Stupid Ankle

{ March 28, 2011 @ 11:25 am } · { Couch to 5K, Injury }
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So, I was all happy about completing Week One of the Couch to 5K program and excited to begin Week 2…  When BLAMMO!  Injury.

The funny part is that I wasn’t even doing anything strenuous!

My husband and I met up with our neighbor at a local watering hole for a drink.  We were talking and, I decided I was going to grab a chair so that I could sit down.  (We were in the bar area, so I needed to grab a tall chair/stool thing.)  I was as happy as could be when I walked over, picked up the chair, and started walking back.  Until I rolled my ankle.  My shoes are pretty old and not very supportive, and the patio area had an uneven area (which I didn’t realize until the last minute)…  I shrugged it off, because it has happened before and was never serious.  So, I sat down and we continued our evening.  Wednesday morning – PAIN!  I couldn’t walk on it, and it hurt to move in any way – so I called in to work and sat on my butt for the day.  I felt so stupid!

I have been using an ankle brace, courtesy of my weak-ankled husband, and that seems to help a little.  I felt okay this weekend, but I had been wearing sneakers.  This morning, I put on my low heels, and the discomfort is back.  It doesn’t hurt so much as it feels like the ankle needs to be ‘popped.’  I’ve been being ginger with it, and getting around okay – but it’s definitely not at 100%.

I’m not getting discouraged, though – which is good!  Usually, I would use something like this as an excuse to stop the program.  But I feel like I have done something with myself, and it feels fantastic!  I’m going to do what I have to do to get my ankle in better shape and get back on the C25K train!!  I just hope it doesn’t take too much longer.  I don’t like falling behind on things!!!

Week 1 – Complete!

{ March 21, 2011 @ 9:47 am } · { Couch to 5K, Running }
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I did it.  I finished Week One of the Couch to 5K program!

I didn’t do it on Friday, as originally planned (went to play trivia and drink free beer, instead) but I made it up on Saturday morning!  I had my husband drop me off at our local library, so I could return a book and see if I could use their wi-fi to get my iPod to work.  Now it won’t even access the iTunes Store.  Boo…

Anyway, there is a lake there that has a path around it where people walk and run all the time.  I think it’s a half a mile around.  I did about half of that and veered off toward home.  The iPod skipped once, but it was my fault.  =)  I felt good!  It was a gorgeous, cool, spring day.  Not a cloud in the sky!  I tried to watch my form, and set visual goals for the 60 second runs.  It worked!  It really helped to push me.   I even made it home before my husband finished his errands!

The rest of the day was crazy, though.  I was in a LOT of pain.  It almost felt like I had been in a car accident – like if I had been hit and my body tightened up to brace myself.  Every muscle in my body ached – from my eyes to my head to my toes.  I tried to drink a lot of water, because my husband thought I may have been over-caffeinated.  (I had finished off a Monster drink before we started cleaning the house.)  I thought maybe it was because I was doing a lot of bending and lifting and stuff while cleaning – but I couldn’t understand why (or how) it would have come on so quickly.  I mean, we weren’t even done with the house before I started feeling that way!

It kept on like that until this morning, really.  I felt a little better yesterday – which was nice.  I tried to keep myself moving, and got the occasional shoulder/neck rub from my husband.  But it wasn’t until this morning that I actually felt right.  My eyes are still a little uncomfortable, but it’s only if I look up at an extreme angle.  I’ll just keep myself from doing that.  lol!

So, that being said, I’m looking forward to Week 2 Day 1.  I’ve seen some posts on Active.com that tell me it’s going to be tough, but it can be done!   I’m debating on changing schedules, though.  I tried to do a Mon/Wed/Fri thing last week, but that didn’t work out as well as I would have liked.  And I really enjoyed the morning run on Saturday.  I would love to run on weekday mornings, eventually – but I’m not a morning person, so forcing myself to run in the afternoons is a better way to get me started on this program.  If I had to run in the mornings, I would never get up!  =)

Anyway, I do like to rise a bit early on the weekends, so that I don’t feel like the day is wasted.  It was really nice to get the day started with some fresh air.  I’m thinking that I may switch over to a Tues/Thurs/Sat schedule instead.  Since its so early in the program, I think it would be a good time to make the switch, as well.  So, sometime today I’ll decide, but it’s looking like I’m moving toward the switch.  We shall see!

Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 2

{ March 17, 2011 @ 11:05 am } · { Couch to 5K, Feelings }
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Completed!

I find that if I go home and immediately change into my workout attire, I am much more ‘pumped’ to go out there and get moving.

I bought a new sensor at lunchtime yesterday, but it still doesn’t get picked up by my iPod.  I’m SOO frustrated!!! I do wonder if I need to update my iTunes, but we’ll see…  =/

So, I got out there and did it.  I did my 5 minute warm up, my 60 seconds of running followed by 90 second of recovery and my 5 minute cool down.  I pushed myself on the last 60 second run, and it felt nice….  I felt a little tight in my thighs and calves, but nothing painful.  My iPod didn’t skip at all – woot!  I realized that I had missed a lot of the podcast on Monday, but since I had stayed out there for the 30 minutes, I’m not sure I’m going to need an additional Week 1 day.  I’ll see how Friday goes.  I do have to get new socks, though.  Mine kept slouching down and bunching at my heel.  It didn’t throw me off, but it was rather irritating.

I got home, face red and a bit out of breath, but I stretched a little (not close to what I should have done) and took a shower and felt wonderful!  I even went to bed at a decent hour!  Of course, I didn’t get anything done that I had wanted to do, but it was nothing that held life and death in the balance.

My goal before my Friday run/walk is to get the Nike+ sensor working again.  I brought my iPod Touch to work today to see about an update, since I do not have internet access at home.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the update will fix the communication issue.  I would love to be able to see an estimate on how far I go, what my pace is and the like.

If you have any advice – DO TELL!  I love gadgets and whatnot – when they actually work!

Here we go again!

{ March 15, 2011 @ 2:13 pm } · { Couch to 5K, Feelings, Running }
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I did it!

When I got home last night, I dusted off my Nike+ Sneakers, got out the iPod Touch, and decided I’m doing Day ONE of the the Couch to 5K – AGAIN!

I have been sitting on my ever-expanding rear end for probably the last 6 months, without doing much of anything but complaining about how my already-snug work pants were getting even more uncomfortable.  I admit, I had been in a bit of a funk in a lot of areas of my life – home, work, family, etc.  That depression just made things worse, and made my laziness that much more comfortable for me.

Since the beginning of the year, I have had a lot going on in my little grey brain – and it has taken some time, but I have gotten hold of some of my focus.  Not much, but a little at a time, right?  Baby steps!

I was kind of in limbo while waiting for an answer on a job I applied for – that I *really* want.  I was rejected (for the second time), and that has kicked me into gear again.  Sure, I’m still going to look for a new job (or work on getting myself self-employed), but I don’t feel so foggy at work.  Since I’m not going anywhere yet, I may as well get back on track!

As for my home life, that too is on the up and up!  My husband finished school, so now he is able to work and bring in some money – which is Fan-Frickin’-Tastic!  I had been so bogged down with the pressure of being the only source of income that I really let things go.  (I have another blog where I talk about that, so I won’t vent too much here.)  But now that he’s been working, there is a little more breathing room in the house.  And that is *quite* a good thing!

So, with everything else going well, I thought I may as well give this another try!  Except for the fact that my little Nike+ sensor doesn’t seem to want to work anymore, and the iPod Touch would randomly change songs – it went well.  I was trying to follow the podcasts found on Robert Ullrey’s Podcasts for Running blog, but for some reason, I would be in the middle of the song, and I guess my movement would cause the iPod to change to the next song.  I know I wasn’t touching it, so I will have to figure something out for Wednesday’s run/walk.

On a good note, the random changes made me go back into the podcast, so I was out walking for longer than the allotted 20 minutes.  It felt good.  When I got home, I was a bit out of breath but I ran upstairs, jumped into a warm shower and felt just fantastic!  The best part is that when I finally got tired enough to fall asleep, I slept great!

My thighs are a little tight today, but in a good way!  And I was really happy to see the extra few calories I could eat (according to My Fitness Pal)!  So, all in all, it was a good experience.  Hopefully Wednesday will be just as good!

 

GOAL: To be able to run the Disney Princess 5K at this time next year!  (Feb 24-26, 2012)

Lofty Goal: To be able to run the Disney Princess HALF MARATHON at this time next year!

It’s That Time of Year Again

{ December 29, 2010 @ 4:33 pm } · { Feelings, Goals }
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I know, it’s been quite a long time, but I’m still here.  2010 is coming to an end and I have been disappointed with myself for the last couple of months.

This year is going to be different!  I’ve dusted off the Slim In 6 DVDs, reconnected with my cousin, the BeachBody Coach, joined a couple of nifty website/forum type sites and got a verbal agreement from my husband to work out with me on a regular basis.  (The written agreement will be hammered out this week.)

What I have learned this year, from my weight loss failure and some attempts at a few new endeavors, is that though immediate gratification is nice, things don’t happen immediately.

I am sure you are just as shocked as I was to realize that…

The strange thing is that I have always been one to put off pleasure – I would wait until Christmas morning to open my gifts while my cousins would tear theirs to shreds on Christmas Eve.  I would make sure everything I had to do was done before I would sit down and eat a meal.  Little things  like that – but when it comes to weight loss (amongst other goals I am setting for myself in the upcoming year), if I didn’t see immediate results in the first 30 seconds – that was it.  I was done!

It may take me  a little while (and a LOT of complaining), but I have faith that I will be able to take advantage of the support system I am creating and reach my goals.  I just need to remember to start small.  Very small….

Welcome ICLWers!

{ January 22, 2010 @ 4:33 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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I appreciate you stopping by! 

As you may have guessed by my title, this blog was created because I am getting too fat for my liking.

I am 33 years old and I feel like I weigh a ton.  Literally.  I am almost 200 pounds and though I really don’t think I look  quite that large, there are times when I feel that large.

How did they know?

 

Anyway, I have decided to take up running, but as usual, the Queen of Procrastination has reared her slow moving head and has taken over my will.  It took her a while, but she got there.  Well, that and I have been fighting a stint of depression and stress.  Yes, I know that exercise helps to alleviate depression and stress by releasing endorphins.  But that ain’t enough to get me going yet.  I am going to take this weekend and regroup – tackling the days one at a time so that I can have a fresh start on Monday. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not *not* going to do anything this weekend.  I fully intend on going for at least one brisk walk.  Possibly mixing it up some running, but I’m not going to go into working my ass off training mode until Monday, when I hope to have a better diet planned for the week.  Eating fast food every day is soooo not helping, and I know it!  (It can also be pretty scary as Poor Lucky Me has noted.)

I desperately need to go food shopping. 

I am pretty excited to get going on this Couch to 5K program, though.  I may not be the fastest at my first race, but I won’t be the last!  And that is just fine with me! 

So, that’s a bit about me and my blog.  Again, thank you for visiting!  I welcome all complaints constructive criticism, so please do not hesitate to give some.  I will hopefully see you here again soon!

HAPPY ICLW!!!

Who goes from the Couch to a 5K?

{ January 20, 2010 @ 10:34 am } · { Running }
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Kitty Loves CSI

I'm going to miss this life...

While perusing through Twitter Tweets, I found a link to a blog (SHOCKER!) that linked to another blog, that linked to another, and so on and so forth….

One of these blogs happened to be from a woman, who I assume is named Mindy.  I say this, because her blog is named ‘Skinny Mindy.’  I could be wrong.

Today she posted about how there are only 6 weeks and some odd days until her first 5K and how she feels about it.   This girl is taking her workouts to new levels, and I think that is fantastic!  She has pages tracking her weight, her workouts and her posts are insightful.  I’m hoping to keep up with her to see how she does, and to motivate myself to do just as much, if not more!  (No offense, Mindy!  I don’t see how I could  do more, but you never know!)

While reading Mindy’s posts, I saw her blogroll.  One of her links was to the something called ‘Couch to 5K.’

My intrest was piqued.  So I clicked.  And I am so glad I did!

There, I found a site called Cool Running which at first gave me flashbacks of the John Candy movie with the Jamaican bobsled team training for the Olympics..  Great movie, but wrong idea.  heh… 

The site is fantastic.  I clicked around for a good part of my morning (sorry Boss Lady!), signed up and learned a lot.  There are a ton (no pun intended) of supportive people on there – willing to listen, give advice, and encourage the newcomers.  I find that to be a huge part of my problem.  I need that motivation.  I need to be held accountable for what I do, or do not achieve.  Posting onto the forums gave me the inspiration to start the Couch to 5K program.

It was actually great, but I’ll do a second post on that one for my own benefit.

When I got back, I logged on to the computer – synched my Nike+ to the Nike+ website (I have 9 miles to go before I get to the next level.  I’m ‘Yellow’ now.).  I entered my info on the Daily Mile website.  And then I entered everything onto the Cool Running tracker.  I think it’s technically through active.com but it was still neat to see everything in print on the website!  (Yeah, I’m also kind of a tech nerd.  Geek may be a better name for it…)

There were some new posts on the forums that I added my two cents on, and some great hints that I tried to take advantage of.  Like the iPod Touch/ iPhone app that works with the program by giving voice cues when it’s time to run/ walk again.  Or the mp3 podcasts that Robert Ullrey created (which are FREE) that do the same thing, but with his own music library.  I think I may use a mixture of both.  I love the techno/club stuff that Mr. Ullrey uses, but I’m not always in the mood for it…  Sometimes I need a little bit of Rock to push me that last few hundred yards. 

So, what I’m hoping is that the newness of it all doesn’t wear out in a week and I let my fitness fall by the wayside again.  It’s too easy to let that happen.  I should know – I’ve been doing it for years!

Finally – I have broken through!

{ January 16, 2010 @ 12:56 pm } · { Feelings }
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It took some doing, but I finally started to walk.

I know, I know – I should have done this much sooner, but I didn’t. I only have myself to blame for that.

What prompted me to finally get off my ass? My husband. Well, the boy he calls his ‘protege’ anyway.  During some sort of discussion, they have decided that they want to go into the Police Academy in order to get a foot in the door for a Fish & Wildlife position in the future.  Using this newly found determination to my advantage, I suggested that he come walking with me after work the next day.  He did, and we walked a couple of miles!  I was thrilled!

It was really cold, though – so it didn’t go quite as well as I would have liked, but we were still out and doing something!

The next day, I got home from work, put on my running shoes and did another 2 miles – sans husband, unfortunately.  But still.. I did a walk/ run this time – walking for five minutes and running for two.  It went well and I did two full miles in just under thirty minutes!  I am very pleased with myself.

I even felt it at work on Friday.  My thighs and calves were just a bit tight – and I loved it!

Since I have to go to Saint Augustine today, I am going to make Sunday the beginning of my new week, and I’m very much looking forward to it.

I did try to update the DailyMile badge up there to show my runs, but it’s not working for some reason.  I’m not sure why, but I’ll keep trying.  In the meantime, I will figure out a different way to inform you of my walks and runs.  Maybe I will be able to link my Nike+ account to the site.  I guess we shall see…

Insert Excuse Here

{ January 6, 2010 @ 4:39 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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As you can see – there was no update to my Daily Mile button. I’m hanging my head in shame. I got suckered!

For the past couple of months, my husband has been driving me to and from work so that he could have the car to job hunt and go to school during the day. When he picked me up yesterday, he actually surprised me by taking me out for dinner. It was more because he didn’t want to cook than for any other reason, but it was still a sweet gesture. So, needless to say, we go out, have some food and a couple of drinks and enjoy each other’s company.

Unfortunately, buy the time we got home, the sky is dark, the air is frigid (there was actually *frost* on the ground this morning!), and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything but sit my fat arse in my chair in front of my computer, play a little World of Warcraft, and go to sleep.

I am still hanging my head in shame.

Why? Because tonight is already shot, and tomorrow night I have dinner plans with an old friend. I could get up early, but I have an appointment at 8:30am. And that is VERY early for me!

Yes, I know. It sounds like I am making excuses, but on a good note – a bunch of us from my office have agreed to walk a 5K in April. I would like to actually *run* it, but we’ll see how far I can get by then! I think I’ll be in decent shape by April. Running shape, that is.

I will also through out the ‘Friday Rest Day’ – since there is nothing to recover from, and get out there after work. Crap.. I think we’re driving down to Miami Friday night. This is just a *bad* week to start this stuff! Heh!

Figures..

Already Late

{ January 5, 2010 @ 3:25 pm } · { Feelings, Goals, Weight Loss }
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I had wanted to start this on the first, as originally planned, but obviously – that did not work.  For what reasons, I do not know, I will just suck them up and move on.  =)

I found an article on how to begin training for a 5K, and they say that Mondays and Fridays are ‘Recovery’ days, so I guess in some way – I’m right on time!  (I will go ahead and tell myself that!)       

Another obvious fact – as you might be able to see from the Daily Mile widget on my sidebar – I have not yet walked today – but that will happen when I get home from work – before it gets dark and freezing.  I may see if I can pull my husband along with me, but there is little chance of that…  

My plan is to walk 2 miles or 30 minutes – whichever comes first.  Why?  Because it is supposed to be in the 40’s tonight, and I don’t want to get caught in that if I can help it!       

It's sooo cold!

Fingers crossed – and not frostbitten – there will be an update on the Daily Mile this evening.  I cannot wait to see how that works, actually!

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