Bike Ride

I decided to change things up a little and go for a bike ride tonight. I hadn't been on a real bike ride since before getting pregnant with Caleb. At first I was thinking this is going to be way to easy. It ended up being the right amount of challenge. Not as difficult as a run but using muscles in different ways that made it a pleasant change of pace. I just rode around some old running routes. I mapped it when I got home and saw I had gone 6.3 miles. It wasn't as overall exhausting as a run but it made my legs more wobbly. I am definitely felling it on my sit bones. I will be sore tomorrow. On one part of my route there was a speed radar set up. It clocked me at 17 miles per hour. Of course it was on a slight slope. That's all for now.

Asi Asi

So my plans for the week about 50/50. I did the Firm on Saturday. Pilates on Sunday. Run and weights on Wednesday. Tuesday nothing. Wednesday an early morning Rune. Thursday, Friday Saturday nothing. I also only did one early morning workout instead of the two I hopped for. I was really crabby that day and did not get anything done in the afternoon cause I took a nap. Of course I didn't eat too well so I think that was part of the problem. I'm gonna stick with it I think my temperament will improve. I also did not put in the bike ride which I'm disappointed about.
So here I go again I'm making my plans for the upcoming week. Sunday a run and weight training in the evening. Monday an early morning Run. Tuesday an evening bike ride and weights. Wednesday an evening run. Thursday early morning The Firm. Friday morning pilates evening trip to the pool? Saturday evening run then weights.

Early Morning Run

I made it out for an early morning run. I did not hear Jake's alarm go off at 5 but I heard the baby fussing at 5:30. Thankfully I woke up feeling not very tired. It's amazing how sometimes you wake up and feel terrible and other times it is no big deal. I think it must have to do with where you are in the sleep cycle.
Anyway I was out the door a little before 6. It was still dark and the grass was wet. I walk across a lot of grass, that happens to be rather tall right now, to get to my starting point. My feet were quite wet before I even got started. I couldn't find my light up arm band. Hence I was a little nervous about my section of the run that I have to do on the road. It had been a long time since I had run in the dark. Two winters ago I ran in the dark all the time. Since then I haven't been out in the dark at all.
Well the run went well. I ran the whole thing and felt really good. After I got back I felt nauseous. Early morning runs on an empty stomach aren't ideal. The worst part is my little ones woke up shortly after I returned, Ethan, than Caleb, then Daniel. I was hoping for a little more time to myself. At least to get a shower, sigh. It is a mixed blessing cause at least we will get an extra early start on school.

Time to get Ready for a 5k

Been way too long since I've posted. I've been running about 2 times a week along with some other exercising. Sometimes more consistent than others. I'm running a 5k on October 11th so it is time to buckle down. My goal is a minimum of three runs a week and two weight training days. The only way I'm going to realistically meet that goal is to get a few of those workouts done in the morning before Jake leaves for work. I am definitely not looking forward to dragging myself out of bed and unto the road at 5 in the morning. Yet it will be a great way to energize and start my day. It will help out with a myriad of other areas of my morning routine. So here's my plans for the week Today when I get done here I'm going to feed the baby and do The Firm. Sunday Yoga/Pilates first thing in the morning before church, then if the rain somehow miraculously clears up a run that evening. Monday morning a Run/ Weight lifting upon returning. Tuesday an evening run after Jake gets home. Wednesday The Firm Early morning before the kids get up. Thursday bike ride in the evening. Friday Early morning Run/ Weight Lifting upon returning. Well those are some grand plans. I'm dreaming of a triatalon next August so I'm going to be fitting in a bike ride once a week and swimming one day this month.

Sporadic

I am averaging about 1 run a week. Sad I know. I really need to step it up a notch. It seems like I'm just letting everything else take precedence over going for a run. I need to redefine my schedule and simply make it a non negotiable priority. That's what I did last time I was running and it worked out fabulously.

I also really need to hit the weights. I am very disappointed in my body image. My clothes don't fit right I just feel uncomfortable, overweight, and crabby. Yet I don't want to buy new clothes to perpetuate the issue I want the tight clothes to be a daily reminder of the pounds and inches I need to shed. I once heard the best way to keep from gaining weight is just never buy a bigger size.

I think I need to change my eating too. This is an area I just do not want to give in, I love to eat and I want to eat whatever I want when I want. I exercise to be able to eat what I want! I'm afraid it is gonna take more than exercise to return to the shape I want to be in, sigh.

So here is the plan for the week. Run tonight, Thursday and either Saturday or Sunday depending on Jake's schedule. Weights on Wednesday and Friday and Either Saturday or Sunday depending on how the running works out. As far as food I'm going to to keep a food diary, eat healthy breakfast, and cut back on the snacks. I'm hopping the food diary will help me be more aware of what I am eating when to control my mindless snacking.

So Inconsitent

Well I haven't been very consistent at all. Yet amazingly I have made tremendous progress, go figure. I'm embarrassed to say I've only run about 4 times in the last month. I've done weight training even less then that. Yet I went on a run last night and ran the full 2.5 miles straight. I was absolutely amazed. I must say running begets more exercises. I got home eager to do my weight training. I was so energized I wasn't ready for bed till nearly midnight. I'm looking forward to running again tomorrow is the plan I think I might try for the full 3 miles. I just need to be more consistent in this and all other areas of my life. I'm really feeling overweight and flabby I want to take off some pounds and inches.

So Rough!

Ok,I've had three runs since I posted last. On Tuesday I ran and it was rough. I realized half way through my run that I forgot to eat lunch that day so tht was probably part of it. I was running 2 walking 1. As I remember I threw in several run 3's.

Then On Friday we were down at KY lake for a family reunion. I got up early to run around the resort. It was delightful I love having something to look at besides subdivision houses. I was up to run 3 walk 1. The roughest part was a significant hill I had to climb near the end of my run,that was a challenge.

Then yesterday evening I went out for a run at about 8pm it was awful. My worst run by far I remember ever. I was supposed to do run 4 walk 1. I started running and just felt so off my gait was terrible my knee hurt my shins hurt and I was just tired. I ran two sets then I just had to walk for 5 minutes I felt awful. I thought when I got to the down hill slope I might feel better but no not at all. So of the 6 running sets I was suppose to do I only did 4. Those 4 were so slow I felt like I was just ambling along hardly faster than a walking pace. I think part of the trouble was how horrendously I ate over the weekend. I was surrounded by good food and I was partaking liberally. I think I might even have put on a few pounds, Zoiks! So I am very discouraged and not looking forward to my next run. Yet I know I need to get back out there or it will be easy just to keep putting it off. Jake's out of town for the next three days so I'm deciding if I should try to get my parents to watch the boys or just give my knees a few days to recover. I'm leaning towards the latter although that will throw all my scheduled runs off and make it easier to keep putting off, Sigh.

I haven't done any weight training or other aerobics this week. The plan is to do some today. It is so hard to do things during the day. Running is easier because it is my time to get away out of the house away from the boys. But doing anything else requires doing it either while the boys are awake (yeah right) or during nap when I need to do many other things. I just need to be more disciplined.

Getting Out the Door

I did not feel like running today. It was about 7:00 I was nursing the the baby for the third time in as many hours. Dinner was only half way done. My dryer was beeping demanding to be unloaded while I looked around at baskets of clean clothes yet to be put away. All in all I had so much to do and I was just tired. I wanted to just take a nap yet I knew running would make me feel many times better than a nap. So I finished feeding the baby, ignored the laundry got dinner ready to go in the oven waited for Jake to get done mowing the lawn and headed out.

Like always getting out the door is the hardest part. Once I started running I was so glad to be out there. I was running 1 minute walking 1 minute. At the one mile point there is a nice long gentle hill to run down so instead of the obligatory minute I ran 3 and from there on out I ran 2 minutes walked 1. I felt great although my knee was a little off. So 2.5 miles in 31:43. I decided to forgo any lower body strength training due to the late hour and my knee feeling off.

Busy week ahead. Tomorrow we're going out for our anniversary. Tuesday night is game night. Wednesday family dinner. Thurs leaving town for a family reunion. Yikes when am I going to run. My plan is a run on Tuesday before game night, Friday while at the reunion and Sunday before leaving or after getting home. It will be a challenge to make it happen this week.

Tomorrow I plan to do upper and lower body strength training and core conditioning. I think I'll throw in the Firm video tape and give that a whirr.

A run with Daniel

Daniel wanted to go with me on my run today. I decided just running around the block would be the most prudent course of action. So we started out walking for a ways and then stretched. He was so cute mimicking my stretches. So I tell him we're gonna run for one minute on then walk. He starts out like a rocket and is way ahead of me with a somewhat awkward stride and his arms aimlessly hanging at his side. 17 seconds in to the run he looks back at me "are we done" no not yet. On he goes after a minute we stop and start walking and are both out of breath. 2nd minute to run and he is waning in enthusiasm. He keeps up with my pace albeit complaining of sore knees. I keep encouraging him on and we successfully complete the minute. He is asking for his bike for the next lap and I consent. Were ready for the third minute of running when the house is in view. Daniel is in no mood to run again but I'm able to encourage him to finish it out. So we grab his bike and are off again for the second time around the block. Unfortunately he wasn't able to keep up with me on the trike. I hope he is able to maintain a better speed when we get his two wheeler. So when we come around to the house again he has had enough and I tell him to go on in while I finish up. So our first running experience was about as I expected not horrible but still a long ways to go.

So I went 2 miles + in about 33 minutes. I also did some upper body and core conditioning. My shins felt much better today. My quads have been my sore area of the day. I have found my flexibility to be very poor. I definitely need to add some yoga and or pilates to work on my flexibility. Looking forward to a run tomorrow I will be stepping it up a notch and running 1 walking 1 15 times. I also plan to do some lower body toning. I think tomorrow I'll run by myself :)

2nd Run

Well I fit in some lower body strength training and a 2.5 mile run/walk today. Both went quite well although my shins were quite sore when I started running. I threw in a little more running today to complete the circuit. I did "run 1 walk 2" 9x "run 2 walk 2" 2x for a total time of 35:25. Looking forward to seeing that 2.5 mile time decrease over the coming weeks.

I have 7 lbs to go to get to pre Caleb weight, and 25 to get to pre Daniel weight. I'm hoping to find my measuring tape soon so I can get some starting measurements as well. Tomorrow is upper body and core conditioning.

Today's Strength Training

Today was a strength training day. I didn't get around to it until nearly 8 pm. It really was a struggle to do anything. I found in the past I do well getting out to run but my non running days I'm about 50/50 on following through with my plans. So I did some upper body weight lifting and core work. Let me say I am so out of shape. I only did one struggling set on exercises I was easily doing three sets on previously. I have a long ways to go but that just means lots of room to see improvement. Tomorrow I'm planning on some lower body strength training and running.

Running Again

Finally running again. After an 8 month baby break I finally got back out for a run today. I am starting slow with the run walk program I used originally. Today I ran 1 minute walked 2 minutes 10 times. As far as cardio I felt pretty good but my legs felt like jelly. The first three times of running I wasn't sure my legs were going to be able to continue but it got better. I traveled around the block 5 times for 2.5 miles. Next run I'm abandoning the boring run around the block to do my favorite 2.5 mile circuit. Looking forward to getting back into shape and running a 5k in September.