January 17-22

Monday - 360 Fitness for 20 minutes

I was able to fit the 20 minute workout into the afternoon. A little easier to schedule since Margie took Hailey and Derek all day. The workout felt great--especially needed to do more abs workouts. She covered that pretty well. I am liking the 20 minute workouts. Going to the gym including the drive would take 1 1/2 - 2 hours out of my day. It is nice to spend 20 minutes in my own house and be done with it. I do miss being around people and being outside of the house. I almost wonder if that is affecting some of the moodiness I was experiencing...not the sole reason...just a symptom. I might look into the running club once I finish my Animal Science class...maybe this spring or summer. I did go to the MOPS gathering last night and that helped. Even so...with the miserable weather keeping us trapped indoors, it's been tough.

Tuesday - Ran 3 miles

Yucky, yucky rain! When will it end!? The run went well though. I did the Liberty to Holder to Lone Oak route. I like it except I hate running on Liberty and hitting the three traffic lights all in a row. Once I get on to Holder, I feel more in the groove. The first mile I felt tired and winded, but picked it up by the second mile. It was raining the whole time, but not pouring. I ran during Rob's lunch again. My mood was horrible this morning, but it was the after affects of a rough late afternoon/evening that I am not so sure really had to do with the anxiety--different symptoms. Had nothing to do with the MOPS gathering either...that was a good distraction. Once I hit 10 AM today, I was fine. I really held it together all day. Even though the kids weren't great today, I was better and in control. I noticed the arm shakiness and head aches were non-existant. That makes all the different. I guess this is also turning into a mood journal. But nutrition/exercise/mood balance--it's all so related, isn't it?

Wednesday - 360 Fitness for 20 minutes

I really enjoyed it again today...though I wish I had the handweights. I did it in the afternoon while the kids napped, although Hailey played while I workd out. Moodwise, no issues at all today. Thank goodness!

Thursday - Timed Run - 2 miles

Mile # 1 - 7:24

Mile #2 - 16:19

I beat my time by last week (16:36 last Friday). After Mile #1 I felt more winded and struggled to keep my pace. I did the exact same course. The air was colder, but I should not have worn mittens because my hands were so sweaty and uncomfortable. I kind of like competing against myself and ultimately would love to try do a 5K in under 25 minutes eventually. My all time best time was around 24:50 or something like that and that was in May of 2004.

Weekend

And unfortunately I did NOT run all weekend. This was mostly due to scheduling problems and other committments. Maybe a lack of motivation too. I realized on Saturday it is not realistic for me to train for a half right now. Physically I know I could do it and run it well. Mentally I am doing a heck of a lot better. I am having a few side effects from the medication, but those outweigh the anxiety I was experiencing before. This Animal Science class is taking up a lot of time and energy. I enjoy it and I like learning the new material. But I am trying to juggle too much. Only running during the day is harder than I thought it would be. I am going to do the Team Winter 5K in April. I am going to be doing a rigorous 5K training plan to try and get my 5K at 25 minutes or less. For now I am going to keep doing 360 Fitness and 2 - 4 mile maintenance runs throughout the week. I am way more comfortable with this. It is way more realistic. Come this summer I might be able to look into halfs or full marathons again. I can only do one race like this a year or every other year at least. I feel good about my decision. I am reminded again and again I have slow my life down the next few months. I don't want to quit running, but I don't want to do hard core training right now either.

January 10 - 16

Monday - 360 Fitness for 20 minutes




This is another Comcast on Demand Exercise program and it is very similar to Group Active which was offered at my gym which I never went to. It is similar to Group Power, but offers more aerobics and hand weights whereas Power was 60 minutes of weights. I met a guy at the CIM marathon who said not to do an excessive amount of weight training with running. He said some is good. He followed a program where you do lots of weights and he said it was an absolute waste of time. His time in the marathon was terrible. I enjoyed talking to him because he has done Boston and runs a couple marathons a year...so he knows what he is talking about. I do miss the gym, but I am finding these 20 minute workouts more practical for this phase of life. Two hours of power a week was hard to schedule. Very few weeks it actually happened.




This workout was great. At first I was not sure how it was going to go since both Hailey and Derek were up. I tried to start at 2 PM while they were having Quiet Time/Naps. The Comcast cable box was being a pain in the butt again and it took FOREVER to even get to On Demand. Derek decided not to nap today. The boy was SO SLEEP DEPRIVED we put him to bed at 6:50 PM. The kids were really patient with me and did not get in my way at all. Derek tried to participate a little and Hailey mostly looked at books. I was able to complete everything and feel like I worked all the core muscles. I would feel a little better if I owned hand weights. Will probably buy some soon. I liked this particular workout and might try another "360" again.




Tuesday - Ran 2 Miles




I run really good when I am ticked off. Had a crummy afternoon with the kids. Too much fighting, whining, bossing...you name it. And the cat marked on the carpet again. Rob had to go out to Portland for an emergency today, but thought he might take a break around 4. He said I could 20 minutes while he took a break. Worked out well and did not expect him to do that for me. I ran the same route as Saturday and it went well. I went the opposite way. I picked up the pace more. It was cold and there were was slight icy snow falling. But the roads were not slippery yet. Is winter over yet!? We are all having cabin fever and the walls of these house are closing in on me!! So glad Trisha wants to go out tomorrow night.




I also miss the gym. Not sure I would want to go back to getting up at 4:50 AM, running on the treadmill, or paying $50.00/month. So maybe it is OK to not have it right now.




Wednesday - Rest




Thursday - Rest




Was planning on Yoga today either in the afternoon or evening. This Animal Science class is eating up a lot of time. It's a lot of work! I cannot push myself to do everything.




Friday - Timed Run - 2 miles




Mile #1 - 7:46 (almost the same time I got in 8th grade!)


Mile #2 - 16:36




With this training program I will start in February I am going to be doing intervals. I want to concentrate on pacing. Did a little with training for Sacramento, but want to use it more faithfully in my training. I know I can do 8 minute miles for at least 3-4 miles because I was doing them on the treadmilll. My best 5ks I kept a 8:30 pace. With the Riverbank, I believe it was more a 9 mile pace. The marathon was 10:05 pace. I did my regular 2 mile route I did on Tuesday. Finished Mile #1 at less than 8 minutes and finished 2 miles in 16:36. Did not stop to walk at all. Could keep it up the whole way but had to keep reminding myself to not zone out and keep the faster pace.


Saturday - Ran 3 Miles


Feel like I am back! Feel really strong while I am running with no pain. And not too winded either. Had a great run despite the awful weather we had all weekend. Constant rain. No sun. At least we are in the 50's. I am ready for spring. It was not running too hard. I did my regular 3 mile run to Ewald and back. Will up it to 4 or 5 next weekend.

Sunday - Rest

It is Saturday as I am writing this...I am probably not going to run tomorrow because Hailey is going to have a friend over at church (possibly). With Rob needing to rest in the afternoons, and the fact I was going to watch a movie with Hailey and her friend--not going to try go out running too. I want to go to the evening service tomorrow. I have not gone in weeks. If for some reason the friend cannot make it, I will try and do yoga during Hailey's rest time. Not planning on it though.

Week of January 3rd - January 9th

I will not be training for Eugene for another month so my post titles will just be the dates from that week.


Monday - 2 mile run


So tough! Amazing I ran 26 miles a month ago and had a brutal 2 miler. I wish I would not have taken so much time off. I also wish that I would have done SOMETHING during those four weeks. Especially with all the holiday eating. A little more challenging with no gym membership, but even walking or exercise videos would have been better. I miss the gym. But I really wanted to take Animal Science this semester and we had to move some money around. I always knew if we had to make budget cuts, the gym membership would be one of the first things to go.



Anyway I just ran my regular 2 mile loop and it hurt. Mostly side aches, chest aches, and general fatigue. I am not used to the cold air. It was hard to breathe. I don't know how I trained for the Riverbank run two winters in a row doing 100% of my running outside in cold, snow, and ice. Oregon is not as cold, but it's been a chilly week here.


But getting back into running after a break is always tough. The first run in always the worst. It only gets better from there. I know within a few weeks, I'll feel much stronger than I did today.


Tuesday - Yoga - 50 minutes


I did the YogaWorks Slim and Fit on the On Demand cable. Hailey actually did the last 15 minutes with me. Last time I tried to do yoga, she kept jumping on me and was a huge distraction. This time I set up a little area for her and told her she could be in the room and do yoga too if she did not jump on me or get on my mat and if she did not keep asking me if it was almost done. She did awesome and I enjoyed having here there for the last fifteen minutes (she was upstairs for the first 35 minutes).


Anyway yoga kicked my butt! It was harder than the Centergy Class I used to go to. It hurt and I was surprised how quickly exhausted I got! I am not crazy about exercising in my family room or using On Demand/DVDs. I like the group aspect and going to the gym, but this is a good alternative. It is easier to schedule and I can do it with the kids awake (probably just Hailey for right now...certainly not with Kara). For now I feel pretty good about it. There's a lot of options so I can try other programs too. They update them pretty frequently.


Wednesday - Ran 2 miles


I am also recording my moods on this blog as well. Been struggling with off and on anxiety for the past few weeks. Going to see Dr. Chong today. Really felt upbeat and good until around 11 AM. Then felt absolutely frazzled. I think this is why I am going to keep running during Rob's lunch and not switch to mornings. I NEED that break in the day. The 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM time slot is crazy and chaotic.


Run went well. Much better than Monday. Still don't feel as strong, but that will come. I just ran to Holder and back along Liberty. It was nice the weather was over 40 today and the rain minimal.


Very sore from yoga! Holy cow--abs hurt! I guess it worked.


Thursday & Friday - Rest


Was planning on taking Thursday off. Was not planning on taking Friday off. Running errands on Friday took forever and the house did not get cleaned. We had the Council Party at night. I had to clean in the afternoon. No time to run. Oh well. I guess that is the way it goes.


Saturday - Ran 2 miles


I ran a new route around the neighborhood that kept me more on back roads versus Liberty Street. I liked it. More quiet and secluded. The cold air was not as bad and I am getting used to it. Being slightly over 40 degrees makes a difference versus the high 30's. I avoided the rain too. I felt better. I am still not up to where I would like to be with feeling comfortable while I run. I still feel sluggish. But I'll get there. I enjoyed it more today and did not feel like I was pushing myself to finish only two miles.

Sunday - Rest

I am only going to run three days a week until February. Then I will increase it to four. Right now I like the idea of just three days until I am actually training for something.