Are you kidding me?

This morning I will be more than willing to admit that I had no desire to run. I woke up with Connor at 6:00am. and was so tired I went right back to sleep. I got up with him at 7:00am. and we were out the door by 7:10am. Today was going to be long....7 5X1's. I got through my first 3 and needed to get back home for a pit-stop. That must have been my downfall because I headed out for the last 4 and was dying through each 5 minutes section.

It really could have been any number of things. I was getting incredibly hungry, my pit-stop at home broke my rhythm, Dakota had to go to the bathroom and then sniff every blade of grass at every telephone pole so I was pulling at her leash. Regardless, when I got home, I made the decision that there will be no more long runs outdoors with Connor and Dakota. The jogger is getting too heavy for that type of longer run and Connor is getting irritated because he doesn't want to sit there for that long when he is starting to get hungry as well. And I'm not even going to start with my dog issues and running!

Needless to say, I didn't complete. I did 5.5 of my 7 5X1's. I can't dwell on it though, only put away and remember that tomorrow is another day.

Just another manic...tuesday?!?

This morning I didn't get to go to water aerobics like I normally do. Connor had his 1-yr. doctor's appointment, so went there instead but I was determined to still get a strength training session in. It worked out perfectly because I waited for Connor to wake up, let him play in the playroom and I used my ball to do my workout in the playroom with him. The storm is moving in so I don't know if I am going to get a walk in before the rains come.

I have come to realize there is a lot I need to work on. I am just gliding my right now, but to really reach my goals, I need to get better at pushing myself and being diligent on "non-run" days to follow through with the plan I have set for myself. The other thing I am desperately working on is diet.

I have mentioned this time and time again in my blogging about my need to control and monitor caloric intake. I am in the process of researching dieting (even though I don't believe in the word) for runners. I have begun to read The Runner's Diet from Runner's World. I am finding it so interesting how delusional I have been about food. What I need and certainly DO NOT need as I run. Because I am organizational central and being organized through lists is how I function, tonight, I will be making lists of foods that I can eat as well as a strict menu for the next two weeks. I want to see if I can follow a regime for two weeks. I really need to change my overall eating habits anyway, this is a great springboard. Another one of my problems is being a bored eater and I need to have a little more self control and not shove something in my mouth because I have nothing better to do.

Like everything else, I am learning to never make tons of drastic changes but a few I can live with and start there.

Another week begins

A new week starts. This weekend we celebrated Connor's first birthday....all weekend long. Family was visitng from out of town and while we love having company and spending time with family it, inevitably, screws with my diet, workouts, etc. I always want to spend more time with family than watching what I am eating or making time for a run or workout.

Despite all that, I was looking at the pictures from the birthday party and while my shirt was billowy, I was VERY unhappy with what I saw. I knew then I needed to change my eating habits dramatically. Running is NOT enough. I got a book in the mail on Saturday, "The Runner's Diet." I haven't been able to get through much of it, but what I have has reminded me that I am completely ignorant of what and how much I should be eating for the type and level of activity I am doing. I guess this is a process.....

Anyway, I ran this morning and was pretty proud of myself. I ran 3.16 miles in 38:42. It seems like a lot but I know I was cooking while I was running because my average moving time was 5.1 miles per hour. If I could keep up that pace, I would make my goal of running the half marathon in 2.5 hours. Now, granted, its going to take a lot of work and time to get there...but it's a start and a motivational boost that I really needed.

Emotional Days

This morning we went on a run.....however, let me backtrack and fill you in on yesterday. I love running, but I always look forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays because it is water aerobics days. Connor and I were up, out the door and to the pool, only to find out that it was temporarily closed. GREAT! That is the perfect start to the day. I pretended to tell myself that it was fine, I could use the time out productively by running a few errands in the morning and then get a strength training workout in later in the day. Let me tell you how that plan went....two thumbs way down! I did get the errands run but started getting a migrane and didn't want to deal with that, so I basically just tried to take care of myself the rest of the day.

Today, I woke up feeling incredibly refreshed and ready to take on my new challenging run. I guess my head was ready but my body was still waking up. My legs were sooo heavy, but in all fairness I haven't pushed myself like that in quite some time. I did a brief warm-up, did one 5X1, ran for 15 minutes straight, walked for 2min. and then ran the rest of the way to the house for a total of 7:30 minutes. After looking at the Garmin, I had to remind myself that I can't be concerned with my miles/minute right now, but that I am focusing on completing the workout and building endurance.

I finished 2.58 miles in 34:32.