudden pain in the sole on the outer side of my foot between the ball and the heel. Initially the area was small and felt like the dull ache after one gets a thorn or needle or pin stuck in the sole. I checked the area but found nothing there, no needle or pin prick. I ignored the pain and went about doing whatever I was doing. By the evening, the area and intensity of the pain had increased. I checked the web, but didnt find anything helpful. Had to take ibuprofen for the pain.
Next day, was slightly better, but hurt when I walked. Walked with foot tilted towards the inside i.e. pronated ;), wow, have started using the running terminology.
Today, much much better, but didnt go for a walk or run as didnt want to aggravate the injury. Hopefully, things would be much better tomorrow, and I'll go for a walk atleast if not a run.
Was thinking, how much a small injury can affect your schedule. I still don't know what the pain is all about as it didnt occur when I was running, but started around 20 hrs after my last workout when I was sitting on the couch :(

Day 64 - Jogging/running on a treadmill

About a month back, when I was well into this marathon preparation, I read somewhere that runners don't like running on the treadmill and prefer the outdoors. At that time, I had tried running outside and found it to be very difficult getting easily tired. Plus I had a tv I could watch while on a treadmill. I thought I would never be one of those people who would prefer the outdoors to the treadmill. That was one month ago. Now, after having run outdoors 4-5 times (chkd the spreadsheet, though it seems like always), I definitely prefer running outside, but, but the weather should be good outside - I still haven't become one of those runners who run outside, rain (or snow) or shine!

The main advantabge I see of running outside is that you have to complete the workout i.e. if you have mapped a route which doent involve any laps and you need to return home at the end of the workout, you need to complete it. With a treadmill, you can quit anytime.

The weather has been bad since yesterday with predictions of it getting worse tomorrow and on Saturday. Went to the gym, didnt want to run, so told myself that just walk a mile, then it was - just walk for half an hour. Analyzing my speed patterns, I started pushing myself to complete 2 miles in 30 mins even thought I had been walking at 3.0 m/h for about 1 mile. Ofcourse I could complete the 2 miles only in 33.5 min. Then I started the cool down and then again tried to complete another mile running (it is another matter that the TV was showing something interesting). Finally, after much internal whining, and low interest, I did complete the workout. I have reached a stage where less than 3 miles seems less to me and I can't go more than 3 miles ateast not upto 4 miles or higher (even though I have completed 4 miles a couple of times). I think I have this mental block to higher miles.

I am hoping for nice weather soon so that I can map a run of 5 miles and complete it. Time to increase the mileage. Also, as you guys suggested, have to participate in a 5 K soon and complete it. Hopefully, should be able to do it as am getting comfortable with my 3 mile runs :)

Day 62 - A very Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

Wow, a new year - again!. Was discussing with a friend about why these years just fly past....just had the 2007 new year, and now it's 2008. I guess it is because while studying we had some milestones which we covered every year. While working, all the days seem the same and just fly away. Well, here we have 2008 which I hope is a wonderful, healthy, happy year for everybody. Especially, considering the state the world is in nowadays, I really hope things get better.

Went for a run the same route but in the opposite direction so had a steep hill of 0.5 m to climb. I had a wonderful run today. In the two months of working out, today was my best run. It seemed so easy. I loved it. Also when climbing the hill, I had to walk but I could walk fast. I remember, about a month back, actually on thanksgiving day, I was doing the same climb and draggging myself up while whining to NB. A woman passed us by commenting good naturedly that we should make the effort considering the thanksgiving dinner we were going to have that day :). And today I climbed the same slope and could do it easily, well atleast walk fast, if not run :), yeah!!!.

The way the run was going, I could have done en extra mile or two, but in the 3rd mile, started developing a rash on my inner thigh. Reached home hurting, hopefully would be able to run tomorrow, but the rash seems pretty bad. It is partly my fault, as I had the same but smaller problem due to my jogging pants earlier and had promised to remember to not wear these for running again. I forgot :(.

But in spite of the above, I enjoyed my run :).