LSD 7.9 miles, Goals for June.

Went alone today. GB was sleeping in( she keeps telling me not to write that because she actually is awake at that time- so whats preventing her from joining me??- lost the running shoes??). DH wanted to give his leg a rest- he apparentally strained a muscle while working on the elliptical.

Woke up at 4.45 AM, first thought was-lets not go today, next one was- if I dont go today then it will have to be tomorrow, so lets get it done and over with today. I am all for delayed gratification. Tomorrow I will sleep in , read in bed, drink tea in bed, just laze around.

Started at 5.33 AM, as usual the first 2-3 miles are really difficult. This is one thing I really need to understand- whether I do 2 miles or 5 or 10 miles, why are the first 2 so difficult. Its as if my body refuses to move. As if theres a big rubberband pulling me backwards. I have already done 2 miles a hundred thousand time in my life- why is it so difficult.

I was OK after the first 3 miles. R3min/W2min, approx but average speed is still 4mph. I have to build it to 4.3mph till the marathon. Its been 7 months since we started doing this and the speed is not increasing. We still have another 4 months yet, lets see. Weather was beautiful, slightly windy, cool, no sun till 7.33 am when I finished.

May done. We finished a half-M and that is good. I have become slightly more regular with the weights and the running sessions but need to incorporate yoga regularly. No change in weight so far- do not anticipate any. Given up on that end-for now.

Goals for June 2008:
1. 20/30 R/W sessions
2. 5-6 elliptical sessions.
3. 8 weight sessions
4. 8 yoga sessions.
5. Stretching after each workout- I have been missing those and I feel it.
Maybe try Pilates?

Speed session, new elliptical!!!

Dis my speed session which was much easier today. Every 3-4 weeks I try and go up 0.1-02mph om the speed scale, its difficult for 2-3 weeks and the last week it gets easier. Yesterdays and todays sessions were definately easier than last week's.
Tho I have developed shin splints, dont know why since I do, do my stretches regularly. Ice and stretch some more.
Did 15-20 min of weights and ab exercises in the AM, so minimal that I doubt these will ever change anything physically, I just feel better after I do the session.

Spent the whole afternoon surfing thru running blogs and there are so many who have the goal of first marathon this year. But very few are like us- straight couch to marathon in one year. I have to learn how to get their blog names on this page- will ask GB to do it. Very few also with the speed of a snail , like me, but still I think I will have some company.

We got a new machine- the elliptical. My husband has gotten into fitness big-time and he was getting tired of churning the same 3 miles every day on the tmill. Also apparently this does not have the pounding effect on the knees. Good for me, I now have something for XT purposes. So now will do the elliptical 1-2 times a week- will it help me cycle better if and when I get a bike??

Days like this- I am all set for the marathon!! Good day today.

Regular run and Wii-fit

Did my regular run of 46 min, tried to increase my running sessions and ended up getting shinsplints at the end of 30 min. Had them after a long time so back to the heel and toe raises. Ice helped later.

Went to GB's home for brunch. Shes bought the very latest offering from WII- the Wii-fit. So all of us- my in-laws, huband, myself got our body fitness done. Guess what- I am actually 45 years old, and my 78 yo F-I-L turned out to be actually 65 yo. He is pretty healthy and active for his age so that was no surprise, but what we noticed was that the deciding factor is the balance test and he did that test slowly and kept his balance for the requisite 3 seconds whereas I was hopping all over the place. Now I am going back and doing the test in 2 weeks again and this time will surely be 5 years younger.

I am not a video game person at all, would rather read, but I really liked this game. It has 1-2 min sessions of yoga/aerobic exercise/ strengthening exercises/balance exercises and its amazing how a simple thing like putting weight from one foot to another is so difficult sometimes. Those exercises remind me of Tai-chi.

I had done approx 6 classes of Tai-chi when I was younger and found it extremely boring- just stand in one place and move your muscles sloooowly in different directions. But that has changed and I think I would be more open to it now. It requires concentration, focussing, doing small movements, improves balance and in some cases bone density too. Yes, that is something I would like to try again, maybe this summer.

In the meantime I need to go back to doing yoga, which somehow I have lost the habit. It was helping me stay limber and loose. Next month again.

XT- River Parkway

Today was XT day , mainly walking and strengthtraining.

At 9.30 AM we decided to go for a picnic to the river, the same one where we had completed the halfM. So put together something to eat and drink, called GB and my parents to get ready, somehow made my 13yo get ready- shes always against any family gathering and that too in natural surroundings- never.

Reached the place and showed the family the historic pathway where Gb and I R/W for 3 whole hours- actually more. I went for a short walk along the trail by the river, it was so soothing- the sound of the water, calm- no crowds today.

We played darts, ball, observed the people around doing barbeques etc and I envied all those parents who were biking along with their kids, my daughters would never even try this with me.

Then I mentioned to GB and my mom that I would love to have a bike for myself. GB said shes not interested and my mom reminded me of the time a few years ago when I had joined them for a trip to Mackinaw Island and GB and I had biked along the coast.
Mackinaw Island is in north Michigan, it has a no motorised vehicle policy, the coastline is maybe 4-5 miles allaround, its beautiful.
The point is that I have completely forgotton the bike part!! I remember the hotel where we stayed, how the balcony gave a view of the white sand and the calm, light blue lake , i remember looking at the bikes , meeting with the parents after we were done, and as I am typing this, I remember the sight of the lake- varied shades of blue and green, craggy rocks, other families biking etc, but I dont know if that part is my imagination or the actual memory!!. So the point is, how can I forget something which i would really have wanted to do or enjoyed so much. If I actually biked that coastline, and if even my M-I-L remembers the story then it surely must have happened, how come the memory is so hazy to me. Why cant I recollect it as if it happened yesterday , since I so much wanted that experience?
So the question is, I am the one running after experiences, more than material things I want to have experiences--food, movies, marathon, bike ride, places, meeting people, sunsets and sunrises etc etc. But if I forget so much, esp. experiences I fought to have( this trip was the first time I left my daughters home for any length of time)then, are those fights and arguments worth it?? Should I keep trying to venture out of my comfort zone, if I am going to be forgetting it later on?

Time to inhale the almonds and other brain foods!!

NB

LSD 6.6m

My husband(DH) wanted to join us for this run. He does 3 miles of running 3-4 times a week and generally looks down his long nose at GB and my efforts.
But yest he was adamant -' I am going for the 7 miles with u'

Woke up at 4.30 AM, had my PBJ and 16 oz of water, got dressed, woke him up, called GB who didnt want to go because there was rain in the weather forecast.

So we started walking. We walked for the first mile , nice warmup, all downhill. Then I started running at my usual slow speed with my dh on my side smirking away to glory. Thankfuly we were doing a route which has some lovely old houses and for a couple of miles that got his attention.

GB and I had done this route around our 100-105th day of marathon preparation and it had been difficult- one because of the unknown factor, and also because we were so new then.
Today it was fairly easy, tho the time hasnt changed much, also helped by the cool weather. I didnt have the feeling of weak legs or hips by the end of it. Nowadays my criteria of a good session is if I can climb the stairs of my house without knee pain at the end of it,today I could.

We finished approx 4-5 miles, alternating slow running and fast walking. Then DH felt a twinge, in his left knee, on the outside of his left knee. So he could not run after that. So we walked the rest of the mile and half. I meanwhile was all set to go, but had to slow down because of him. This is one he will have to hear for a long time to come.!! The last mile was uphill, and poor poor DH walked the whole distance manfully. I was breathing hard thru out, I have learned to ignore that now as just something I do, but , but, I was the one smirking now!!

Came hme and he got to use the ice pack on his knee, which felt better after 20 min. He was very happy with the whole run/walk- activity in the AM makes the day go by better. I am just hoping he doesnt make a regular feature of it- I do like to go with GB- then I can smirk all the way.

Overall- satisfed with the session, LSD done for this weekend, 8 miles next time.

Pedometers and daily steps

Have you ever seen a sloth??

Thats me today. Slothful, lazy, defiant, sulky, mean, I will not move today. No valid reason. None.
So no workout. I know, I lost to my inner sloth. But sometimes one has to lose a round to win the game.
But my mind and the fingers seem to be working OK , so I spent the last one hour feeding the inner sloth and another sitting in front of the computer, my eyes glazed, frozen in the neck out, chest in posture which will make my upper back hurt but hey! who cares!

By now everyone interested even remotely in health and fitness has heard about the pedometer and the daily goal of 10,000 steps. I too bought pedometers rangeing from free from McDonalds to $ 4 at Walmart to $ 20 at a sports shop . I dont know how to set the fancy ones, too much math calculation required and so used them the way they came. There were days when I crossed 5000 steps but only if I had been especially active doing a small walk etc. There were days when I would be tired car-pooling the kids to and from soccer practice but the pedometer would read a measly 3-4000.

Ever since I started R/W ing I thought I must be doing OK in that department . Then I read somewhere, either the complete running site or some article , that 3o min of running/walking equals 3000 steps. That means the 45min I TRY to do most days of the week barely equals 4500-5000 steps and the rest of the day must be another 2-3000. So even when I push myself to move, I am not actually doing the 10,000 steps.

That is my conclusion. Now I am going to buy another one of those pedometers and see if I am right about this. If yes, I will have to increase my workout time to atleast 60 min. Beyond that, my family will divorce me!!

And that again underlines the fact that to lose weight and keep it off one has to be active thru out the day . Concentrated bouts of exercise followed by slothful behaviour have no major effect on your weight. I know , I know, your heart and lungs and the diabetes and cholesterol all thankyou for the movement but the numbers around the waist and on the weight machine - those remain the exact same, so there!!

Ok, now I should really log off before I start ranting against I dont know what and I dont know why.

Hope u see me in a better mood tomorow, I should be, tomorrow is official rest day!

XT--Walk

Today walked for the XT session.

This walk is a circle from my sub-division, very beautiful and somewhat difficult to do.
If I go clockwise, there is a short hill,followed by another one which is slightly longer but has a sharper gradient. Then there is maybe half a mile of flat road followed by a gradual incline lasting a mile and it gets steeper in the end. Then the last 1 mile is flat again.

I have noticed that when I do this clockwise I take longer to do it and feel more tired than if I go the anticlockwise way- which is walking a mile on a flat level, 1 mile of going down hill and then 2 short but steeper hills. Maybe its just my imagination , maybe it is something scientific related to muscles and how they trigger off, but I find it interesting and will surely keep a note of it. '

I like doing this walk for XT so each week I will do it in a different direction. Even tho I still take 50-60 min to complete this walk, today it felt easier. Good job!!