It's Always Dark This Time Of Year...

...Yet my spirit is still bright! What is up with this weather and seemingly constant darkness? Every year I always say to myself, "I don't remember it getting this dark this early last year?" Maybe I say that to cheer myself up but I'm not sure. I guess the bad things about winter are easy to forget.

I always struggle with motivation to exercise this time of year. There are so many excuses and I could take the time to list them out but I've decided not too. I need to remain positive. I have been walking on my treadmill at home about 2-3 days per week and doing weights 1-2 days at the gym. It's all I've been able to do since I just haven't felt very well lately.

Anyhow, I hope everyone is still running strong and not letting the crazy holidays and bad economy get in the way. This is truly a wonderful time of year to celebrate life, family, friends, our new president, and the small blessings God has given us.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Down But Not Out

I suppose my faithful readers may be wondering where I've been this month? Or maybe not. Am I still inpired to run? Have I been running? The answer to the first question is yes...and the second is unfortunately no. I haven't ran in two weeks.

I've been stuck in my car driving 168 miles a day to a hospital in the sticks for work. Williamsport, Indiana to be exact and only 10 minutes from the Illinois border. I've driven one thousand five hundred and twelve miles in the last two weeks. Yes, you read that correctly 1,512 miles without leaving Indiana. The crazy thing is I thought about all the other possible places I could have driven that were 1500 miles away. So here we go:

I could have driven to Key West, FL - approx. 1396 miles away
I could have driven to Telluride, CO - approx. 1412 miles away
I could have driven to South Padre Island, TX - approx. 1435 miles away
I almost made it to Salt Lake City, UT - approx. 1540 miles away
I was only 609 miles from Los Angeles, CA.

Anyways, its back to the gym tomorrow morning to see where I'm at. Wish me luck.

Running Sporadically But Still Making Progress

I surprised myself yesterday. I had my best run yet even though the last 2 weeks I've been having an energy crisis. It's really amazing how I'm staying in pretty good shape even though I haven't been running as much as I think I should.

Yesterday's workout:

Warm-up walk: 4 min 3.0 mph
Run: 8 minutes 4.0 mph
Walk: 4 minutes 3.0 mph
Run: 8 minutes 4.0 mph
Walk: 4 minutes 3.0 mph
Run: 8 minutes 4.0 mph
Cool-down walk: 4 min 2.8-3.0 mph

40 minutes total and 2.05 miles
My breathing was good and my heart rate stayed in the 150's.

I am so glad that I started running. The coolest thing is that you don't have to run everyday to stay in good shape. Once I got through the first 2-3 weeks I really noticed it getting easier. What I love now is that I can hop on the treadmill and go for it without feeling like a truck hit me. I have no idea why I thought running would always be a hard workout. I guess I could never get past the first couple weeks. I gave up too soon. I'm glad I didn't give up this time. :)

Do I walk or do I run?

I'm still trying to get this running thing down. On Monday I set a new record...I ran for 8 minutes straight at 4.0 mph. By the end of the 8 minutes my heart rate was up to 168 beats per minute. Which is 90% of my maximum heart rate. I'm still doing research on where my heart rate should be but I think this is too high for what I want to accomplish. My lungs are increasing air capacity and I don't feel like I've been punched 100 times in the chest anymore.


Yesterday's run I didn't do quite a well and only ran for 6 minutes straight. My heart rate still got up to 165. Too high. I need to back to the training schedule...I have strayed. My plan is to monitor my heart rate after 4 minutes of continuous running. Then I'll walk for either 1 minute or 2 minutes depending on how fast my ticker is beating. I'll continue with that cycle until I reach 25-30 minutes of exercise.

If my fellow runners have any tips please let me know! I've been so tempted this last week to just go back to walking.

Made My Day

This was way too funny not to share...

Someone in Marion Indiana has a great sense of humor.

Follow The Moonbow

I went to the gym on Monday night and did some lunges with 10 lbs. dumbells. I've been pretty monogamous with the leg press and hadn't done lunges for awhile. My legs have been killing me ever since. I did do a running workout last night and pushed myself a little harder but my sore legs couldn't hold me through.

My first 3 running intervals where 2 minute runs then a one minute walk. By the 4th run I was completely spent. I could only run for one minute after that. From then on I had to run my usual intervals of one minute running then 2 minutes walking. At least I'm progressing even if it is just a little. The plan today is to get a little more protein and rest to let the legs recover.

I didn't get much running in over the weekend since we had our annual Harvey Girlz weekend in Lake Cumberland, KY. We all had such an amazing time together and I know the memories will last for years to come. It is one of the greatest things to get together just for the point of getting together.

Aimee and I went to Cumberland Falls State Park with our cousins Beth, Joanna, and Anna from Georgia on Saturday. We reminisced about a white-knuckled ride to Lenox mall in Atlanta with Joanna years ago. We laughed over vivid memories of smoke coming from the hood of Joanna's car as she crossed multiple lanes of traffic while calmly filing her fingernails.

The Cumberland Falls State Park is probably one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen. And it is one of only a few places in the world where a moonbow phenomenon can be seen. It's a rainbow produced by the moon instead of the sun. Some of the other places in the world known to have moonbows are Wamaii, Hawaii; Victoria Falls on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, and Yosmite National Park. The moonbow phenomenon is actually happening in Kentucky this weekend, October 11-12, so I was one weekend too early. Shucks!!

"Tally-Ho..."

I've been tired this week from staying up too late to watch the Spider-Man movies on TV. It's not like I haven't seen them a million times, but I just love the part where Peter Parker is practicing his spider-man super powers for the first time.

Standing on a roof-top he finally gets his spider-webs to stick to the crane up above. He looks down with fear in his eyes and reluctantly says, "Tally-Ho...." He jumps off the roof-top and flies through the air by his web only to body slam the side of a building. I chuckle.

Every time I start to run I think I have a moment like Peter Parker swinging by his web from a roof-top. Well, maybe just the body slamming part into the side of a building. I reluctantly begin my workout not sure if I'm going to make it...."Tally-Ho." By the end my lungs feel as if they've been body slammed and my heart is pounding in my chest.

Then about an hour or so later this amazing thing happens. I feel great. Endorphins. Man do I love endorphins. Peptide hormones that bind to opiate receptors found primarily in the brain that reduce the sensation of pain and affect emotions. It's natural prozac.

Stef is the only one who has gone into great detail with me about how she feels after running and I honestly didn't think it would be as wonderful as I have discovered it to be. So, for anyone who has ever thought about running if you can get through the full body slam the feeling afterward is well worth it.

End Of Week 2 - The Good And The Sad

Tonight's run was great! I'm still on Week One's running workout but its going so well that I want to keep it that way. I've noticed that some days are easier than others. Today was a good day, I even continued to walk for about 20 minutes after the 7 - 1 minute runs were over. Yippie!! I feel like I'm accomplishing something.

Week 2 also ended with some sadness. My friend Marla is one of the incredible women who has inspired me to start running. Her and her family have decided to relocate to San Antonio, TX in 2 weeks. So, yesterday morning we decided to get together one last time before her move. We went indoor rock climbing at Climb Time in Indianapolis. I was a bit nervous about climbing since I've been having trouble with the distal joints in my fingers, particularly my thumbs. The fingers held up great and the climbing was a blast! Why didn't we think of doing this sooner? Anyways, Marla I will miss you terribly. :(

Struggling With Week 2

I really struggled with yesterdays run. I'm just not in good enough shape yet to advance to week two's training routine. Instead of getting down about it I'm sticking with week one's training intervals until I master it.

One of the biggest reasons I decided to start running was to feel better. It doesn't make sense to do something that makes me feel worse. Week two's workout made me feel worse....a lot worse. I am even sore today which didn't happen at all last week. Too much too soon I guess.

Soooo...the plan is:

Run 1 min, walk 2 min Repeat 7x (21 minutes total)

Since Fall is here I plan to start running outdoors, hopefully on the track at Elwood High School.

The End of Week One

I can't believe I survived week one's running workouts! Todays run was tough...I had to slow the running down and really concentrate on my breathing. I'm pretty sure I was running slower than my fastest walk. I guess beer and pizza before a run is a bad idea.

Next week gets even harder:

Monday: Run 2 min Walk 1 min (Repeat 10X)
Tuesday: Walk easy 30 min
Wednesday: Run 3 min Walk 1 min Repeat 7X
Thursday: Walk easy 30 min
Friday: Run 4 min Walk 1 min Repeat 6X
Saturday: Run 4 minWalk 1 minRepeat 6X
Sunday: Rest

Before running I went to Kheiston's football game so that was super fun. Watching those kids run all over that field was good inspiration for me as I try to keep training. It makes me remember what it was like being a kid and having all that energy. What I wouldn't give to have just a little bit of that now...

(Kheiston's the one in the blue helmet)

Post Running Yummy Salad

My favorite yummy salad after a run:

Romaine leaves

Iceburg lettuce

Carrots

Chopped orange & yellow bell peppers

Sunflower seeds

Dried cranberries

Shredded cheese

Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar salad dressing

Thanks Stephanie & Neil for the great salad idea!

Training Day Three - Week One

Today's running seemed a little better. I got some great new Nike running shoes with cushioning insoles from The Finish Line.

It almost felt like I was running on pillows compared to the shoes I was wearing the first two runs.

Todays session was still hard but I found that the minute of running went by faster and easier and I felt like I could have ran longer. I am also recovering better during the 2 minute walks.

It's really amazing if you push yourself to do something hard it eventually gets easier. Newman has also been giving me moral support by coming into the room and laying down to take a nap next to the treadmill while I'm running. He's such a great dog.

Training Day Two - Week One

Today's running was just as hard as Mondays. By my third one minute jog my legs were beginning to cramp. It was like they were screaming at me..."why in the hell are you doing this?"

Then I wondered if the meatloaf I ate for lunch would stay down. My lungs hurt again as I gasped for air. I had just recovered my air during the 2 minute walk when it was time to run again.

I'm also favoring my left leg, my gait is off, my mechanics are bad. The truth is if running were easy everyone would do it so I need to just suck it up, right? Can't wait for that endorphin rush to come. That's the best part...and I didn't toss my meatloaf. :)

Training Day One - Week One

This past weekend I've been inspired to start running. My inspiration comes from a group of amazing women with careers, kids, husbands, and most of all that something special that makes them incredible. And, well of course they all run, do marathons, and ironmans.

So, today is training day one. My first week beginner program goes something like this:

Week 1: Run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes Repeat 7x (21 minutes total)
(runnersworld.com)

Throughout high school gym class I was a relatively fast runner and prefered to sprint 200 yards or less. Distance running was just not my thing. I tend to run too fast and too hard for my own good. I really had to discipline myself today to control my pace and actually run slower than I would have liked. Despite weight-lifting and cardio on the ellipitical machine 3 days per week I am terribly out of shape when it comes to running. My lungs hurt, my throat hurt, my left hip muscles tried to cramp but I was able to slow my pace enough to finish the session. Thank God day one is over...