Note to self

A 2-hr nap does not constitute a good night's sleep! ugh.

I knew I would be tired so I ran right after school today. I just wanted a short run so I went 3 miles. No music. No show. Just running.

575 calories 180 fat calories; 3.5 miles total

A New Goal

My goal tonight was to do 5 miles. I felt so great at 5 that I went another mile. I've never run 6 miles in my life and I felt great doing it! That was a big accomplishment. I'm now officially half way to my goal of a half marathon. That is way cool! A full hour of running. Never before thought possible. Dreaming of Vardotrichic cheering me on at the sidelines and the finishline. You'll be there, right?

I've noticed that after two months of pretraining that my biological issue is starting to remedy itself and I am not craving the chocolate I did before. I know with all the snow days being able to sleep in and get good rest is a great bonus for me. I usually run much better on a good night's rest. This is one thing that concerns me as we get later in the year for school. I won't be able to rest the night before. I feel like my endurance is building.

I wore my shoes successfully again, too. However I don't know if I had them too tight or what was happening, but my feet were going numb. The last mile I also had a weird sensation on my toes. It was like the shoes were conforming to my feet and the feet were really pressing into the shoes. There was a consequential rubbing effect under the toes at the top of the foot - very weird feeling.

My final concern is that of hydration. I made it an hour running, but know I will need to have fluid replacement on longer runs. With about 1/2 mile to go, I had a small drink and a terrible stomach ache began almost immediately. This has been a long-time issue: I can't run with something in my stomach. I'll keep trying, but this could be a problem.

Wow, in the meantime, I am bathing in success of a great run, a new goal.

Treadmill data: 1130 calories, 360 fat calories, 6 mi @6mph for 60 min; 1 mi @3mph for 10 min = 70 total minutes.

Winter Running

It's 30 degree outside, wind gusts to 34 mph with a wind chill of 17. I'm glad I didn't look at this until I sat down to write. J called me to run on the treadmill today. I said sure, but asked if she wanted to run outside with me. We met after lunch and did 3 miles. It was a little chilly, but I dressed well today. When we turned into the wind I kept going! My inner voice told me how great I looked and that I was a marathoner. It was great to run with someone today. When I got to the end of the run I asked if she was going to stop or keep going. She kept going. I think could have also, but didn't want to push it with this chest cold. I walked about .4 miles and came home, all in about 30 min. It was a great run all things considered.

I am a marathoner!

The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer is the book I got from J. It works a lot with the inner center of locus (ICOL), visualization during running, and self-talk. It really emphasizes that one should train ONLY to complete a marathon, not to complete in a certain time, run the entire 26 miles, or even have alternative goals, such as weight loss. Eliminating other goals makes you focus on the real goal of completion. This was huge for me. While I know this, somehow having it repeated many times in different ways throughout the first few chapters really hit home. I do have alternative goals for wanting to do this. I have to put this aside and just focus on completing the run. Complete the 3 miles, complete the 5 miles, complete the 18 miles. It doesn't matter how long it takes you complete it as long as you complete it.

Another big theme is the ICOL. I have to repeat frequently, "I am a marathoner". Eventually I will believe it. Positive thinking leads to positive outcomes. When I feel pain, just say, "Hello pain. I've been waiting for you. Come run with me." Any negative feelings or thoughts I say, "but it doesn't matter." On my run today I had to use this a lot. The streets were icy, "but it doesn't matter". I wanted to quit, "I am a marathoner!" My legs were achy and taking over, "Hello pain. I've been waiting for you. Come run with me." This one was a little more difficult. I found "I am a marathoner" repeated over and over worked best. Another suggestion was to write a short statement of positive things to repeat when you have a difficult run. "You are a marathoner. You have a beautiful body. You are building endurance. You are confident and tall and strong. You are a marathoner. You will succeed." These proved to be the most effective for me today.

I am excited about the concepts and stories presented in this book. It's an easy read and I just can't put it down. As the name suggests, these are non-runners who are going from pretty much nothing to running a marathon in 16 weeks. It is based on the "Marathon Class" at UNI. Literally hundreds of people have taken the class and ALL except one student has completed the marathon each time. The one who didn't, didn't take all the advise of the teachers and got an injury or became dehydrated during the marathon. It's really about changing who you are inside and making yourself more confident. That's exactly what I need.

This is such a self-directed book that I would entertain the idea of presenting it to one of the PE teachers to teach the class here. It's a 16-week program; there are 18 weeks in a semester. We could have an SH marathon at the end of the year as a final. Another aspect I like about this book is that each week (chapter) there is a section on the running schedule, physical training, mental training, and comments from previous participants. You get scientific/biological explanation for what is happening, why it is important to follow the regimen as given, as well as how to overcome the mental challenge of it all. It is truly focused on success! The comments from previous class members is extremely helpful for me too. It makes it more real. They journal about what was difficult and how they overcame the difficulty, give suggestions for being successful, etc. This is a difficult, monumental task, but the end reward is phenomenal!

I have realized that maybe I am running too much. It said that the program is based on a 4-day running schedule: 2 short days, 1 medium day, and long day (Sat). The Sat runs were usually run together and the others were done on their own. Fri and Sun were designated days of rest because of Sat being the long run. The other 3 days were suggested running days, but could be done at other times if schedule was difficult. While some programs have a 5-day/week training schedule, research does not suggest that those type of programs are more effective. To say that e.v.e.r.y. student who stuck to the "rules" of the class successfully completed the course is very encouraging and speaks volumes to the their method.

I almost forgot...I wore the shoes today!! They felt great! I am sooooo excited.

It was a 3-mi run and I walked about .25 miles at the end for a total of 45 min. I really felt like I was going so slowly, but when I got home that time seemed about right so maybe I wasn't going as slowly as I thought I was. One of the writers was a participant in the class and she acknowledged that she was a slow runner. While everyone always passed her and she was always the last on to complete a run, she was ok with that. She speaks about that a lot in the book so when I felt I was going too slow, I just thought about her. It's ok to go slow; it's more important to finish the run...

First outside run

Wow, that was great. I can really tell that fatigue/rest affects the run. I can also really tell that I am much farther ahead of myself from last June's 5K. Another bonus: Got to run with Bill. He definitely runs slower than I do, but we stayed together for the first 1.5 miles or so. He walked for about 1/2 mi and I didn't want to leave him so I kind of ran in place to stay with him. He stopped on a pass by the house and I kept going. I really wanted to run at least 20 minutes outside. I later drove the path we took and discovered I ran about 2.5 miles, 30 min. Considering I ran in place for a bit, I felt good about what I did.

Vardotrichic, have you ever used a metronome type of sound to keep your pace? I read somewhere that someone did that and I thought that was a great idea. Each tick was a step. I think that would keep me going at a constant pace.

J said she was going to loan me her marathon book for the "mental game". Can't wait to start reading that. I need that for sure!

Change in philosophy

I had no real goal in mind tonight in terms of number of miles or anything. I just wanted to complete the minimum 3 mi/30 min. I got to 2 miles pretty quickly, finished the last mile not too terribly, but didn't want to push it. My body is a little messed up this week for a number of reasons. Stress is settling in and there are more changes coming along.

I talked to J this afternoon and she said that rest is definitely important [for a number of reasons!]. Her research said that for every minute you run you should add on that much sleep. So when you run a hour, you should get an extra hour of sleep! Guess that means I should be running -40 hrs/day. lol This is the final week of the semester so hopefully I will start to get back to "normal" after this next week.

For 40 years I've had "listen to your body" drilled into my head. If your body says stop, you need to stop. Now I have to change all that...don't let the body override the mind. I'm an old dog, and at 40 I'm learning all kinds of new tricks. My biological system is going crazy.

641 calories; 200 fat calories; 4 mi = 3 mi run + 1 mi walk; 50 min

running ≠ giving blood

Wednesday was my official day of rest since I was gone. I ended up staying up way too late updating grades and got about 3 hrs sleep so I was totally exhausted yesterday. After school I donated blood, which I knew would make me even more tired. Yep. I went home, had a little to eat, fell asleep on the couch around 7ish with my kids. So, yesterday was an accidental day of rest.

Between being totally fatigued and giving blood I had a bad run tonight. I may even be mildly dehydrated. Fortunately it didn't get me down too much. At about mile .5 I developed a really bad side ache. I almost quit, but I told myself that if I could get to a mile or a little more I might feel better as sometimes it takes me a bit to get going. Nope. I just kept thinking how icky I felt today, even lightheaded once that I sat down in the middle of class, that maybe I better not push it too much tonight. My toes have been hurting the past couple days, too. I don't know if my socks aren't adjusted right or what, but I feel like I'm getting mild blisters on the outside of my pinky toes. Anyway, with all this I stopped at mile 2.5 ish and walked the remaining 2 miles. I really wanted to go another 5 min running, but my body was screaming at me and my mind was fighting a losing battle. I'm ok with that though. I'll try again tomorrow.

654 calories; 204 fat calories; 4.25 miles; 62 minutes

Where's the finish line?

Tomorrow night I am going north with the admin to talk to a bunch of administrators and board members. So, I figured tomorrow will be a day of rest and I had to run tonight for sure. I was only going to do the minimum 3 miles. I got to 3 and thought I had only started. I set a new goal of 5 miles. I just kept going! Ok, six is my limit or I may regret it later. Well, that's about 1/4 marathon. I'm halfway through D2D - inside. I even thought it was more of a jog than a real run. Glad to have a great run tonight. I needed that!

J emailed me today and wants to start running. I can't wait to start running outside, and with someone. I need to get in the new shoes, however. My blister is healed so I should probably start working on that again. I told myself I couldn't go outside until I was running in the new shoes!

I was looking at the calendar and if I complete the full marathon training by June 5, I should start around Valentines Day. If I just work toward the 18 mi run, I should start around St Patty's Day. Either plan, these will get me to D2D.

New problem: J asked me to do Grandma's with her this year. I'm scared to death! I declined out of fear. That just seems out of my league right now. I will be excited to do D2D. OK, bring on the guilt Vardotrichic...

Tonight's details: 1081 calories; 338 fat calories; 6, yes SIX miles; 60 min running; .5 miles walking 10 min. Realized my treadmill only goes to 999 on the calorie counter. :) Feels good to have tipped that scale.

Speaking of which, I have been quite frustrated with the scale lately so only had 6ish MMs today and skipped supper. I figure I almost ran off my calories today. Bowl of granola Raisin Bran for breakfast, bag of popcorn for lunch (75 cal), a few MMs, 2 large glasses of grape juice. Yep, I'm covered.

VICTORY!

I did it! FIVE miles tonight. It was great. At about mile 2.75 I wanted to quit, but I worked my way through it and kept going. The back of my thigh started to ache, but I kept going. My TV show was only 45 min so I had to quick find something else to watch to distract me.

OK, I am gaining weight! This is seriously bothering me.

957 calories; 295 fat calories; 70 min total; 5 mi running 50 min; 20 min walking .75 mi

Go Stop Go Stop

Once again, no motivation to get there, but now that I'm done, I feel better. I really wanted to to do 5 miles today, but my shins started burning. I really don't want shin splints. So, I did 5 miles a little differently... I ran my usual 3 miles, but then walked 1/2 mi. I started feeling a bit better so I ran another mile and then walked the last 1/2 mile for a total of 5 miles, 800+calories; 270+ fat calories. So I ran at least 4 miles today, just not all at once. I still achieved my goal of 30 min run/3 miles so it can still be counted as successful.

I rested yesterday because I was just so down about not having a good run the day before. I thought maybe if I rested that would help my morale. I've been counting how much I've been running because I don't want too many days of rest. That's' just a good excuse [today is a day of rest] for me not to run and I have enough of those on my own. I need more excuses TO run.

OK I'm unofficially holding myself accountable to Dam to Dam. Vardotrichic, I know you want me to make an official written goal, but if something happens and I don't can't do it, I haven't let anyone down. That's my excuse! I beat myself up enough for unsuccesses; this is meant to be a "relaxing", enjoyable, positive health and life change for me.

Bill asked me the other day if I wanted to renew our vows this year. This is not a "milestone" year so it was a little confused, but saw an opportunity in this request. I accepted with the condition that I run a 1/2 marathon. How's that for a goal?! Not necessarily a competition, mind you, but a 1/2 marathon nonetheless. I am hoping D2D will do that, though. I figure if I can run 18 miles, I can do D2D. I have it scheduled in my phone right now. I have until mid May to officially register so I have some time to train for this. I think I can do it.

Two steps forward; one back

Well, I had a great week of running, but the bottom fell out tonight. I saw every 30 seconds tick away. I was watching "My Name is Earl" and laughing the whole time, but dying inside. I got to 1/2 mi and thought "I have 25 more minutes to go." I had to keep telling myself to keep going. I had run 5 mi yesterday so why can't I just run the minimum 3 today! Bill said the new Heroes was on this week so maybe I just wanted to spend time next to him and not run tonight. I don't know. It was such a good week overall.

572 calories; 179 fat calories; 30 min @ 6mph; 30 min running; 10 min @ 3 mph; 10 min walking

Milestones

I reached a point, after a month now, that I look forward to running; I like it. I am still struggling with the motivation to GET to the starting line however. I also have a milestone of easily running 2 miles. I still sweat like crazy, but I'm not miserable at 2 miles. I am starting to see some pleasant physical changes, too. It gives me motivation to keep going.

I set out today thinking I would run 5 miles. At 4 miles I was not achy so I kept going. I made it to 5! That felt great! It was a really really good run. I am still waiting for my heel to heal up so I still have my old shoes on, but it was a good run. I'll probably do a shorter run tomorrow just to mix it up a bit. This is one reason I can't wait to get outside and be done with this pretraining. The marathon training schedule has different distances everyday. I know I can do different distances now, but I feel dedicated to build up endurance and acquire longer runs.

60 min total; 912 calories, 285 fat calories, 5 mi running @ 6mph; 50 min; .5 mi walking @ 3 mph; 10 min

Heroes

GREAT run tonight. I didn't even have a band-aide on. I think I may be healing. This was the ultimate in multitasking tonight. Just as I started running and watching Bones, my mom IMed me. I was texting, watching a TV show and running. That's how crazy busy I get. I know I didn't have to respond, but it's my mom! She never knew until I was a mile into the run.

It was really my plan to walk at least 3/4 mi, maybe even a mile at the end, but then I saw a tweet that the latest Heroes was on hulu. Gracias Paulino. I just had to quit midwalk. BYE!

760 calories; 235 fat calories; 4 mi @ 6 mph; .67 mi @3mph; 56.35 total minutes

Can I just run please?

I feel like I haven't run for 4 days. Fri AM to Sun PM seems like forever. I guess that means I started a routine. Wanted to let my blister heal a bit before I got back on the treadmill. Technically it was only a day of rest, but it seemed like forever.

I put on some regular shoes yesterday and ouch! that did not feel good. I thought I would be out for a week. I tried on the ye ole clunkers tonight and it wasn't awful so I thought I would at least run a mile no matter what and then walk the last 2 if I had to. The first 1.5 flew by and I was still feeling really good so I set a goal of at least 4 miles. That wasn't bad. I think I would have been hurting to go 6, but I could have made it. That would be about 1/4 marathon. That's exciting. Tomorrow I start back to school so I didn't want to stay up too late. It was a good run.

Bill is even doing a little research on running. We discovered cotton is NOT the fabric of our lives, at least when it comes to running. That may have been one reason I was sweating so badly. I see there are some deals on c9 clothing at Target this week...

770 calories; 240 fat calories; 40 min run; 4miles @ 6 mph; 10 min walk; .7 miles @ 3mph

That was GRrrrrrreeeeaaaaAAATT!

I wore my shoes a few times during the day this week and didn't really feel the rub so I thought I would try to run with them today. It was a great run: no tingle on the feet, lots of energy, all around good. Then I got to mile 2.6...the rub was back. I really wanted to go to 4 miles today. The closer I got to 3 miles the more I realized it was not a good idea. I got upstairs, took off the shoes, and a saw a bulging blister the size of a quarter on my outside heel. UGH. I had no idea it was getting that big. Yikes! Bummer. Physically, I really thought I could go 4-5 miles today.

OK, here's my question today: I'm not really seeing the pounds dissappear from the scale, but I feel stronger and can see some physical improvements. So, is there a direct correlation between the pounds gained in muscle and the pounds lost in fat? If so, what is the equation for figuring this? How much am I really losing and gaining? Maybe there are too many variables for this.

574 calories; 179 fat calories; 3 mi @ 6mph; 1/2 mi @ 3 mph; 50 min