Happy Monday

I did my run for today on the treadmill at work during my lunch break.  The weather has been pretty nasty the last couple of days and I have so much to do after work today that I thought it would be a great opportunity to use the facilities I have at work.  There are even shower rooms so I can clean up after my run....I am a pretty sweaty person :).  It was a rough run.  My shins started to burn before I even hit a mile, it is one of the most frustrating for me because there is nothing you can do but ride it out and just be careful about adding too many miles too quickly.  Does anyone know of any shin exercises that can help this?  If so please share :)!  Overall I did 1.5 miles- this week was supposed to be 2 miles but I kept it at 1.5 because of the shins.  It was a great feeling to have that done and out of the way before noon :).

This weekend was a stressful one.  I was supposed to spend it with the BF out of town at our cabin but my car broke down (or is on it's way to that) on Friday and he had left the day before.  I was able to get down there with another car but it was late and he and his friends had already gone out on the river- I actually didn't mind being left behind since it was raining when I got there.  What I did mind was them not getting back until 1:30 AM, not calling me to let me know (shoddy reception on the river), and not really showing any remorse when they got back.  This may seem like a silly thing to get upset about but I am a worrier and all I kept thinking was that something awful had happened and they were stranded in the middle of the river somewhere.  Plus, I think I was a little cranky about a weekend with me and a bunch of guys- the kind of guys that have no family, significant others, jobs, or really any responsibilities.  If you can imagine what a weekend with these kind of guys would be like then you can imagine my state of mind. 

Sorry about the complaining - had to get it out ;).  I was happy to start my week off with the run scheduled and am hoping that the weather clears up so that I can bike to work a few days (not that I have a lot of choice until the car gets fixed).  Hope everyone had a great weekend and Happy Monday!

Veggies, Veggies, and more Veggies

My run last night was fairly uneventful.  I had another 2 miles scheduled so I headed out to the trails by my house.  It has been raining pretty much all week but last night there was a little clearing of the clouds so I thought an outdoor run would be nice.  The two miles went fairly quick (well, 28 minutes is a quick two miles for me :)) and I had no moose road blocks to worry about.  My shins still got pretty sore but I am hoping that will get better as a build my base back up.

This eating plan has been kind of difficult.  The "what" is not so bad- I like veggies and fruit and am slowly getting the meat and dairy out of my regular diet- it's the "quantity" that is killing me.  The plan has me working up to eating a pound of raw veggies a day (I can also have unlimited amounts of fruit, beans, and legumes...yum :)).  It is very difficult, at least for me, to eat at least a pound of veggies a day.  I realize that this is something to built up to, and I'm trying to remember that everyday, but it's still a bit overwhelming.  On the positive side I have lost two pounds in just three days and I really do enjoy what I'm eating if not hitting the right quantity. 

Still going strong

Today my training (and by training I mean base/5K training) bumped me up to two miles.  I decided to take it out on the treadmill since the weather has been rainy and chilly all day (and it looks like it will be for the rest of the week :( ).  While I am doing better than I expected after a month and a half of nadda, I am still walking quite a bit.  For my 2 miles today I decided to do 1/2 mile warm up walk, run 1 mile (which I almost got through without walking and then only for a 1:30 :)), and then cool down with 1/2 mile.  I definitely felt like I made it over a small milestone today because I really, really didn't feel like running, plus had a bit of a headache, but I got my butt to the gym and did it anyway.  For me that's a big deal, it means I'm back to taking this seriously and am no longer giving into any excuse I can think of not to work out.

I am trying out a new "diet" right now.  I use air quotes because it is technically supposed to be a life style change in eating habits rather than a short term way to lose weight.  I'm reading a book called Eat for Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  It basically focuses on a primarily plant based diet and stresses the idea that processed and animal based foods are a leading cause of obesity and disease.  I am definitely not trying to get preachy (I love my meat and cheese) but there are a lot of good points and I thought it would be worth a shot especially since I really have a good chunk of weight to lose.  I am still reading through the book right now so am only making small changes right now for example- having a meat and dairy free day or a day without any prepackaged foods.  You know, baby steps :).  I think this is going to be very hard for me because, at the end of the day, my willpower and resolve really aren't that strong.  I give into temptation, A LOT.  But, like I said, I'm willing to give it a try and will probably post updates here so please bear with me :).

Here's to the start of a great week.....Happy Monday!

Great Day for a Run

Today was the perfect day for a run.  It was finally a nice, sunny day but since it's Alaska there was also a nice cool breeze to keep me from melting into the pavement.  I am rebuilding my base right now so the plan for today was to do 1.5 miles (including the warm up and the cool down) but it turned into 2 miles because a moose was blocking my path when I was about .10 of mile from my car.  *sigh* That's AK for you.  The run itself was alright.  My shins got pretty sore about a mile into it (but don't feel sore now which is good) so I walked a bit more than I would've liked.  Overall it was just nice to get out there- two days this week, NICE!  Not much else going through my head right now so I think I will leave it at that :).

Trying New Things

So, I did not go on my scheduled run yesterday (I moved it to today) because R wanted me to go on a bike ride with him.  Now, normally I love going on bike rides but there was a catch to it this time....he wanted me to try out one of the new electric bikes he has put together.  I have to say that I was a little nervous about it- when he had me try his mountain ebike I couldn't even get on the seat (his bike frame is a bit big for me) and I also kept hitting the throttle which would cause the bike seat to ram into my lower back- let me tell ya, it HURT!!  Needless to say I was a little nervous but game to try the new ebike (it is a bright blue Schwinn cruiser, soooo cute!) and since the battery on it had less power than the mountain ebike I was a little more optimistic. 

Can I just say WOOHOO?!?  It was like I was a kid riding a bike for the first time.  It was a little awkward at first and I was walking up any steep dirt trails but once I got going I just cruised around the bike trials at full speed.  I had the time of my life!  We also took Coop with us and that little guy kept up with us the whole time - new way to exercise our dog :).  R is hoping to list it on Craigs and sell it but I asked him if I keep this one and he could sell the next one....we'll see, if nothing else maybe I can get him to build me a new one.

I am feeling a little down about this weekend- EVERYONE is going out of towns: R & Coop, the folks, close friends that would normally be my "go tos".  I usually am OK with some "ME" time but for some reason am not looking forward to it this time.  Guess it will be a good time to get some runs in :) and maybe some super fun house cleaning. 

Happy Weekend to All!!

Running...Finally

I ran last night for the first time in quite awhile (yes, my first attempt at getting my motivation back petered out a bit) and it really felt great.  I only did 1.5 miles (.25 warm up and .25 cool down) with one mile of that being the actual run.  I was pretty surprised that I was able to do pretty much the whole thing with only a one minute walk break in the middle.  It did hurt a bit and I was definitely sucking wind by the end but I was still able to do it and that, for me, was really the most important thing.  I have a new training schedule printed and posted to my fridge and I am planning on sticking with it.  I have put the P90X training off until I get back into better cardio shape.  I was nervous to start it back when I was working out regularly and don't think I would survive (yes, I like to exaggerate...) it right now :).  Still, I am just so happy to have my ankle back to full strength, to feel motivated to run again, and to try and get back to the blogging world.  I really have missed getting up every morning and reading everyone's blogs, I feel like I have missed A LOT!  I am also looking forward to getting in some 5Ks towards the end of summer.  Nothing is more discouraging than signing up and training for a race(s) and then having something like an injury take you out.  But that's life and all you can do is suck it up, accept it, and move on :).  Here's to moving on!!