It seemed a bit harder today. Im not sure if it was doing at the evening or if I didnt eat enough to have more energy. I felt sorta sluggish. Overall though it was a good run.
I doubled back twice for Mr. F and he turned back around at the 1 mile marker while I went on ahead to try and add in that extra half mile. It took me a long time to catch back up to him. I really felt slow. I was sure that I would meet him running toward me on the trail since I was so slow. And sure enough that did happen! I was near the end of the trail when I finally encountered him.
I didnt wear a watch again so I had no idea on time and Mr. F was out of sight for almost all of the return segment. So I had no idea on time. When I finally saw Mr. F -- I pushed it up a notch and really upped my speed. I still didnt catch him but I did finish strong!!!
It wasnt until we were walking back to the car on our cool down walk that we talked bout distance and time. Mr. F thought since I didnt come back as quickly that I went further than I did last time. I did about the same distance total(2.5 - 2.75 miles estimated) but I did it two minutes faster. Woohoo! On Wednesday, it took me 32 and a half minutes to cover that distance. Today I did it in 30 minutes, so while I thought I was slower, I actually beat my time.
I have some pain along the side of my left leg again but not bad. It didnt bother me while running, so I was thankful for that.
Im starting to notice little changes in my muscles. My thighs are more streamlined. They are still flabby but I can see subtle changes. Im even noticing soe changes in the midsection. Oh most of the fat is still there but I can see some muscle definition in the diaphragm.
I still sit back in awe that I can do this. I never thought ever that I could be a runner, let alone run for 30 minutes straight without stopping. Couch to 5k rocks!!!!!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday weight check (week 8)
FatManRunning
Last Friday: 283.3
Today: 280.7
Gain/Loss: -2.6
Goal: 210.0 lbs.
Cumulative loss: 19.7 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 70.7
Comment: Given the trouble I had on Wednesday, and too many calories on Monday and Tuesday, I was pleasantly surprised by the scale. I started logging my food intake this week, and for the first time ever it has actually been a bit freeing. For example, yesteday I was almost 1,000 calories under for the day, and doing well on my carbs after I added in dinner, so I was able to enjoy two servings (total of 1 cup) of Breyer's Natural Vanilla ice cream without feeling bad about it. I'm looking forward to breaking the 280 barrier next week. When I hit 270, that will be the lightest I've been in more than 16 years.
Mrs. F
Last Friday: 179.2
Today: 174.7
Gain/Loss: -4.5
Goal: 150.00
Cumulative loss: 8.1 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 24.7
Comment: I was pretty pleased with today's weight loss. I lost 1.5 lbs. on top of my water weight from last week. I found that counting calories and staying under my limit isn't as hard as I expected. Like Mr. F, I even got to eat some ice cream last night. Counting the calories and logging all my food makes me think twice before reaching for a treat!
Last Friday: 283.3
Today: 280.7
Gain/Loss: -2.6
Goal: 210.0 lbs.
Cumulative loss: 19.7 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 70.7
Comment: Given the trouble I had on Wednesday, and too many calories on Monday and Tuesday, I was pleasantly surprised by the scale. I started logging my food intake this week, and for the first time ever it has actually been a bit freeing. For example, yesteday I was almost 1,000 calories under for the day, and doing well on my carbs after I added in dinner, so I was able to enjoy two servings (total of 1 cup) of Breyer's Natural Vanilla ice cream without feeling bad about it. I'm looking forward to breaking the 280 barrier next week. When I hit 270, that will be the lightest I've been in more than 16 years.
Mrs. F
Last Friday: 179.2
Today: 174.7
Gain/Loss: -4.5
Goal: 150.00
Cumulative loss: 8.1 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 24.7
Comment: I was pretty pleased with today's weight loss. I lost 1.5 lbs. on top of my water weight from last week. I found that counting calories and staying under my limit isn't as hard as I expected. Like Mr. F, I even got to eat some ice cream last night. Counting the calories and logging all my food makes me think twice before reaching for a treat!
Day 54 - the decision to run later today, Thursday recap
During the first few weeks of this program, had I even allowed myself to consider running later in a given day, I likely would not have run at all. Now, as we are nearly finished with Week 8, I find myself surprisingly different.
Yes, it was a long night. Heavy reading for my new graduate class had me reading straight through from the moment I finished eating dinner. I allowed myself to interrupt my reading with Internet activities for about 10 minutes after every chapter completed, just to help keep my sanity and to preserve my eyesight. Who, in their right mind, pubishes a massive academic text printed in eight point type? I guess I can gell which publisher was trying to save on paper.
Before it even reached 10 PM, I had fallen asleep at two points during my reading. It's not that the material was that dry, but rather that I was so tired. I've grown accustomed to getting to bed around 9 PM (or trying to, at least), so 10:15 PM suddenly felt like an all-nighter. I didn't get as far in my reading as I hoped, but it was progress nonetheless.
During the night, our youngest boy made his way into our bed. He's at that age where he absolutely must crawl in between us. He didn't realize that we were already well over to one side of the bed. I spent the next hour and a half occupying about a foot of mattress space, sometimes on my side, and sometimes half-on, half-off the bed. Oi! What a night.
When the alarm went off at five o'clock, I sat up right away. I was feeling surprisingly fresh and ready. "Time to get up and run," I told Mrs. F, but I did not hear a reply. I said something once more. Again hearing no reply, I glanced out the window. No snow, but the forecast was for temps below freezing, moderate winds, and the start of frozen or semi-frozen precipitation. I made an executive decision, and reset the alarm for 6 AM. I lay back down, and actually resumed a dream I was having earlier in the night--I was running in a multi-day distance race. I had just completed seven miles on our third day when the alarm went off again.
This time, instead of being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I was foggy-eyed and muddy-headed. Rather than sitting up, I found the alarm clock with my right foot (I had moved it off the night stand because it was too easy to reach), and I hit the snooze button with my heel. This required a tremendous amount of effort and balance that, on retrospect, likely took more energy than simply getting up and running a marathon. That said, I repeated said act nine minutes later. Yet nine minute later, I did it again, but this time it was almost effortless. It's time to find a new place for the alarm clock.
I wonder if there's an electrical outlet in the closet, so I can put it on the top shelf? That would require me to get out of bed to shut it off.
I really hate the snooze alarm feature, but that's a story for another day.
If you haven't noticed by now, I tend to follow rabbit trails as I tell stories. Let me see if I can bring this one back to the main trail...
So, I allowed myself to slack off a bit this morning, and I didn't push to wake Mrs. F. Whereas before that would have been a death-blow to my efforts, it now seems okay. It's not as if I'm not sure if I'll fit the run in. I know when I'll be running: right after work this evening. The funny thing about it? Here I am, sitting and typing, and feeling this sense of disappointment that I didn't run this morning. It's as if my body is saying, "Hey, what's going on, man? Why aren't we out there?" and "When are we going to do this?" That's something I never expected. My body wants to run!
Since our school was hosting the meet yesterday, I got to help out a bit. I helped to direct some of the people traffic on the course ("Runners on the course! Clear the lane!"), and later was assigned to stand at the head of the chute that funnels the runners to the finish line, to direct each group of runners to the correct side in the mixed races ("Boys to the right, girls to the left. Boys to the right. To the right! TO THE RIGHT!").
Some of the runners saw my hand gestures and/or heard my calls early, and found their way to the appropriate side, but some, and I don't know if it was adrenaline, the din of the crowd, or just their sheer determination to finish, did not seem to see or hear me until the final seconds. I had more than one runner--actually, all of the runners who had to make last minute corrections were guys--who stayed left until nearly at the finish and then had to cut across hard to get into their side of the chute. I believe, for most of them, it was unintentional, since they were caught up in mini-races at the end, jockeying for position, but there was one guy who was approaching the finish line apart from any group and at a full sprint, and he was running right at me (with a fiendish grin on his face, no less) and veered to my left (his right) at the last second, missing me by inches, literally. Even with the wind at my back, I felt the wind he created as he passed me by. I think he was having some fun.
I'm going to try to remember his face. If I ever see him driving in an approaching car, I'll want to give him plenty of space. :o
Overall, it was a fun experience. The runner the other boys call "The Beast" was at this meet. He's been running many races at a sub-16 pace all season. With the cold and the hills, he finished in about 16:18--very impressive. He was just wearing his uniform shorts and tank top--no warm wear at all. Some of the parents, after congratulating him, were asking him about college plans. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he pointed out that, once he expressed an interest in a specific school, other schools seemed to come at him from all sides, wanting to recruit him for their programs. As I understand it, that can be common for boys who run sub-16s, and I think it has motivated our eldest son to want to improve his time.
This was The Beast's last year--he's a graduating senior. I think there are a lot of other runners in our area who will be glad to see him go. It can be a little disheartening for some of the other good, solid runners who see that this guy was beating them by 30 seconds to a minute or more. Actually, in all the races where I saw him, I saw one other guy finish about 15 seconds behind him, before there was a long gap to the next group of runners. That's one of the things that is great about cross country, though--not only do the teams compete, but each of the runners is out there trying to beat his own personal best. Quite often, they set their eyes on some faster runner on their team or even from another school, and they work hard all year to try to beat that other runner. They compete on three levels--I can't think of any other sport where the distinction between those three competitions (personal, inter-personal, and team) are so distinct yet also so blended. Cross country may be one of those sports that gets little attention at the high school level--both in the local press and in the eyes of the rest of the school community--but I've found it to be the one sport that seems to foster the most camaraderie, not just on one's own team, but also with players and families at the other schools. It is an amazing sport and an amazing group of people.
So, when I finish today's run, I will have run six miles this week. I'm not on par with my boys (and never may be), but it is about 1.9 miles further than I could run at the start of the season. Little by little, I'm making progress.
I'll be posting again later this evening, after our run and our Friday weight check. I sure hope that goes well today. I just need to remember to change out of my heavy flannel-lined jeans before I hit the scale! I used to have a pretty good tolerance for colder temperatures, but since losing these 17+ lbs., most of which appear to be from my abdominal fat, I find that I get cold much easier. I had to wear a hat walking through the dairy section at the store last week! I guess that's a price I'm willing to pay as I lose the weight!
Yes, it was a long night. Heavy reading for my new graduate class had me reading straight through from the moment I finished eating dinner. I allowed myself to interrupt my reading with Internet activities for about 10 minutes after every chapter completed, just to help keep my sanity and to preserve my eyesight. Who, in their right mind, pubishes a massive academic text printed in eight point type? I guess I can gell which publisher was trying to save on paper.
Before it even reached 10 PM, I had fallen asleep at two points during my reading. It's not that the material was that dry, but rather that I was so tired. I've grown accustomed to getting to bed around 9 PM (or trying to, at least), so 10:15 PM suddenly felt like an all-nighter. I didn't get as far in my reading as I hoped, but it was progress nonetheless.
During the night, our youngest boy made his way into our bed. He's at that age where he absolutely must crawl in between us. He didn't realize that we were already well over to one side of the bed. I spent the next hour and a half occupying about a foot of mattress space, sometimes on my side, and sometimes half-on, half-off the bed. Oi! What a night.
When the alarm went off at five o'clock, I sat up right away. I was feeling surprisingly fresh and ready. "Time to get up and run," I told Mrs. F, but I did not hear a reply. I said something once more. Again hearing no reply, I glanced out the window. No snow, but the forecast was for temps below freezing, moderate winds, and the start of frozen or semi-frozen precipitation. I made an executive decision, and reset the alarm for 6 AM. I lay back down, and actually resumed a dream I was having earlier in the night--I was running in a multi-day distance race. I had just completed seven miles on our third day when the alarm went off again.
This time, instead of being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I was foggy-eyed and muddy-headed. Rather than sitting up, I found the alarm clock with my right foot (I had moved it off the night stand because it was too easy to reach), and I hit the snooze button with my heel. This required a tremendous amount of effort and balance that, on retrospect, likely took more energy than simply getting up and running a marathon. That said, I repeated said act nine minutes later. Yet nine minute later, I did it again, but this time it was almost effortless. It's time to find a new place for the alarm clock.
I wonder if there's an electrical outlet in the closet, so I can put it on the top shelf? That would require me to get out of bed to shut it off.
I really hate the snooze alarm feature, but that's a story for another day.
If you haven't noticed by now, I tend to follow rabbit trails as I tell stories. Let me see if I can bring this one back to the main trail...
So, I allowed myself to slack off a bit this morning, and I didn't push to wake Mrs. F. Whereas before that would have been a death-blow to my efforts, it now seems okay. It's not as if I'm not sure if I'll fit the run in. I know when I'll be running: right after work this evening. The funny thing about it? Here I am, sitting and typing, and feeling this sense of disappointment that I didn't run this morning. It's as if my body is saying, "Hey, what's going on, man? Why aren't we out there?" and "When are we going to do this?" That's something I never expected. My body wants to run!
Since our school was hosting the meet yesterday, I got to help out a bit. I helped to direct some of the people traffic on the course ("Runners on the course! Clear the lane!"), and later was assigned to stand at the head of the chute that funnels the runners to the finish line, to direct each group of runners to the correct side in the mixed races ("Boys to the right, girls to the left. Boys to the right. To the right! TO THE RIGHT!").
Some of the runners saw my hand gestures and/or heard my calls early, and found their way to the appropriate side, but some, and I don't know if it was adrenaline, the din of the crowd, or just their sheer determination to finish, did not seem to see or hear me until the final seconds. I had more than one runner--actually, all of the runners who had to make last minute corrections were guys--who stayed left until nearly at the finish and then had to cut across hard to get into their side of the chute. I believe, for most of them, it was unintentional, since they were caught up in mini-races at the end, jockeying for position, but there was one guy who was approaching the finish line apart from any group and at a full sprint, and he was running right at me (with a fiendish grin on his face, no less) and veered to my left (his right) at the last second, missing me by inches, literally. Even with the wind at my back, I felt the wind he created as he passed me by. I think he was having some fun.
I'm going to try to remember his face. If I ever see him driving in an approaching car, I'll want to give him plenty of space. :o
Overall, it was a fun experience. The runner the other boys call "The Beast" was at this meet. He's been running many races at a sub-16 pace all season. With the cold and the hills, he finished in about 16:18--very impressive. He was just wearing his uniform shorts and tank top--no warm wear at all. Some of the parents, after congratulating him, were asking him about college plans. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he pointed out that, once he expressed an interest in a specific school, other schools seemed to come at him from all sides, wanting to recruit him for their programs. As I understand it, that can be common for boys who run sub-16s, and I think it has motivated our eldest son to want to improve his time.
This was The Beast's last year--he's a graduating senior. I think there are a lot of other runners in our area who will be glad to see him go. It can be a little disheartening for some of the other good, solid runners who see that this guy was beating them by 30 seconds to a minute or more. Actually, in all the races where I saw him, I saw one other guy finish about 15 seconds behind him, before there was a long gap to the next group of runners. That's one of the things that is great about cross country, though--not only do the teams compete, but each of the runners is out there trying to beat his own personal best. Quite often, they set their eyes on some faster runner on their team or even from another school, and they work hard all year to try to beat that other runner. They compete on three levels--I can't think of any other sport where the distinction between those three competitions (personal, inter-personal, and team) are so distinct yet also so blended. Cross country may be one of those sports that gets little attention at the high school level--both in the local press and in the eyes of the rest of the school community--but I've found it to be the one sport that seems to foster the most camaraderie, not just on one's own team, but also with players and families at the other schools. It is an amazing sport and an amazing group of people.
So, when I finish today's run, I will have run six miles this week. I'm not on par with my boys (and never may be), but it is about 1.9 miles further than I could run at the start of the season. Little by little, I'm making progress.
I'll be posting again later this evening, after our run and our Friday weight check. I sure hope that goes well today. I just need to remember to change out of my heavy flannel-lined jeans before I hit the scale! I used to have a pretty good tolerance for colder temperatures, but since losing these 17+ lbs., most of which appear to be from my abdominal fat, I find that I get cold much easier. I had to wear a hat walking through the dairy section at the store last week! I guess that's a price I'm willing to pay as I lose the weight!
Day 54 (week 8, day 3) - Delayed run til this evening - Mrs. F
The plan is to run tonight after Mr. F gets off work. Its not a pleasant weather day today either -- cold, cold and some sleet and rain thrown in. Run, we will though!
We ended up delaying our run this morning mostly due to exhaustion. We did not get to bed early and our toddler was up in the night as well as our baby. So when the alarm went off at 5 am, Mr. F moved and I did not. So he elected that we would go in the afternoon! We had discussed this the previous night anyway because of how tired he was feeling then.
The only problem with afternoon is we are more likely to run into people we know. At 545 am, there is only one other runner on the trail.
Will check in later with a weight check, Im really looking forward to seeing how I did this week!
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
We ended up delaying our run this morning mostly due to exhaustion. We did not get to bed early and our toddler was up in the night as well as our baby. So when the alarm went off at 5 am, Mr. F moved and I did not. So he elected that we would go in the afternoon! We had discussed this the previous night anyway because of how tired he was feeling then.
The only problem with afternoon is we are more likely to run into people we know. At 545 am, there is only one other runner on the trail.
Will check in later with a weight check, Im really looking forward to seeing how I did this week!
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Day 53 - Mrs. F
An early morning appointment had me out of the house and moving rather early. Not my favorite thing to do but it keeps me out of the kitchen where the snacks reside!
With the cross country meet this evening, I have more prep work to do to be ready for this evening. I have supper cooking in the oven, at least the meat part anyway. I will start the rice cooker here shortly and that will be ready when we get home. It will just be tossing it all together, seasoning it and we will be good to go.
I love the excitement of race days. Its even more fun for me knowing my little secret that our son has no clue about. He can run over twice as fast as my homemade 5k race time of 40 minutes but I love having one up on him!
This is also the course where our son won conference his first year running cross country on the junior high team. That was a race to remember, so I have fond memories of the course. He has already run conference this year, so this will just be an extra meet for him.
Im feeling okay muscle wise, a little sore, nothing out of the ordinary. The bigger news of the day is I put on a pair of pants today and they were too big!!! They are baggy and loose on me and I can slip them down without unbuttoning them. I have been waiting for this to occur. Mr.F had already enjoyed seeing his pants size reduce for several weeks. Im happy to report its my turn! Im really looking forward to weigh in tommorrow. I hope Im down at least 4 (1 lb plus my water weight of last week).
Keep on running
Mrs. F
With the cross country meet this evening, I have more prep work to do to be ready for this evening. I have supper cooking in the oven, at least the meat part anyway. I will start the rice cooker here shortly and that will be ready when we get home. It will just be tossing it all together, seasoning it and we will be good to go.
I love the excitement of race days. Its even more fun for me knowing my little secret that our son has no clue about. He can run over twice as fast as my homemade 5k race time of 40 minutes but I love having one up on him!
This is also the course where our son won conference his first year running cross country on the junior high team. That was a race to remember, so I have fond memories of the course. He has already run conference this year, so this will just be an extra meet for him.
Im feeling okay muscle wise, a little sore, nothing out of the ordinary. The bigger news of the day is I put on a pair of pants today and they were too big!!! They are baggy and loose on me and I can slip them down without unbuttoning them. I have been waiting for this to occur. Mr.F had already enjoyed seeing his pants size reduce for several weeks. Im happy to report its my turn! Im really looking forward to weigh in tommorrow. I hope Im down at least 4 (1 lb plus my water weight of last week).
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Day 52 - who brings donuts to the office, anyway?
It's been a good morning. I was up and moving early, and got a good start on my day. I have a running joke at the office regarding my coffee: it's a good day when I get my morning coffee during the morning.
By that measure, today has been, thus far, a good day. I grabbed my first cup at around 10 AM. As I entered the break room, there it was, sitting there and just begging me to open it: a box of donuts. There are few dirty food pleasures in life that compare, in my opinion, to a white-frosted long-john with sprinkles. Okay, the custard bismark comes close.
Just who brings donuts into the office these days, anyway?
Most of the people I know here, while not uber-health nuts, seem pretty careful with what they eat. Yet, I can't fault them. If they don't have problems with their blood sugar,they will they probably don't see a problem with a sugary confection from time to time. Hey, when my sugar is under control, I can even enjoy a little sugary goodness once in a while. It just seems that, this time of year, the break room fills up with more and more sugary death-snacks as the weeks progress.
It was different at the end of August. Some days, you'd see a loaf of zucchini nut bread, on others, excess fresh produce from someone's garden. Then, of course, as the tomatoes and peppers began ripening en masse, we enjoyed many varieties of fresh salsas. You quickly learned which were the sugary sweet types and which were the bright, fresh varieties. I particularly loved to find bowls made by one of the guys here, spiced with Scoth Bonnets and other hot peppers. Mmmm... my mouth is watering at the thought.
Yet as we moved into autumn, the fresh veggies started to disapper. Soon we saw the arrival of muffins, cakes, and cookies. This week has been a quad-fecta of sugar: banana nut bread, two days of a variety of fudges, and today's box of donuts. I had a half-slice of bana bread on Monday, when my sugar dropped a little low. I had three pieces of fudge on Tuesday. I stayed clear of the breakroom yesterday, since the dreaded fudge was still present, and so far I've stayed clear of Pandora's Calorie Box. Yet I do so enjoy a good donut...but is there really such a thing as a 'good' donut?
It's not just fellow employees. Beginning this time of year and escalating through the Christmas season, we'll see a constant flow of food gifts from customers and vendors alike. Last week brought bags of fresh cheese curds (how squeaky!). Soon will come the chocolates, cakes, other confections. All these things coinciding with many employees' own holiday baking, and, of course, they feel compelled to share. Last year, even our vending machine company got into the spirit, leaving a whole case (each) of a new variety of chips and a new variety of candy bar. It's the season of giving, right? Yikes! What are we giving?
So, I believe these next few months will be challenging on the diet and nutrition front. I'm meeting a friend for lunch today, and I asked that we go to a place where I can get a salad. That, at least, will keep me from logging a burger and fries from the bar & grill down the street. I'm going to do my best to void the donuts, and will simply try to remember that all of the treats I pass by will help me find a treat when I have my Friday weigh-in.
Oh, if you are one of those who likes to bring donuts to the office (or even bagels--those giant monsters with flavored cream cheeses can be just as bad), please reconsider. How about a bag of apples or a bunch of bananas every once in a while? Would that be too much to ask?
By that measure, today has been, thus far, a good day. I grabbed my first cup at around 10 AM. As I entered the break room, there it was, sitting there and just begging me to open it: a box of donuts. There are few dirty food pleasures in life that compare, in my opinion, to a white-frosted long-john with sprinkles. Okay, the custard bismark comes close.
Just who brings donuts into the office these days, anyway?
Most of the people I know here, while not uber-health nuts, seem pretty careful with what they eat. Yet, I can't fault them. If they don't have problems with their blood sugar,
It was different at the end of August. Some days, you'd see a loaf of zucchini nut bread, on others, excess fresh produce from someone's garden. Then, of course, as the tomatoes and peppers began ripening en masse, we enjoyed many varieties of fresh salsas. You quickly learned which were the sugary sweet types and which were the bright, fresh varieties. I particularly loved to find bowls made by one of the guys here, spiced with Scoth Bonnets and other hot peppers. Mmmm... my mouth is watering at the thought.
Yet as we moved into autumn, the fresh veggies started to disapper. Soon we saw the arrival of muffins, cakes, and cookies. This week has been a quad-fecta of sugar: banana nut bread, two days of a variety of fudges, and today's box of donuts. I had a half-slice of bana bread on Monday, when my sugar dropped a little low. I had three pieces of fudge on Tuesday. I stayed clear of the breakroom yesterday, since the dreaded fudge was still present, and so far I've stayed clear of Pandora's Calorie Box. Yet I do so enjoy a good donut...but is there really such a thing as a 'good' donut?
It's not just fellow employees. Beginning this time of year and escalating through the Christmas season, we'll see a constant flow of food gifts from customers and vendors alike. Last week brought bags of fresh cheese curds (how squeaky!). Soon will come the chocolates, cakes, other confections. All these things coinciding with many employees' own holiday baking, and, of course, they feel compelled to share. Last year, even our vending machine company got into the spirit, leaving a whole case (each) of a new variety of chips and a new variety of candy bar. It's the season of giving, right? Yikes! What are we giving?
So, I believe these next few months will be challenging on the diet and nutrition front. I'm meeting a friend for lunch today, and I asked that we go to a place where I can get a salad. That, at least, will keep me from logging a burger and fries from the bar & grill down the street. I'm going to do my best to void the donuts, and will simply try to remember that all of the treats I pass by will help me find a treat when I have my Friday weigh-in.
Oh, if you are one of those who likes to bring donuts to the office (or even bagels--those giant monsters with flavored cream cheeses can be just as bad), please reconsider. How about a bag of apples or a bunch of bananas every once in a while? Would that be too much to ask?
Day 53 (week 8) - an early morning
Well, our school district is hosting a cross country meet this afternoon. It's the last set of races of the regular season. Next Thursday is the sectional meet for our eldest son. I'm up early to get an early start on the work day, so I can take off early to be there for today's races.
I feel pretty good this morning. I woke up about 10 minutes before the 5:30 AM alarm, I was dressed and had breakfast made and eaten by about 6:15. I've spent the last half-hour catching up on some posts, and I plan to sneak in a little online Scrabble before heading off to work. I'll be biking again today.
I started recording my daily food intake using the Daily Plate feature at Livestrong.com. Keeping track of everything you eat can be an eye opening experience. Since I'm trying to loose eight pounds per month, I set my weekly goal to 1.9 lbs per week. That should put me just over my monthly goal, if all goes well.
The site calculates your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and lets you select your normal daily activity level. Given the nature of my job, I selected "Light Activity". It then provides you with the target number of calories you may eat in a day if you want to meet your goal. You enter information on foods you eat (something that might be tricky, at first, if you are making more of your foods from scratch), and the site tracks the nutritional information and tells you how many calories are yet available in a given day. Then, when you work out (if you didn't include your workouts into your daily activity level), you create an entry for your workout, and it adjusts your caloric information to reflect the calories burned in your workout, so you'll still know what calories you need to maintain for your goal.
From what I've seen, the site has many more features. I'll definately be exploring it more later. I'm not prepared to share all of my eating habits here, but I may incorporate some summary information into my Friday weight check.
Well, I need to get moving. I'm looking forward to running with my wrap again tomorrow.
I feel pretty good this morning. I woke up about 10 minutes before the 5:30 AM alarm, I was dressed and had breakfast made and eaten by about 6:15. I've spent the last half-hour catching up on some posts, and I plan to sneak in a little online Scrabble before heading off to work. I'll be biking again today.
I started recording my daily food intake using the Daily Plate feature at Livestrong.com. Keeping track of everything you eat can be an eye opening experience. Since I'm trying to loose eight pounds per month, I set my weekly goal to 1.9 lbs per week. That should put me just over my monthly goal, if all goes well.
The site calculates your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and lets you select your normal daily activity level. Given the nature of my job, I selected "Light Activity". It then provides you with the target number of calories you may eat in a day if you want to meet your goal. You enter information on foods you eat (something that might be tricky, at first, if you are making more of your foods from scratch), and the site tracks the nutritional information and tells you how many calories are yet available in a given day. Then, when you work out (if you didn't include your workouts into your daily activity level), you create an entry for your workout, and it adjusts your caloric information to reflect the calories burned in your workout, so you'll still know what calories you need to maintain for your goal.
From what I've seen, the site has many more features. I'll definately be exploring it more later. I'm not prepared to share all of my eating habits here, but I may incorporate some summary information into my Friday weight check.
Well, I need to get moving. I'm looking forward to running with my wrap again tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Day 52 (week 8) - DEFEATED (almost)
Well, our little gamble with the weather really paid off. In addition to being about four degrees warmer than it was when we woke, we actually got out during a short break in the rain--the first such break of the day!
I was so excited to try on my patellar stabilizer, but my excitement soon turned to a bit of discouragement. Although they sent out an XXL brace, it was still a bit snug on my leg. I gave it the benefit of the doubt, figuring that it may have been designed that way for extra support. I tried placing a call in to our clinic, to see if I could talk to someone on the sports medecine team, but I ended up on hold for an extended period of time and we really needed to just get out of the door.
Because I had the brace on, I didn't wear that extra set of polyester long johns I used on Monday. I didn't want to risk tearing them with the extra bulk and the edges on the hook-look straps.
We parked another block further away today, to ensure we had our full warm-up in before we began. If we went a little long on the warm-up, we figured that would be fine, too. As I walked the distance, my brace-equipped leg didn't feel right. Despite its snug-fitting construction, the top part seemed to be working down a bit, and bunching up behind my knee. It felt very tight, so I made a few adjustments along the way, and again when we stretched between our walk and the run.
As we finished our stretching and prepared to start our run, however, our cover was almost blown and our secret was almost revealed. Running down the trail, coming right at us, was one of our son's close friends. We quickly made an admonition not to reveal our secret. Had I been thinking more clearly, I would have extracted a vow on pain of death...
And so we began. Almost immediately, however, I could tell that something was wrong with my gait. The brace felt tight, my knee was sore, and I had pain behind my knee. We stopped. I spent a few minutes adjusting the brace, then I reset my playlist to the start of the run and we began again.
My adjustment did little to alleviate my discomfort. I pushed on, but noticed that the way the brace was bunching behind my knee was causing it to constrict me there. Each heel kick felt like someone was driving a thumb into the soft tissue behind my knee. I kept going, however. My pace was clearly and significantly slower than it had been on Monday, in fact, it reminded me of my worst day last week, but this was only the start--the second start--of this run. I was worried.
Within a few moments, I was fighting hard to maintain a good stride. I could already feel the running limp begin. As we approached one driveway along the trail, perhaps five minutes in, I yelled out to Mrs. F to continue on without me. The discomfort caused by the brace was now so strong that I could not fathom going on for another 20 or more minutes. I slowed to a walk and then stopped--somthing I said I'd never do.
The next few minutes were extremely difficult for me. I quickly adjusted the brace and tried running again, but now the original injury was also causing me pain. I slowed again and walked on. I did something I told myself I would never, ever do: I gave up.
Part of my mind tried to comfort me by pointing out the circumstances. "Well, I'll just wrap it myself and try again tomorrow," I told myself, but the other part of me was already conceding defeat. I walked a few meters more and noticed one of the benches I had been so desperate to stop at during one of the early weeks, and I sat down.
I put my hands on my knees and took a deep breath, the music of my playlist reminding me that I was not moving ahead. This, I thought, was the end of my Couch to 5k running program.
The funny thing is that I just spent a considerable amount of energy last night in a discussion thread on Active.com, encouraging another runner who had gotten away from the program for a couple of weeks. I made it clear that she could not give up, because I, for one, wasn't going to let her get away with it. Yet, there I was, sitting on a bench and lamenting the fact that it was all over.
I loosened the brace. As soon as I did, I felt a rush through my leg as blood started moving unrestricted. I pulled the brace down and fingered the area of my knee that led me to wearing it in the first place. Another song had started--the third--so I knew Mrs. F would soon be at the end of the trail, where we would normally turn around.
I don't know exactly how much time went by there on the bench. All I know is that I was mad at myself for having stopped, and my mind was focused on getting the brace on well enough to allow me to walk back to the car when Mrs. F came into sight. I strained every muscle in my arms and shoulders to get that brace, particularly the back half of it, further up onto my upper leg. Once I got it positioned as best I could, I tightened up the straps (though not as much as before), and I got up. My mind wanted me to turn left and head back toward the car, as I figured that Mrs. F would eventually catch up to me, but I just could turn that way or even look that way. My eyes were focused on the trail ahead of me--that segment of the trail where I should have been running before I sat down and gave in. I kept my eyes there, and my feet began to move.
One, two, three steps walking and then I tentatively began my run. The brace was still uncomfortable, and the knee seemed a little off, but it was better than it was before I stopped. Another song change hit my ears, and I found myself matching my pace closely to the beat. Little by little, I extended my stride. I still hated that blasted brace, but I was moving again.
The sheer elation of realizing that, in the face of defeat, I had gotten back up and started running again washed over me. For a few moments, it was as if I didn't feel anything. I was just a body running down a trail, as if I were in some surreal movie scene presented where the character moves through the frame gracefully while the soundtrack is silent. Then, almost as quickly as that sensation began, it ended. The full force of the cold wind swept across the surface of the lake and cut into me like a knife. I reached into my pockets and pulled out my gloves. That's when I realized where I was on the trail--I was not far from the dam end, yet Mrs. F had not yet passed me on her return. For a moment, I worried that something may have happened to her, but then I figured that she likely just ran a bit further ahead, across the road and further down the trail.
Sure enough, just as my turnaound point came into sight, I saw her crossing the road and heading my direction. When she reached me, she turned again to run with me, back to the end of that section of trail. A song had just ended, and I told her I was going to restart it, since I lost time to the bench. I reached the end, and turned around.
For some reason, that turn made me feel as if we were starting all over again. For the next five to eight minutes, I struggled again to maintain my pace, but I seemingly did so, staying within 10 feet of Mrs. F throught the repeated song, and into the next one. Yet I could not maintain that pace, so she eventually pulled ahead. The pinching pain and constricting discomfort were still there now, but they seemed less prominent in my mind. The run began to feel good, and I enjoyed watching the whitecaps marching across the water. Another song, another burst of energy, and then a slow pace again. I played games with my pacing to keep myself going--faster, slower, a little faster, faster still--and it worked.
As the final song began, I saw the landmarks that told me that the end of the run was near. I could not muster the same strength I discovered on Monday to finish the day, but I maintained a strong run. Mrs. F, again, lovingly circled back to me so that we could finish together. The final bars came with some meters yet to go. "Your're done," I told her, knowing she had run four or five extra minutes. I continued on to the end of the trail before slowing to a walk.
Today's run left me with mixed emotions--I had given up, but yet I was able to restart again (not just once, but twice!). I was able to run when the easier option would have been to walk toward the car. I was able to run when I could have claimed a legitimate reason for stopping and staying stopped. Yet I ran. Oh, does that ever feel good!
So, when Friday comes, I know one thing for certain: I'm leaving the patellar stabilizer at home. I'll wrap it again in the manner I did on Monday, and I'll use masking tape again to fashion my own stabilizer. Oh, yes, I'll call the sports medicine practitioner to see if they have one in a bigger size. If not, I may go a little MacGyver on the brace and cut a big hole in the back, to prevent it from bunching up before giving it another try.
All in all, a difficult run, but I'm glad I got back up and finished it. I may not have finished today's 28 minutes without walking, but I did win a significant victory today. I was defeated--almost--but I got back up again.
I was so excited to try on my patellar stabilizer, but my excitement soon turned to a bit of discouragement. Although they sent out an XXL brace, it was still a bit snug on my leg. I gave it the benefit of the doubt, figuring that it may have been designed that way for extra support. I tried placing a call in to our clinic, to see if I could talk to someone on the sports medecine team, but I ended up on hold for an extended period of time and we really needed to just get out of the door.
Because I had the brace on, I didn't wear that extra set of polyester long johns I used on Monday. I didn't want to risk tearing them with the extra bulk and the edges on the hook-look straps.
We parked another block further away today, to ensure we had our full warm-up in before we began. If we went a little long on the warm-up, we figured that would be fine, too. As I walked the distance, my brace-equipped leg didn't feel right. Despite its snug-fitting construction, the top part seemed to be working down a bit, and bunching up behind my knee. It felt very tight, so I made a few adjustments along the way, and again when we stretched between our walk and the run.
As we finished our stretching and prepared to start our run, however, our cover was almost blown and our secret was almost revealed. Running down the trail, coming right at us, was one of our son's close friends. We quickly made an admonition not to reveal our secret. Had I been thinking more clearly, I would have extracted a vow on pain of death...
And so we began. Almost immediately, however, I could tell that something was wrong with my gait. The brace felt tight, my knee was sore, and I had pain behind my knee. We stopped. I spent a few minutes adjusting the brace, then I reset my playlist to the start of the run and we began again.
My adjustment did little to alleviate my discomfort. I pushed on, but noticed that the way the brace was bunching behind my knee was causing it to constrict me there. Each heel kick felt like someone was driving a thumb into the soft tissue behind my knee. I kept going, however. My pace was clearly and significantly slower than it had been on Monday, in fact, it reminded me of my worst day last week, but this was only the start--the second start--of this run. I was worried.
Within a few moments, I was fighting hard to maintain a good stride. I could already feel the running limp begin. As we approached one driveway along the trail, perhaps five minutes in, I yelled out to Mrs. F to continue on without me. The discomfort caused by the brace was now so strong that I could not fathom going on for another 20 or more minutes. I slowed to a walk and then stopped--somthing I said I'd never do.
The next few minutes were extremely difficult for me. I quickly adjusted the brace and tried running again, but now the original injury was also causing me pain. I slowed again and walked on. I did something I told myself I would never, ever do: I gave up.
Part of my mind tried to comfort me by pointing out the circumstances. "Well, I'll just wrap it myself and try again tomorrow," I told myself, but the other part of me was already conceding defeat. I walked a few meters more and noticed one of the benches I had been so desperate to stop at during one of the early weeks, and I sat down.
I put my hands on my knees and took a deep breath, the music of my playlist reminding me that I was not moving ahead. This, I thought, was the end of my Couch to 5k running program.
The funny thing is that I just spent a considerable amount of energy last night in a discussion thread on Active.com, encouraging another runner who had gotten away from the program for a couple of weeks. I made it clear that she could not give up, because I, for one, wasn't going to let her get away with it. Yet, there I was, sitting on a bench and lamenting the fact that it was all over.
I loosened the brace. As soon as I did, I felt a rush through my leg as blood started moving unrestricted. I pulled the brace down and fingered the area of my knee that led me to wearing it in the first place. Another song had started--the third--so I knew Mrs. F would soon be at the end of the trail, where we would normally turn around.
I don't know exactly how much time went by there on the bench. All I know is that I was mad at myself for having stopped, and my mind was focused on getting the brace on well enough to allow me to walk back to the car when Mrs. F came into sight. I strained every muscle in my arms and shoulders to get that brace, particularly the back half of it, further up onto my upper leg. Once I got it positioned as best I could, I tightened up the straps (though not as much as before), and I got up. My mind wanted me to turn left and head back toward the car, as I figured that Mrs. F would eventually catch up to me, but I just could turn that way or even look that way. My eyes were focused on the trail ahead of me--that segment of the trail where I should have been running before I sat down and gave in. I kept my eyes there, and my feet began to move.
One, two, three steps walking and then I tentatively began my run. The brace was still uncomfortable, and the knee seemed a little off, but it was better than it was before I stopped. Another song change hit my ears, and I found myself matching my pace closely to the beat. Little by little, I extended my stride. I still hated that blasted brace, but I was moving again.
The sheer elation of realizing that, in the face of defeat, I had gotten back up and started running again washed over me. For a few moments, it was as if I didn't feel anything. I was just a body running down a trail, as if I were in some surreal movie scene presented where the character moves through the frame gracefully while the soundtrack is silent. Then, almost as quickly as that sensation began, it ended. The full force of the cold wind swept across the surface of the lake and cut into me like a knife. I reached into my pockets and pulled out my gloves. That's when I realized where I was on the trail--I was not far from the dam end, yet Mrs. F had not yet passed me on her return. For a moment, I worried that something may have happened to her, but then I figured that she likely just ran a bit further ahead, across the road and further down the trail.
Sure enough, just as my turnaound point came into sight, I saw her crossing the road and heading my direction. When she reached me, she turned again to run with me, back to the end of that section of trail. A song had just ended, and I told her I was going to restart it, since I lost time to the bench. I reached the end, and turned around.
For some reason, that turn made me feel as if we were starting all over again. For the next five to eight minutes, I struggled again to maintain my pace, but I seemingly did so, staying within 10 feet of Mrs. F throught the repeated song, and into the next one. Yet I could not maintain that pace, so she eventually pulled ahead. The pinching pain and constricting discomfort were still there now, but they seemed less prominent in my mind. The run began to feel good, and I enjoyed watching the whitecaps marching across the water. Another song, another burst of energy, and then a slow pace again. I played games with my pacing to keep myself going--faster, slower, a little faster, faster still--and it worked.
As the final song began, I saw the landmarks that told me that the end of the run was near. I could not muster the same strength I discovered on Monday to finish the day, but I maintained a strong run. Mrs. F, again, lovingly circled back to me so that we could finish together. The final bars came with some meters yet to go. "Your're done," I told her, knowing she had run four or five extra minutes. I continued on to the end of the trail before slowing to a walk.
Today's run left me with mixed emotions--I had given up, but yet I was able to restart again (not just once, but twice!). I was able to run when the easier option would have been to walk toward the car. I was able to run when I could have claimed a legitimate reason for stopping and staying stopped. Yet I ran. Oh, does that ever feel good!
So, when Friday comes, I know one thing for certain: I'm leaving the patellar stabilizer at home. I'll wrap it again in the manner I did on Monday, and I'll use masking tape again to fashion my own stabilizer. Oh, yes, I'll call the sports medicine practitioner to see if they have one in a bigger size. If not, I may go a little MacGyver on the brace and cut a big hole in the back, to prevent it from bunching up before giving it another try.
All in all, a difficult run, but I'm glad I got back up and finished it. I may not have finished today's 28 minutes without walking, but I did win a significant victory today. I was defeated--almost--but I got back up again.
Day 52(Week 8, Day 3) - Actual Run - Mrs. F
Overall it was a good run. The end was a bit tough for me but still good!
Thankfully there was a lull in the rain and while it was cold, it wasnt unbearably so. For the first leg of the journey, Mr. F was adjusting his brace, so he indicated I should go on ahead. I really have no idea on my pace since I wasnt wearing a watch today.
I ran the mile segment of trail and that felt pretty good. I wanted to try and get 2.5 miles in today, so I went on to the next segment and tried to estimate where .25 miles would be. Then I turned around and ran back. I did double back a couple of different times for Mr. F so that probably added in another two-tenths possibly.
Somewhere along the way, I missed Mr. F's announcement that he was redoing a song(since he lost that time when he was adjusting his brace) so I ended up running an extra 4 and a half minutes. No wonder the last segment felt long! By the last 5-8 minutes it was getting hard. My leg muscles were sore, my ankle/leg area on the left leg was hurting and I was just plain tired. And I wasnt really sure how far Mr. F was behind me. I wondered if I would even hear him call time. The thought of going back to the trailhead and having to run back to him seemed very daunting and long. At one point I turned around to look and he wasnt as far back as I thought, so that encouraged me to plod on. At times I felt like I was a little ole granny lady running tiny little steps.
I made some extra efforts to pick up the pace. The first was trying to run more on the balls of my feet, trying to lift up my foot more and that encourages my pace when I do that. The other was to swing the arms faster and longer and you cant help but speed up as you do that. I wasnt trying for speed records but I know my body enough that if i slow down too much -- it starts yelling out at me to walk. So I need to keep moving for that reason.
I made it to the end of the trail which means I at least went 2 and a half miles and started running back towards Mr. F. With the amount of doubling back I did, I think I may have covered 2.75 miles in 32 and a half minutes. Though its hard to really tell for sure. So all in all a good run!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Thankfully there was a lull in the rain and while it was cold, it wasnt unbearably so. For the first leg of the journey, Mr. F was adjusting his brace, so he indicated I should go on ahead. I really have no idea on my pace since I wasnt wearing a watch today.
I ran the mile segment of trail and that felt pretty good. I wanted to try and get 2.5 miles in today, so I went on to the next segment and tried to estimate where .25 miles would be. Then I turned around and ran back. I did double back a couple of different times for Mr. F so that probably added in another two-tenths possibly.
Somewhere along the way, I missed Mr. F's announcement that he was redoing a song(since he lost that time when he was adjusting his brace) so I ended up running an extra 4 and a half minutes. No wonder the last segment felt long! By the last 5-8 minutes it was getting hard. My leg muscles were sore, my ankle/leg area on the left leg was hurting and I was just plain tired. And I wasnt really sure how far Mr. F was behind me. I wondered if I would even hear him call time. The thought of going back to the trailhead and having to run back to him seemed very daunting and long. At one point I turned around to look and he wasnt as far back as I thought, so that encouraged me to plod on. At times I felt like I was a little ole granny lady running tiny little steps.
I made some extra efforts to pick up the pace. The first was trying to run more on the balls of my feet, trying to lift up my foot more and that encourages my pace when I do that. The other was to swing the arms faster and longer and you cant help but speed up as you do that. I wasnt trying for speed records but I know my body enough that if i slow down too much -- it starts yelling out at me to walk. So I need to keep moving for that reason.
I made it to the end of the trail which means I at least went 2 and a half miles and started running back towards Mr. F. With the amount of doubling back I did, I think I may have covered 2.75 miles in 32 and a half minutes. Though its hard to really tell for sure. So all in all a good run!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Day 52 -- Rain Delay post - Mrs. F
At 5 am, I was exhausted and did not want to run. With my little one up in the night, it just drained me. I found though once I was up and adam for the day, I was ready to run.
Its been raining all day and IM not looking forward to running in the rain. I do not like being wet and really dislike going out in the rain. Its a good thing that Im determined not to miss a workout or Id gladly skip todays!!! Im just hoping it is raining not as hard when we go out this afternoon. We will head out for our workout after we pick up our boys from cross country practice.
I started tracking what I'm eating on my daily plate. Its a free calorie tracking site and so far its been useful. I really dont see myself tracking this long term. It takes too much time and effort but I would like to do it for 2 weeks. I figure that would give me a fairly accurate picture of where Im at calorie wise. My goal is to lose a pound a week and you can enter that in this site, and it calculates what calories you should eat for that goal.
I have to admit, I thought twice before grabbing a mint cookie. I still likely will eat one or two this afternoon. Whereas before I would have eaten two for breakfast, another before lunch and some for dessert after supper. Im also making a much more conscious effort to drink water. That is my favorite beverage so its a bit more challenging.
Keep on running -- will check in later tonight after our run!
MRs. F
Its been raining all day and IM not looking forward to running in the rain. I do not like being wet and really dislike going out in the rain. Its a good thing that Im determined not to miss a workout or Id gladly skip todays!!! Im just hoping it is raining not as hard when we go out this afternoon. We will head out for our workout after we pick up our boys from cross country practice.
I started tracking what I'm eating on my daily plate. Its a free calorie tracking site and so far its been useful. I really dont see myself tracking this long term. It takes too much time and effort but I would like to do it for 2 weeks. I figure that would give me a fairly accurate picture of where Im at calorie wise. My goal is to lose a pound a week and you can enter that in this site, and it calculates what calories you should eat for that goal.
I have to admit, I thought twice before grabbing a mint cookie. I still likely will eat one or two this afternoon. Whereas before I would have eaten two for breakfast, another before lunch and some for dessert after supper. Im also making a much more conscious effort to drink water. That is my favorite beverage so its a bit more challenging.
Keep on running -- will check in later tonight after our run!
MRs. F
Day 51 (week 8) - the brace is here
When I got home for lunch today, I noticed a package sitting on a stool near the door. Sure enough, it was my patellar stabilizer. Now I'm really looking forward to getting out there and giving it a try--even in the cold and the rain! We'll see how the run goes after work this evening.
Day 52 (week 8) - Rain delay
We've decided to postpone our run until later in the day today. It rained most of the night and is expected to rain most of the day, with highs in the 40°s, but that's not the only factor. Our youngest one was up often last night, and that caused Mrs. F to get far less sleep than did I. We both agreed that our best shot will be this evening, when the rain chance reduces.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Day 51 (week 8) - ho hum
After having had clear skies on Monday morning, with Orion clearly visible in the pre-dawn sky, we're back to overcast skies and are expected to see rain this evening through tomorrow morning. Sometimes I don't mind the grey days, but today just has me tired and wanting a rest. I was alert and full of energy this morning, but have been tired and a bit down since lunch. The meal itself was just fine--1/2 cup of brown rice, a matching amount of a homemade chicken stir-fry dish, and a tablespoon of honey. Oh, I'd forgotten just how sweet honey is!
This afternoon has brought on fatigue and a bit of a headache. Not things with which I'm unfamiliar, but rather things I've grown accustomed to feeling less and less over these past seven-plus weeks. Before, a day like today was common. Now, I can't believe I was able to function like this on a regular basis. There are stress factors in my life, of course, and I know they come into play with such down moods and physical symptoms.
My knee has felt great since Monday's run, other than an occasional twinge if I move it a certain way. I don't know if my brace has arrived yet, so I'll just plan on wrapping tomorrow as I had on Monday.
It's funny that Mrs. F was thinking about what might be next for us after we finish the Couch-to-5k program. While I don't yet like running as much as does she, I do plan to stick with it. I also plan on increasing our run times, probably in five minute incriments. Beyond that, I'm thinking about the 100 Push-ups Challenge to help address my upper body.
As to this blog, I'm committed to keeping it going. I've kept another blog before that had a different focus, so I'm not sure if this one will stay focused solely on our fitness efforts or whether it will start to incorporate more of our family life. As some of my earlier posts demonstrate, it's often very hard to keep the two separate. As to the name, I'm pretty sure we'll keep the address as http://oursecretplan.blogpot.com, if only to serve as a reminder of how all of this began. Our goals and activities may change, but I've found that creating this blog has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever undertaken. And while Mrs. F was quick to point out that I forgot to post this past Sunday (as I may have done one other time during the program), I'm happy that I've been able to post updates here on a regular basis. For me, doing anything every day is a significant achievement!
So, or now, I'm committed to finishing this program, so that means that we'll be out running again tomorrow morning for another 28 minute run. I'm hoping it will be a good one.
This afternoon has brought on fatigue and a bit of a headache. Not things with which I'm unfamiliar, but rather things I've grown accustomed to feeling less and less over these past seven-plus weeks. Before, a day like today was common. Now, I can't believe I was able to function like this on a regular basis. There are stress factors in my life, of course, and I know they come into play with such down moods and physical symptoms.
My knee has felt great since Monday's run, other than an occasional twinge if I move it a certain way. I don't know if my brace has arrived yet, so I'll just plan on wrapping tomorrow as I had on Monday.
It's funny that Mrs. F was thinking about what might be next for us after we finish the Couch-to-5k program. While I don't yet like running as much as does she, I do plan to stick with it. I also plan on increasing our run times, probably in five minute incriments. Beyond that, I'm thinking about the 100 Push-ups Challenge to help address my upper body.
As to this blog, I'm committed to keeping it going. I've kept another blog before that had a different focus, so I'm not sure if this one will stay focused solely on our fitness efforts or whether it will start to incorporate more of our family life. As some of my earlier posts demonstrate, it's often very hard to keep the two separate. As to the name, I'm pretty sure we'll keep the address as http://oursecretplan.blogpot.com, if only to serve as a reminder of how all of this began. Our goals and activities may change, but I've found that creating this blog has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever undertaken. And while Mrs. F was quick to point out that I forgot to post this past Sunday (as I may have done one other time during the program), I'm happy that I've been able to post updates here on a regular basis. For me, doing anything every day is a significant achievement!
So, or now, I'm committed to finishing this program, so that means that we'll be out running again tomorrow morning for another 28 minute run. I'm hoping it will be a good one.
Day 51 - Mrs. F
Muscles are feeling fine today, thankfully and still a little bit of trouble above the left ankle. I iced it some last night, as I will tonight as well. Im hoping that the icing and rest will be enough to ease the discomfort. The right ankle/leg area felt fine this morning.
I still cannot believe that I am in week 8 of a running program. Me, the one who thought all people who run were crazy is running. I cannot wait until our eldest son finds out -- he will be happy! Of course Im betting I will hear something to the effect of "I told you that you could run". The other kids will be impressed but its our eldest boy that it will mean the most to. Hes the runner, the one who leads the pack and the one that the little ones look up to and emulate.
Im even looking forward to the day when I can run with our dog. Right Im concentrating on completeing the program so I havent brought him along. I think I will enjoy taking him with in the future months!
I have been contemplating whats beyond the race. The plan for now is to complete C25K which is this week and next. Then there will be 2 weeks to increase our distance and running times to improve for a race. Im leaning toward week 10 being either 33 or 35 minutes of running. The last week of C25k has us running 30 minutes. Then for week 11 either 35 or 38 minutes. Our race is November 14th. After that Im unsure of where to go next. I do know I want to keep running. Mr. F has talked of redoing the couch to 5k program using the distance method, so thats a possiblity. Another friend has mentioned one hour runner. I have seen mention of gateway to 8k but cannot find that plan anywhere. So Im just not sure where to go from here.
Keep on running
Mrs. F
I still cannot believe that I am in week 8 of a running program. Me, the one who thought all people who run were crazy is running. I cannot wait until our eldest son finds out -- he will be happy! Of course Im betting I will hear something to the effect of "I told you that you could run". The other kids will be impressed but its our eldest boy that it will mean the most to. Hes the runner, the one who leads the pack and the one that the little ones look up to and emulate.
Im even looking forward to the day when I can run with our dog. Right Im concentrating on completeing the program so I havent brought him along. I think I will enjoy taking him with in the future months!
I have been contemplating whats beyond the race. The plan for now is to complete C25K which is this week and next. Then there will be 2 weeks to increase our distance and running times to improve for a race. Im leaning toward week 10 being either 33 or 35 minutes of running. The last week of C25k has us running 30 minutes. Then for week 11 either 35 or 38 minutes. Our race is November 14th. After that Im unsure of where to go next. I do know I want to keep running. Mr. F has talked of redoing the couch to 5k program using the distance method, so thats a possiblity. Another friend has mentioned one hour runner. I have seen mention of gateway to 8k but cannot find that plan anywhere. So Im just not sure where to go from here.
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Monday, October 19, 2009
Day 50 (week 8, day 1) - Mrs. F
I am sore. Shh -- remember I told you not to remind me that it was my idea to do an extra workout yesterday.
My muscles definitely are feeling the fact that I ran 5.3 miles between yesterday and today. My main area of pain is above my ankle to the inside of my leg.
Im not sure if its muscle or what. It almost feels like shin splints as it went further up my leg as I ran today but its in the wrong spot for shin splints. So definitely need to rest my legs tommorrow!
I was slow today as I knew I would be. My muscles were sore before i even started out as well as the bone/ankle pain started almost immmediately when running today. It was nice though to run at pace with Mr. F. He really increased his pace today and I slowed down. At times he was ahead of me, which encouraged me to pick up the pace and catch up. After all, I cant let him win, you know! His pace today was fabulous! Even still, I was encourage to have run 14 minute miles today even though I was going slow. No where near my 12 minute pace from yesterday but pretty darn good for as tired as my body was.
Ive never run with music, and it doesnt drive me as it does Mr. F. So im curious about trying a run with some music but Im not sure I will like it. Ive done all the runs with no music or anything. Mr. F always carried the podcasts, so I just ran. I will likely borrow his mp3 player and try it out first though before I purchase something I might just not use.
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
My muscles definitely are feeling the fact that I ran 5.3 miles between yesterday and today. My main area of pain is above my ankle to the inside of my leg.
Im not sure if its muscle or what. It almost feels like shin splints as it went further up my leg as I ran today but its in the wrong spot for shin splints. So definitely need to rest my legs tommorrow!
I was slow today as I knew I would be. My muscles were sore before i even started out as well as the bone/ankle pain started almost immmediately when running today. It was nice though to run at pace with Mr. F. He really increased his pace today and I slowed down. At times he was ahead of me, which encouraged me to pick up the pace and catch up. After all, I cant let him win, you know! His pace today was fabulous! Even still, I was encourage to have run 14 minute miles today even though I was going slow. No where near my 12 minute pace from yesterday but pretty darn good for as tired as my body was.
Ive never run with music, and it doesnt drive me as it does Mr. F. So im curious about trying a run with some music but Im not sure I will like it. Ive done all the runs with no music or anything. Mr. F always carried the podcasts, so I just ran. I will likely borrow his mp3 player and try it out first though before I purchase something I might just not use.
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
Day 50 (week 8, day 1) - unbelievable run with U2
Wow! What an amazing morning. Let me start by saying it was a good run.
Having seen the sports medicine practitioner on Friday, I have a much better understanding of the mechanics of my knee problem. Since my left patella is tracking to the outside of my leg, my stabilizer (when it arrives) will help keep it further right, to track in the center. Well, prior to this morning, I had been wrapping my leg under to the inside and then over to the outside. That wrapping put more outward pressure on my knee cap. While the wrap, as a whole, has helped to immobilize it over these past few weeks, today I tried something different. I changed the direction of my wrapping. I started under and to the outside, then came over to the inside, effectively pushing my patella toward the center. After finishing the wrap, I took two long pieces of masking tape and crossed them beside my knee cap so that each piece pulled it slightly inward, mimicking the way the straps work on the patellar stabilizer. Then, I decided to skip the pull-on brace, and I put on my running tights.
While looking through my dresser this weekend, I found a pair of polyester long johns that I haven't worn in a few years because they were too tight. This morning, I pulled them on over my running tights, and they fit well. I was excited, because this meant my legs would not be as cold this morning. I finished getting the rest of my gear on, and then drank a few ounces of apple juice for a little pre-run sugar. Realizing I had not downloaded the Week 8 podcast, I pulled open my laptop and quickly created a 28 minute play list. In reality, I think I ended up with something closer to 29 minutes, exlcluding the warm-up and cool-down segments. Here's what I decided to run with this morning:
Warm-up
Amon Hen (LOTR:FOTR Soundtrack)
Run
Pride (U2)
New Years' Day (U2)
With or Without You (U2)
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday (U2)
Where the Streets Have No Name (U2)
Cool-down
Concerning Hobbits (LOTR:FOTR Soundtrack)
And so we began. We switched our starting point today, parking in a residential neighborhood near the park end of the trail. We walked our warm-up and got to the trailhead just as the first song was ending. I paused the player and took a few moments to stretch, since I had not done that before leaving home (I got caught up in making the play list). Then, the music was resumed and we began running.
The first few minutes were marked by pain at my left knee. It was a little different than the pain that usually comes later in the run--a bit more acute. I could feel my knee cap firm against my homemade patellar stabilizer, so I figured that my body was just reacting to the change. Sure enough, after the first few moments my knee stopped bothering me. Other than a little twinge here or there, it felt great for most of the run.
I don't know if it was because I had more confidence in my knee wrapping, the fact that I was warmer (two leg layers and warmer air temps), or the fact that I was listening to music I really enjoy, but my pace was much better from the start. Of course, that sense of my pace was based, in part, on Mrs. F's pace. She ran more than 5k yesterday--3.3 miles--so I figured she might be a little slower today. Meaning her no disrespect, that was fine by me. I really like running beside her rather than always ending up behind her (though there are benefits to that! ;).
I had to fight through the first song, about 4 minutes, because my body just wanted me to stop. I perked up a bit when "New Years' Day" began, because I knew I was making progress. When "With or Without You" began, one of my favorite songs by U2, I found myself ready to give a bit more. I found myself adjusting my pace to match the beat, and I could tell that Mrs. F was trying to keep up.
We reached the dam end of the trail right where I hoped we'd be--at about the end of that third song. We turned around and continued. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" came on. I had forgotten how much I love U2's music from the 1980s and early 1990s.
I noticed something today that I have not noticed on our other runs. The section of trail we were now on, having just turned around near the dam, is actually a very long, gradual uphill slope. Through all our other runs on this stretch (sans Mrs. F's extra run yesterday), we were always on this segment while we were fresh and on our way out. Wow! What a difference a little prior exertion can make! As "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" began, I announced that I had reached the point of fatigue.
I pushed to keep up my pace, but Mrs. F was getting a few steps ahead of me now. I sped up, determined to stay as close to her as I could. When it seemed I could do no more, I announced that I was going to slow for a little bit. I did, and as soon as I started to do so I could feel my body wanting to slow even further, to the type of lumbering pace with which I often ran during the middle segments. I fought the urge. I allowed myself to ease my pace, but I compelled myself to stay ahead of my slogging death jog. Then, the most amazing thing happened.
For those of you who don't know me, I'm very attuned to music. I love going to concerts and listening to the blended sounds, whether classical or rock, jazz or choral. I love straining to hear specific instruments. When a musical piece is done well, I become like a boat floating on its waves, rising and falling with each theme, pushed and pulled with each current, slowed in the flats, and exhilarated by the crashing of the waves over my bow. It's been a long time since I've simply sat and listened to U2, one of the groups that was a hiding place for my during my tumultuous late teen years, so as the next song began, "Where the Streets Have No Name", I felt a surge of warm emotion wash over me. With this surge, I found myself again stronger and faster, and ready to finish our course.
The opening guitar licks begin ever so faintly. In fact, they began so softly that it seemed as if the gap between the last song and this one was too long, and I feared that I did not add the final song. As I began to hear the notes ring out, the flood began. Then joined the bass and the drums, solidifying the steady beat. The gradual crescendo continued as the introduction gave way to the start of the song proper: "I want to run..." and I was running.
I kept up my increased pace to the end of the trail where we began our run. Honestly, I don't remember whether Mrs. F was next to me, in front of me, or behind me at that point. I was running, and all I could hear was the music. The song finished as we approached the end (yes, she may have been in front of me here), and I continued the final running paces to the road. We ran two miles in just over 28 minutes! That's just over 14 minutes per mile. That's no cross country pace, but for a fat man on the trail to a healthier life, it sure felt good!
Our cool-down walk had one of my favorite classical compositions playing, "Concerning Hobbits" from the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Soundtrack. If you've seen the movie, it's the piece that plays at the beginning of the movie when Galdalf is riding into the Shire and he is joined by Frodo. It's absolutely beautiful! Mrs F and I chatted a bit as we walked back toward the car, and the distance just seemed to fly by. We both realized that we had completed two miles in just over 28 minutes, and we were both impressed. Sure, it doesn's match Mrs. F's 12-minute mile pace from her extra run (3.3 miles over 40 minutes is just over 12:07 per mile), but she did great considering she just did over 5k yesterday!
As for me, I'm giddy. I'm in a bit of shock. I just ran two miles without walking, and I did it at a sub-15 pace. I could not have imagined that! I just never thought it would be possible.
After getting home, I rested for a bit, then got up, showered, dressed, and ate breakfast. My clothes are fitting so much better. My size 44 pants are comfortably loose now, requiring a belt just to keep them on. My 42s are in the rotation, having been a size I have not worn since before Mrs. F and I wed 16 years ago. My XXXL shirts are now too large, and my XXLs are loose. I might not get down into an XL shirt for a while, because I need to trim down my top a bit more. I was reading about a "100 Push-ups Challenge" the other day--think of it as a Couch-to-5k program for push-ups. I wonder if I might be able to convince Mrs. F to try that one... After all, I did agree to try this crazy running program!
That's it! We're in Week 8! I remember when I was desperate to reach the half-way point and was disappointed when I called it a week earlier than it was. Wow! We have come so far. Today was the first time my run felt good in a week--not the "runner's high" type of good, but just an overall good feeling to the run. I was pleased with my pace, my stride, and my lack of pain. Today, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I finally feel like I may actually be able to complete that Turkey Trot in November. I needed a day like this one.
Good running, all!
Having seen the sports medicine practitioner on Friday, I have a much better understanding of the mechanics of my knee problem. Since my left patella is tracking to the outside of my leg, my stabilizer (when it arrives) will help keep it further right, to track in the center. Well, prior to this morning, I had been wrapping my leg under to the inside and then over to the outside. That wrapping put more outward pressure on my knee cap. While the wrap, as a whole, has helped to immobilize it over these past few weeks, today I tried something different. I changed the direction of my wrapping. I started under and to the outside, then came over to the inside, effectively pushing my patella toward the center. After finishing the wrap, I took two long pieces of masking tape and crossed them beside my knee cap so that each piece pulled it slightly inward, mimicking the way the straps work on the patellar stabilizer. Then, I decided to skip the pull-on brace, and I put on my running tights.
While looking through my dresser this weekend, I found a pair of polyester long johns that I haven't worn in a few years because they were too tight. This morning, I pulled them on over my running tights, and they fit well. I was excited, because this meant my legs would not be as cold this morning. I finished getting the rest of my gear on, and then drank a few ounces of apple juice for a little pre-run sugar. Realizing I had not downloaded the Week 8 podcast, I pulled open my laptop and quickly created a 28 minute play list. In reality, I think I ended up with something closer to 29 minutes, exlcluding the warm-up and cool-down segments. Here's what I decided to run with this morning:
Warm-up
Amon Hen (LOTR:FOTR Soundtrack)
Run
Pride (U2)
New Years' Day (U2)
With or Without You (U2)
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday (U2)
Where the Streets Have No Name (U2)
Cool-down
Concerning Hobbits (LOTR:FOTR Soundtrack)
And so we began. We switched our starting point today, parking in a residential neighborhood near the park end of the trail. We walked our warm-up and got to the trailhead just as the first song was ending. I paused the player and took a few moments to stretch, since I had not done that before leaving home (I got caught up in making the play list). Then, the music was resumed and we began running.
The first few minutes were marked by pain at my left knee. It was a little different than the pain that usually comes later in the run--a bit more acute. I could feel my knee cap firm against my homemade patellar stabilizer, so I figured that my body was just reacting to the change. Sure enough, after the first few moments my knee stopped bothering me. Other than a little twinge here or there, it felt great for most of the run.
I don't know if it was because I had more confidence in my knee wrapping, the fact that I was warmer (two leg layers and warmer air temps), or the fact that I was listening to music I really enjoy, but my pace was much better from the start. Of course, that sense of my pace was based, in part, on Mrs. F's pace. She ran more than 5k yesterday--3.3 miles--so I figured she might be a little slower today. Meaning her no disrespect, that was fine by me. I really like running beside her rather than always ending up behind her (though there are benefits to that! ;).
I had to fight through the first song, about 4 minutes, because my body just wanted me to stop. I perked up a bit when "New Years' Day" began, because I knew I was making progress. When "With or Without You" began, one of my favorite songs by U2, I found myself ready to give a bit more. I found myself adjusting my pace to match the beat, and I could tell that Mrs. F was trying to keep up.
We reached the dam end of the trail right where I hoped we'd be--at about the end of that third song. We turned around and continued. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" came on. I had forgotten how much I love U2's music from the 1980s and early 1990s.
I noticed something today that I have not noticed on our other runs. The section of trail we were now on, having just turned around near the dam, is actually a very long, gradual uphill slope. Through all our other runs on this stretch (sans Mrs. F's extra run yesterday), we were always on this segment while we were fresh and on our way out. Wow! What a difference a little prior exertion can make! As "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" began, I announced that I had reached the point of fatigue.
I pushed to keep up my pace, but Mrs. F was getting a few steps ahead of me now. I sped up, determined to stay as close to her as I could. When it seemed I could do no more, I announced that I was going to slow for a little bit. I did, and as soon as I started to do so I could feel my body wanting to slow even further, to the type of lumbering pace with which I often ran during the middle segments. I fought the urge. I allowed myself to ease my pace, but I compelled myself to stay ahead of my slogging death jog. Then, the most amazing thing happened.
For those of you who don't know me, I'm very attuned to music. I love going to concerts and listening to the blended sounds, whether classical or rock, jazz or choral. I love straining to hear specific instruments. When a musical piece is done well, I become like a boat floating on its waves, rising and falling with each theme, pushed and pulled with each current, slowed in the flats, and exhilarated by the crashing of the waves over my bow. It's been a long time since I've simply sat and listened to U2, one of the groups that was a hiding place for my during my tumultuous late teen years, so as the next song began, "Where the Streets Have No Name", I felt a surge of warm emotion wash over me. With this surge, I found myself again stronger and faster, and ready to finish our course.
The opening guitar licks begin ever so faintly. In fact, they began so softly that it seemed as if the gap between the last song and this one was too long, and I feared that I did not add the final song. As I began to hear the notes ring out, the flood began. Then joined the bass and the drums, solidifying the steady beat. The gradual crescendo continued as the introduction gave way to the start of the song proper: "I want to run..." and I was running.
I kept up my increased pace to the end of the trail where we began our run. Honestly, I don't remember whether Mrs. F was next to me, in front of me, or behind me at that point. I was running, and all I could hear was the music. The song finished as we approached the end (yes, she may have been in front of me here), and I continued the final running paces to the road. We ran two miles in just over 28 minutes! That's just over 14 minutes per mile. That's no cross country pace, but for a fat man on the trail to a healthier life, it sure felt good!
Our cool-down walk had one of my favorite classical compositions playing, "Concerning Hobbits" from the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Soundtrack. If you've seen the movie, it's the piece that plays at the beginning of the movie when Galdalf is riding into the Shire and he is joined by Frodo. It's absolutely beautiful! Mrs F and I chatted a bit as we walked back toward the car, and the distance just seemed to fly by. We both realized that we had completed two miles in just over 28 minutes, and we were both impressed. Sure, it doesn's match Mrs. F's 12-minute mile pace from her extra run (3.3 miles over 40 minutes is just over 12:07 per mile), but she did great considering she just did over 5k yesterday!
As for me, I'm giddy. I'm in a bit of shock. I just ran two miles without walking, and I did it at a sub-15 pace. I could not have imagined that! I just never thought it would be possible.
After getting home, I rested for a bit, then got up, showered, dressed, and ate breakfast. My clothes are fitting so much better. My size 44 pants are comfortably loose now, requiring a belt just to keep them on. My 42s are in the rotation, having been a size I have not worn since before Mrs. F and I wed 16 years ago. My XXXL shirts are now too large, and my XXLs are loose. I might not get down into an XL shirt for a while, because I need to trim down my top a bit more. I was reading about a "100 Push-ups Challenge" the other day--think of it as a Couch-to-5k program for push-ups. I wonder if I might be able to convince Mrs. F to try that one... After all, I did agree to try this crazy running program!
That's it! We're in Week 8! I remember when I was desperate to reach the half-way point and was disappointed when I called it a week earlier than it was. Wow! We have come so far. Today was the first time my run felt good in a week--not the "runner's high" type of good, but just an overall good feeling to the run. I was pleased with my pace, my stride, and my lack of pain. Today, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I finally feel like I may actually be able to complete that Turkey Trot in November. I needed a day like this one.
Good running, all!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Day 49 - "Extra workout" - Mrs. F
It was really nice out, upper 40's to 50's. So I decided I was going to go for it. Orginally I had on a teeshirt layer which I ditched before I even hit the car. I could tell it was plenty warm. So I wore my warmwear(and i might have been able to ditch that too) and my yoga capri pants on bottom and my moisture wicking shirt with my windbreaker on top.
I parked the car a couple of blocks away from the trail, so I could do my warm up walk before i hit the trail. I really wanted an accurate idea of my mileage. I ran the first mile in 11 minutes. Probably a bit too fast as I got a sideache after the first 7/10th. That plagued off and on for the next mile or so. The next segment of trail was .66, so I set my goal for 7 and a half minutes. I was pleased that I did make that!!! It took everything I had though, so at the end of that segment, I allowed myself 30 seconds to walk. Then I began running again slowly. My body doesnt listen very well though. I set a goal of 10 minutes for the repeat .66 mile segment and completed it in 8 1/2 minutes. So I ran about 2.33 or so in 27 minutes.
Maybe cause Im stubborn or maybe cause I really wanted to see what my body could do. I kept running. I felt okay, so I allowed myself to go for it. After the 8 1/2 minute segment, I walked for 10 seconds(thinking I was going to do another 30 second walk) but I found myself ready to run at the start of our regular trail. I found the next half mile the easiest of all my running today. Im not sure if its that Im most familar with this segment of trail or that my body found its groove. The last half mile was hard though! This is where my stubborness comes into play. I was going to finish this or die trying lol. I slowed down some but I was determined to complete the whole 3.3 miles I had mapped out. The last mile I completed in 12 minutes!!!!
So all in all, with my 40 seconds(rounded up to a minute lol), I did 3.3 miles in 40 minutes. Not bad at all! Im excited now for the race. Although I suspect the race will have hills, so it will be harder.
Afterwords, I wasnt really in much pain. I noticed the bone on the side of my leg, right above the ankle, on both feet, being sore like shin splints. But that has eased up. Now since Ive been back home, my hips and quads are sore. But nothing too terrible. Don't remind me tommorrow, when tommorrows workout is hard, that this was my brilliant idea.
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
I parked the car a couple of blocks away from the trail, so I could do my warm up walk before i hit the trail. I really wanted an accurate idea of my mileage. I ran the first mile in 11 minutes. Probably a bit too fast as I got a sideache after the first 7/10th. That plagued off and on for the next mile or so. The next segment of trail was .66, so I set my goal for 7 and a half minutes. I was pleased that I did make that!!! It took everything I had though, so at the end of that segment, I allowed myself 30 seconds to walk. Then I began running again slowly. My body doesnt listen very well though. I set a goal of 10 minutes for the repeat .66 mile segment and completed it in 8 1/2 minutes. So I ran about 2.33 or so in 27 minutes.
Maybe cause Im stubborn or maybe cause I really wanted to see what my body could do. I kept running. I felt okay, so I allowed myself to go for it. After the 8 1/2 minute segment, I walked for 10 seconds(thinking I was going to do another 30 second walk) but I found myself ready to run at the start of our regular trail. I found the next half mile the easiest of all my running today. Im not sure if its that Im most familar with this segment of trail or that my body found its groove. The last half mile was hard though! This is where my stubborness comes into play. I was going to finish this or die trying lol. I slowed down some but I was determined to complete the whole 3.3 miles I had mapped out. The last mile I completed in 12 minutes!!!!
So all in all, with my 40 seconds(rounded up to a minute lol), I did 3.3 miles in 40 minutes. Not bad at all! Im excited now for the race. Although I suspect the race will have hills, so it will be harder.
Afterwords, I wasnt really in much pain. I noticed the bone on the side of my leg, right above the ankle, on both feet, being sore like shin splints. But that has eased up. Now since Ive been back home, my hips and quads are sore. But nothing too terrible. Don't remind me tommorrow, when tommorrows workout is hard, that this was my brilliant idea.
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
Day 49 - Mrs. F
We are mostly well here but just enough lingering fevers and illness that we will stay home from church for one more week. Its kinda of a frustrating place to be, not well enough to all go out but not sick enough to be out for the count. So everyone is just restless.
I really have this desire to sneak an extra workout in on my own. I want to see how far I can get on my own. Then i have a better idea of how far I need to increase to do my race. I thought briefly bout going this morning but when i checked the temp, it was 36. Too cold for an "extra" workout when its supposed to be near 60 later today. So I may sneak out later and get a run in.
I debate back and forth about whether this is wise to add an "extra" one in. AFter all, I have to run 28 minutes tommorrow. Then again, one more workout gives me one more time to practice building up endurance. Decisions, Decisions.
Right now the laundry is speaking to me and trust me folks, that is not good!
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
I really have this desire to sneak an extra workout in on my own. I want to see how far I can get on my own. Then i have a better idea of how far I need to increase to do my race. I thought briefly bout going this morning but when i checked the temp, it was 36. Too cold for an "extra" workout when its supposed to be near 60 later today. So I may sneak out later and get a run in.
I debate back and forth about whether this is wise to add an "extra" one in. AFter all, I have to run 28 minutes tommorrow. Then again, one more workout gives me one more time to practice building up endurance. Decisions, Decisions.
Right now the laundry is speaking to me and trust me folks, that is not good!
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Day 48 (week 7) - not much rest today
Today started with a noble idea: getting up early and getting our household shopping out of the way before we lost most of the day. Unfortunately, between taking the time to plan our menu and Mrs. F's efforts to ready some of the kids to come with us, it was past 9:30 AM before we headed out. It became a long day. By the time we got home, it was time to start prepping dinner. As of this writing, the little ones have been fed, but the rest of us have about another 20 minutes before dinner is ready.
We're trying to buy better foods, especially more veggies. We're going to try replacing mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower, but cauliflower heads are currently $3.50 each. The cost of mashed cauliflower cannot compare with the cost of mashed potatoes. That's just one example. Eating healthier just costs more than gobs of potatoes and pasta.
For us, that's going to be one of the biggest challenges. Mrs. F and I pride ourselves at being quite thrifty--we make a lot from scratch--but budget dollars are a major limitation for us. We've already trimmed the fat from our budget, so we have few options to help us buy the foods that will help us trim the fat from our waists.
My knee held out pretty well today. It still is a bit achy, though. Checking just a few moments ago, I'm running a low grade fever and I have sore throat. So much for isolating the sick ones to keep the rest of us healthy.
Anyway, I need to go and check the oven. Have a good night, all.
We're trying to buy better foods, especially more veggies. We're going to try replacing mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower, but cauliflower heads are currently $3.50 each. The cost of mashed cauliflower cannot compare with the cost of mashed potatoes. That's just one example. Eating healthier just costs more than gobs of potatoes and pasta.
For us, that's going to be one of the biggest challenges. Mrs. F and I pride ourselves at being quite thrifty--we make a lot from scratch--but budget dollars are a major limitation for us. We've already trimmed the fat from our budget, so we have few options to help us buy the foods that will help us trim the fat from our waists.
My knee held out pretty well today. It still is a bit achy, though. Checking just a few moments ago, I'm running a low grade fever and I have sore throat. So much for isolating the sick ones to keep the rest of us healthy.
Anyway, I need to go and check the oven. Have a good night, all.
Day 48- Mrs. F
I woke up feeling okay. Muscles a tad bit sore but overall they felt fine. I had a day of errands to do, so my fleeting thought of an extra workout today was gone.
I ended up out a good bit of the day-- shopping for our household. I noticed this evening now that my right knee feels funky. It hurts a little bit on the inside of the knee. Im hoping it just needs some rest, so Ill take it easy tommorrow.
Keep on running
Mrs. F
I ended up out a good bit of the day-- shopping for our household. I noticed this evening now that my right knee feels funky. It hurts a little bit on the inside of the knee. Im hoping it just needs some rest, so Ill take it easy tommorrow.
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Friday, October 16, 2009
Day 47 - back from the doctor
Well, the visit to the sports medicine doctor was helpful, even if the prognosis wasn't entirely black and white. She doesn't like the range of motion (the lack thereof) I have in my hips. She feels that the most likely cause of my pain is a weakness in the muscles that help keep the knee cap tracking properly. Years of walking with my legs splayed wide made my glutes stronger than the balancing muscles, and that is the likely cause of the pain. She dismissed cartilege issues as being a possibility, becuase she noted that the pain is actually above the joint line.
So, what do sports medicine doctors prescribe most often? Therapy...and a specific knee brace. Yes, I'll need to get in to two therapy sessions a week. We'll start with a gait analysis, and then move into flexibility and strengthening exercises. If that doesn't help moderate the pain over the next few weeks, then we'll consider an MRI. This is a knee I injured 23+/- years ago, and I had orthroscopic surgery on it at that time. If it was actually clicking or locking while I was running, she'd push for the MRI now. We both agreed that we can cross that bridge if the therapy does not help.
My new knee brace will be a patellar stabilizer. She wants to keep the patella (knee cap) from sliding too far to the outside. I say "will be" because the largest one they had in the little clinic I visited today was too small. When they visit their main clinic on Monday, they'll drop one in the mail for me. I'm going to ice and rest my knee over the weekend, and I plan to run on Monday with my double wrap in place. I'm relieved that she didn't put any restrictions on my training.
So, that news was good, and I'm pleased to have lost a few more pounds this week. Now if I could only do something about our uber-screaming, furniture-climbing, fast-walking infant!
So, what do sports medicine doctors prescribe most often? Therapy...and a specific knee brace. Yes, I'll need to get in to two therapy sessions a week. We'll start with a gait analysis, and then move into flexibility and strengthening exercises. If that doesn't help moderate the pain over the next few weeks, then we'll consider an MRI. This is a knee I injured 23+/- years ago, and I had orthroscopic surgery on it at that time. If it was actually clicking or locking while I was running, she'd push for the MRI now. We both agreed that we can cross that bridge if the therapy does not help.
My new knee brace will be a patellar stabilizer. She wants to keep the patella (knee cap) from sliding too far to the outside. I say "will be" because the largest one they had in the little clinic I visited today was too small. When they visit their main clinic on Monday, they'll drop one in the mail for me. I'm going to ice and rest my knee over the weekend, and I plan to run on Monday with my double wrap in place. I'm relieved that she didn't put any restrictions on my training.
So, that news was good, and I'm pleased to have lost a few more pounds this week. Now if I could only do something about our uber-screaming, furniture-climbing, fast-walking infant!
Friday weight check (week 7)
FatManRunning
Last Friday: 286.5
Today: 283.3
Gain/Loss: -3.2
Goal: 210.0 lbs.
Cumulative loss: 17.1 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 73.2
Comment: I really didn't expect to lose much this week. I had a couple of bad meals (i.e., my portions were too large or I had seconds), and I snacked a little heavy on some days. I'm glad to see the progress, though. I guess when you are as big as I am, every little bit of exercise burns more calories.
Mrs. F
Last Friday: 176.3
Today: 179.2
Gain/Loss: +2.9
Goal: 150.00
Cumulative loss: 3.6 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 29.2
Comment: I skipped a lot of meals. Who'd think that would cause me to gain weight? I probably have some extra water weight right now, too (ladies, you'll undertsand).
Last Friday: 286.5
Today: 283.3
Gain/Loss: -3.2
Goal: 210.0 lbs.
Cumulative loss: 17.1 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 73.2
Comment: I really didn't expect to lose much this week. I had a couple of bad meals (i.e., my portions were too large or I had seconds), and I snacked a little heavy on some days. I'm glad to see the progress, though. I guess when you are as big as I am, every little bit of exercise burns more calories.
Mrs. F
Last Friday: 176.3
Today: 179.2
Gain/Loss: +2.9
Goal: 150.00
Cumulative loss: 3.6 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 29.2
Comment: I skipped a lot of meals. Who'd think that would cause me to gain weight? I probably have some extra water weight right now, too (ladies, you'll undertsand).
Day 47 Week 7, Day 5 -- Mrs. F
I thought it was going to be a good relatively easy run today -- NOT! I got extra sleep since we were running later. The weather was warmer and it was a fairly nice day out. I felt good and ready to run. I was not prepared for how hard and miserable todays run would be.
I really cannot pinpoint any specific factor that gave me aha, thats why it was hard today. I did do some extra exercise yesterday ( I biked 5.8 miles yesterday) but I didnt seem sore or overtired by that. It wasnt overly cold, temps in the low 40s, not bad at all. I went to bed around 10 and got up 745. My baby was only up once, so not a bad night of sleep either. ITs sorta puzzling to me.
It just was hard. I took my sons watch with me today and that made it harder in some regards. I forced myself to not look at it for the first time until I reached the trail end to turn around. So i ran 1/2 mile to 7/10 of a mile in around 7 minutes. Not too shabby! I really felt like I was slogging thru it all. Just had to keep myself moving. At one point when I had turned back with Mr. F and hit the trail end again, I found myself walking 3 steps. AACK! I had to quickly get myself moving again. I had slowed down to be with Mr. F at his pace and my body responds with okay if you are going too slow, might as well walk.
Mr. F was particularly struggling today so I made some extra efforts to double back and encourage him. I noticed that as I turned running back to him, his pace quickened and he was moving a bit faster then.
The watch was helpful in the latter half of the run. It was more encouraging to see the halfway point and to look and figure out that I had 8 or 5 minutes left.
My breathing was okay today but I was running a much slower pace. I had no energy at the end to sprint with Mr. F . So I just continued on my slow and steady pace and finished up the workout. I felt okay in the last five minutes and the end but it wasnt until that point that any of the running felt good at all. I was thinking today and I thought I "liked" running, who am I kidding?
I am encourage though that Mr. F and I did it! We completed 7 weeks of running and that is no small feat. In the last 8 days we have done 100 minutes of running -- who knew we could do this? Im still amazed that I can run 25 minutes straight, miserable or not~!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
I really cannot pinpoint any specific factor that gave me aha, thats why it was hard today. I did do some extra exercise yesterday ( I biked 5.8 miles yesterday) but I didnt seem sore or overtired by that. It wasnt overly cold, temps in the low 40s, not bad at all. I went to bed around 10 and got up 745. My baby was only up once, so not a bad night of sleep either. ITs sorta puzzling to me.
It just was hard. I took my sons watch with me today and that made it harder in some regards. I forced myself to not look at it for the first time until I reached the trail end to turn around. So i ran 1/2 mile to 7/10 of a mile in around 7 minutes. Not too shabby! I really felt like I was slogging thru it all. Just had to keep myself moving. At one point when I had turned back with Mr. F and hit the trail end again, I found myself walking 3 steps. AACK! I had to quickly get myself moving again. I had slowed down to be with Mr. F at his pace and my body responds with okay if you are going too slow, might as well walk.
Mr. F was particularly struggling today so I made some extra efforts to double back and encourage him. I noticed that as I turned running back to him, his pace quickened and he was moving a bit faster then.
The watch was helpful in the latter half of the run. It was more encouraging to see the halfway point and to look and figure out that I had 8 or 5 minutes left.
My breathing was okay today but I was running a much slower pace. I had no energy at the end to sprint with Mr. F . So I just continued on my slow and steady pace and finished up the workout. I felt okay in the last five minutes and the end but it wasnt until that point that any of the running felt good at all. I was thinking today and I thought I "liked" running, who am I kidding?
I am encourage though that Mr. F and I did it! We completed 7 weeks of running and that is no small feat. In the last 8 days we have done 100 minutes of running -- who knew we could do this? Im still amazed that I can run 25 minutes straight, miserable or not~!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Day 47 (week 7) - a dreadful run
Since the kids are out of school and I have the day off from work, we decided to sleep in a bit and headed out for our run at about 8:15 AM. For me, it was a miserable run.
Getting out of bed and walking through the house, my knee felt mostly okay. I took extra time wrapping it today, being sure to make sure the wrap layers criss-crossed in front of my knee, to help minimize any rotation. I finished dressing, did some stretching, and headed out.
We were already on the trail before I realized that I hadn't started the podcast, so I got it going and noted that we'd be walking a bit further than on a normal day. Other than feeling dead tired and not wanting to run, the first part of the run was not too bad. My legs definately did not want to be up and running, but I reminded myself that more seasoned runners report that the first ten minutes are often miserable. My left knee was feeling okay. I could tell it was more agitated than it had been coming into the week, but I figured it wouldn't be too bad. Unfortunately, I figured wrong today.
My breathing was a bit more labored in the beginning, and it did not seem to settle into a rhythm until about eight minutes in. This is the first day I've had to pay attention to my breathing in a while, and it didn't make me feel more confident about today's run. While my breathing settled down, my fatigue level seemed to increase. I felt pretty good about my pace for the first third of our distance--I almost kept Mrs. F in sight through our turnaround point. As she circled back to meet me, I remember telling her, "I feel dead."
I had really wanted to stop during the first five minutes, but I managed to keep going. Now, as I reached our turnaround point, I found my internal dialogue saying, "Don't stop now. Just get to the half-way point." I kept going.
When I got to the half-way point, my knee was really starting to bother me, and it was affecting my stride. I so much wanted to stop and walk, knowing that I was already thinking about a sports medicine appointment, but my blasted stubbornness would not let me walk. Oh, how I wanted to walk!
Mrs. F circled back a few more times, but I don't really remember them clearly. I was struggling so much just to keep moving, that I could not pay attention that much. Afterwards, she said that she could see me speed up as she approached. I do know that her presence helps me feel like I can make it.
As the moments dragged on, my pace slowed. I watched Mrs. F's footfalls and shortened my stride to match her pacing. That helped for a bit. I tried running more on the fronts of my feet, as I would in a sprint. That definately felt better on my knee, but I could not maintain that for very long. I noticed that my right foot was rolling through each stride, but that my left was landing mostly flat and did not seem to be flexing much at all. It felt like I was trying to run with a peg leg.
At some points, my feet were barely leaving the ground. I could tell because they were scraping the trail as I moved them forward. I so wanted to walk. At one point, I just wanted to let me legs go and I wanted to collapse right on the trail. With everything I had, I concentrated on making sure I was landing with only one foot on the ground. I did not want to walk. I did not want to jog. I wanted to run. I don't know if I was successful at all times, but I have to believe that I was running, no matter how slowly, or how poor my form.
I was about 10m short of the road when the final minute was called--about 10m short of where we were on Wednesday at the same time. Even though I was miserable, I pushed myself to go faster. I abandoned my shorter stride and was determined to ignore my knee, even though I know that doing so could be really bad news. Yet, the faster I went, the better my legs felt. As I reached my sprint, I was at the end of my strength, but I kept going. I wasn't going to end this thing limping to our car. I wasn't going to fall down on the trail. I was going to finish this thing at a full-blow, all-stops-pulled run, and that's what I did. I'm nothing if not stubborn, but, for once, I was going to use that stubbornness to help me rather than to hold me back.
I've had a lot of history of not finishing things. Most often, they were times when I bit off more than I could chew, but I could not see that at the time. All I knew then was that things would get to be too much, and I would just walk away. After years of doing that, it became an unwritten script in my head. I began to expect that I would not finish things. Other than my marriage, which has been going strong for 16+ years (thank God), my mind is full of memories of things I failed to finish. My mind keeps trying to tell me that this will be just another one of those things, and I'm desperate to disprove that internal dialogue! If I'm deliberate in thinking on my past, I can find many things I carried through and finished, but those are not the memories that cloud my mind. The failures--those are the things that have embedded themselves in my thinking. They've shaped how I see myself, and I often fear I'll never be able to get away from them.
In the running discussions I've been frequenting, I've read so many others encouraging people to take a break, or repeat a week as needed. I've resisted that. I think it's because I fear failing--I fear not finishing this program. Yet, in the better parts of my mind, I know that it is not a failure that dictates who we are--it is whether we are willing to get up and try again. Perhaps my biggest fear is not that I will not finish, but that, should I not finish, that I would not have the strength to get up and try again.
This has been a very hard morning for me. I don't know how I can go on, but I must. I keep telling myself that I don't have a choice, but I do. I really do have a choice. I just keep saying that "I don't have a choice" because I'm afraid I won't make the right one. If I take away my choice, I take away failure as being an option. At least, that's the way my twisted mind works right now. I don't have a choice but to give myself no choice.
Do you know how much I want a Ho-Ho (or three) right now?
Getting out of bed and walking through the house, my knee felt mostly okay. I took extra time wrapping it today, being sure to make sure the wrap layers criss-crossed in front of my knee, to help minimize any rotation. I finished dressing, did some stretching, and headed out.
We were already on the trail before I realized that I hadn't started the podcast, so I got it going and noted that we'd be walking a bit further than on a normal day. Other than feeling dead tired and not wanting to run, the first part of the run was not too bad. My legs definately did not want to be up and running, but I reminded myself that more seasoned runners report that the first ten minutes are often miserable. My left knee was feeling okay. I could tell it was more agitated than it had been coming into the week, but I figured it wouldn't be too bad. Unfortunately, I figured wrong today.
My breathing was a bit more labored in the beginning, and it did not seem to settle into a rhythm until about eight minutes in. This is the first day I've had to pay attention to my breathing in a while, and it didn't make me feel more confident about today's run. While my breathing settled down, my fatigue level seemed to increase. I felt pretty good about my pace for the first third of our distance--I almost kept Mrs. F in sight through our turnaround point. As she circled back to meet me, I remember telling her, "I feel dead."
I had really wanted to stop during the first five minutes, but I managed to keep going. Now, as I reached our turnaround point, I found my internal dialogue saying, "Don't stop now. Just get to the half-way point." I kept going.
When I got to the half-way point, my knee was really starting to bother me, and it was affecting my stride. I so much wanted to stop and walk, knowing that I was already thinking about a sports medicine appointment, but my blasted stubbornness would not let me walk. Oh, how I wanted to walk!
Mrs. F circled back a few more times, but I don't really remember them clearly. I was struggling so much just to keep moving, that I could not pay attention that much. Afterwards, she said that she could see me speed up as she approached. I do know that her presence helps me feel like I can make it.
As the moments dragged on, my pace slowed. I watched Mrs. F's footfalls and shortened my stride to match her pacing. That helped for a bit. I tried running more on the fronts of my feet, as I would in a sprint. That definately felt better on my knee, but I could not maintain that for very long. I noticed that my right foot was rolling through each stride, but that my left was landing mostly flat and did not seem to be flexing much at all. It felt like I was trying to run with a peg leg.
At some points, my feet were barely leaving the ground. I could tell because they were scraping the trail as I moved them forward. I so wanted to walk. At one point, I just wanted to let me legs go and I wanted to collapse right on the trail. With everything I had, I concentrated on making sure I was landing with only one foot on the ground. I did not want to walk. I did not want to jog. I wanted to run. I don't know if I was successful at all times, but I have to believe that I was running, no matter how slowly, or how poor my form.
I was about 10m short of the road when the final minute was called--about 10m short of where we were on Wednesday at the same time. Even though I was miserable, I pushed myself to go faster. I abandoned my shorter stride and was determined to ignore my knee, even though I know that doing so could be really bad news. Yet, the faster I went, the better my legs felt. As I reached my sprint, I was at the end of my strength, but I kept going. I wasn't going to end this thing limping to our car. I wasn't going to fall down on the trail. I was going to finish this thing at a full-blow, all-stops-pulled run, and that's what I did. I'm nothing if not stubborn, but, for once, I was going to use that stubbornness to help me rather than to hold me back.
I've had a lot of history of not finishing things. Most often, they were times when I bit off more than I could chew, but I could not see that at the time. All I knew then was that things would get to be too much, and I would just walk away. After years of doing that, it became an unwritten script in my head. I began to expect that I would not finish things. Other than my marriage, which has been going strong for 16+ years (thank God), my mind is full of memories of things I failed to finish. My mind keeps trying to tell me that this will be just another one of those things, and I'm desperate to disprove that internal dialogue! If I'm deliberate in thinking on my past, I can find many things I carried through and finished, but those are not the memories that cloud my mind. The failures--those are the things that have embedded themselves in my thinking. They've shaped how I see myself, and I often fear I'll never be able to get away from them.
In the running discussions I've been frequenting, I've read so many others encouraging people to take a break, or repeat a week as needed. I've resisted that. I think it's because I fear failing--I fear not finishing this program. Yet, in the better parts of my mind, I know that it is not a failure that dictates who we are--it is whether we are willing to get up and try again. Perhaps my biggest fear is not that I will not finish, but that, should I not finish, that I would not have the strength to get up and try again.
This has been a very hard morning for me. I don't know how I can go on, but I must. I keep telling myself that I don't have a choice, but I do. I really do have a choice. I just keep saying that "I don't have a choice" because I'm afraid I won't make the right one. If I take away my choice, I take away failure as being an option. At least, that's the way my twisted mind works right now. I don't have a choice but to give myself no choice.
Do you know how much I want a Ho-Ho (or three) right now?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Day 46 - late entry - the bad knee
Well, I picked up my textbooks. When I got back home and went to sit down in my chair, my jeans gripped a bit as I bent to sit, and I got a flash of pain in the knee. I'm going to see what it's like in the morning, but am pretty sure I'm going to try to see the sports medicine practitioner at the local clinic tomorrow, if they have any same day openings.
I've been doing a bit more reading on running (mostly links from coolrunning.com), and some reading on running-related injuries. I could not pigeonhole my particular symptom, but I did note many admonitions for new runners not to ignore pain--something seasoned marathon runners and other endurance runners often mention that they do. Those endurance runners can do it because they are more attuned to themselves, and are already working with their bodies in good condition. Someone like myself, on the other hand, a newbie, shouldn't risk it.
Mrs. F asked if I wanted to postpone our run to Saturday. My preference is to still give it a try tomorrow, so long as the knee is feeling pretty good when I get up and when wrapped. If anything, we might postpone until later in the day. I already know that we won't be out until closer to 7:30 AM, since there's no time press to get the kids off to school or me to work in the morning.
Aside from NSAIDs (like Ibuprofen), ice, and rest, what else can help a sore knee? Or does the answer really depend on the specific nature of the problem (e.g., tendinitis, worn cartilage)?
I've been doing a bit more reading on running (mostly links from coolrunning.com), and some reading on running-related injuries. I could not pigeonhole my particular symptom, but I did note many admonitions for new runners not to ignore pain--something seasoned marathon runners and other endurance runners often mention that they do. Those endurance runners can do it because they are more attuned to themselves, and are already working with their bodies in good condition. Someone like myself, on the other hand, a newbie, shouldn't risk it.
Mrs. F asked if I wanted to postpone our run to Saturday. My preference is to still give it a try tomorrow, so long as the knee is feeling pretty good when I get up and when wrapped. If anything, we might postpone until later in the day. I already know that we won't be out until closer to 7:30 AM, since there's no time press to get the kids off to school or me to work in the morning.
Aside from NSAIDs (like Ibuprofen), ice, and rest, what else can help a sore knee? Or does the answer really depend on the specific nature of the problem (e.g., tendinitis, worn cartilage)?
Day 46 (week 7) - drained
I had requested today and tomorrow off, coinciding with a couple of days off in our school system. Originally, I had plans for these days, but circumstances changed. While it started out as a nice, slow morning (even though I had to tie up some loose ends at work), I gradually developed a headache that just won't let go, and I'm finding myself with very little energy. I'm feeling drained. I'm hoping this is not the beginning of a cold--or worse.
Our eldest son came down with a fever last night. It's low grade, but has been rising. He's spent most of the day in his room, and we made him eat his meals apart from us, to keep from sharing. Our boy who was sick most of this week is finally well, and the other two who were showing some symptoms seem to be okay. Once something gets into the house, it usually makes the rounds. We're just working really hard to keep that from being the case this time.
My knee is sore again today. It's as if I pushed back the clock and am back where it was starting to get tolerable again. I'll double-wrap it in the morning. Mrs. F took a bike ride this afternoon and checked the distance on our primary segment of trail. Sure enough, it's a one mile segment, so we end up covering 2 miles with the return trip. She's also done some scouting ahead. If we also utilize the segment of trail we left when it got too dark, we'd have a 3.4 mile route, end to end. That would give us some room for a warm-up walk and yet leave us 5,000m for our runs. I'm sure it will be a while before we get to that level of endurance, but the day will come.
Right now, we're both scratching our heads about dinner, since the day slipped away. I need to sneak out and buy some graduate textbooks tonight, as I'm back in class again as of Monday. Otherwise, I hope to get to bed early and get some rest. I'm going to get up now, take some Sudafed to clear my sinuses, and some Ibuprofen for my headache. We'll see what the morning brings.
Our eldest son came down with a fever last night. It's low grade, but has been rising. He's spent most of the day in his room, and we made him eat his meals apart from us, to keep from sharing. Our boy who was sick most of this week is finally well, and the other two who were showing some symptoms seem to be okay. Once something gets into the house, it usually makes the rounds. We're just working really hard to keep that from being the case this time.
My knee is sore again today. It's as if I pushed back the clock and am back where it was starting to get tolerable again. I'll double-wrap it in the morning. Mrs. F took a bike ride this afternoon and checked the distance on our primary segment of trail. Sure enough, it's a one mile segment, so we end up covering 2 miles with the return trip. She's also done some scouting ahead. If we also utilize the segment of trail we left when it got too dark, we'd have a 3.4 mile route, end to end. That would give us some room for a warm-up walk and yet leave us 5,000m for our runs. I'm sure it will be a while before we get to that level of endurance, but the day will come.
Right now, we're both scratching our heads about dinner, since the day slipped away. I need to sneak out and buy some graduate textbooks tonight, as I'm back in class again as of Monday. Otherwise, I hope to get to bed early and get some rest. I'm going to get up now, take some Sudafed to clear my sinuses, and some Ibuprofen for my headache. We'll see what the morning brings.
Day 46- Mrs. F
I have no persisting injuries to report -- woohoo!~
Im pretty sure though that the scale will not be kind to me tommorrow. I feel bigger and the at home scale has not been kind either. Sigh ... I really need to be more diligent in eating every meal. Too often I skip breakfast in lieu of coffee. If my typical fare for breakfast isnt available, Ill skip more often than eat something Im not fond of.
I have this crazy desire to get out and run today on the rest day. I think Im going to answer that with a short bike ride. I want to measure our route that we are running anyway and my bike computer will measure the distance.
I had some yummy salad for lunch full of lots of veggies. We watched the biggest loser and Mr. F said he couldnt quite buy mac/cheese and hot dogs after watching that! I wish the healthy good food wasnt so pricey!
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
Im pretty sure though that the scale will not be kind to me tommorrow. I feel bigger and the at home scale has not been kind either. Sigh ... I really need to be more diligent in eating every meal. Too often I skip breakfast in lieu of coffee. If my typical fare for breakfast isnt available, Ill skip more often than eat something Im not fond of.
I have this crazy desire to get out and run today on the rest day. I think Im going to answer that with a short bike ride. I want to measure our route that we are running anyway and my bike computer will measure the distance.
I had some yummy salad for lunch full of lots of veggies. We watched the biggest loser and Mr. F said he couldnt quite buy mac/cheese and hot dogs after watching that! I wish the healthy good food wasnt so pricey!
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Day 45 (Week 7, Day 3) - Mrs. F
Despite feeling down and tired earlier, I was ready to run this afternoon. It was a bit challenging trying to figure out how to cook dinner and workout and all the fun that accompanies all that. I started cutting potatoes, not knowing exactly what time Mr. F would get home. I figured that even if I didnt have time to cook before our workout, at least the prepwork would be done.
When I checked the temp earlier in the day, it said 41 degrees with 34 degree windchill temp. I was expecting it to feel much colder than it did. Mondays workout, I almost felt too hot with my layering, so I went with one less layer today. I elected to ditch the 3/4 quarter sleeve cotton shirt. That worked out great, I was plenty warm and not too chilled in the beginning.
I tend to walk slower than Mr. F for our warmup walk. I figure its okay, since I speed up my pace when I run. So I trailed behind him a bit as we started. I started out with a stocking cap and leather gloves. It wasnt more than 3 or 4 minutes that I ditched the gloves. The hat quickly followed.
The beginning and middle of the run felt great! I had a little pain going down my right leg. It disapeared about as quickly as it appeared. At points I could just feel the difference in my stride. My feet hit the ground lighter as I was able to speed up the pace. Other times I definitely felt the slog of the run. My feet felt heavy and like I was shuffling the leaves along the trail. I reached the end of the trail, turned around and met mr F again. I then reran the way to the end of the trail and took the street to a side path and ran back to our orginal trail. This allowed Mr. F to get further along on the trail before I caught up to him again.
I had attempted to borrow a watch from my son and promptly left it in the car. I wanted it with to give me a better idea of how to pace myself. Its hard when you hit that wall, not knowing then how much time you have left.I suppose it could be worse too, if you check the watch and find you have 24 of the 25 minutes left -- lol!
The end of the run, roughly about the last 8 or 10 minutes were hard. I started developing a minor sideache in the right, thus my pace slowed. And as I slowed, it increased my desire to walk. I did keep plugging away but the mental battle was much harder at that point. I tried to concentrate on taking slow deep breaths( kinda impossible when you are already breathing hard). The side ache would come and go as I tried to work my way thru the trail. As I neared a corner in our trail, I heard Mr. F whistle. So I turned around and ran back to him at that point. So we were running together for a little while. I pulled ahead and tried to find my stride again. Once I reached our beginning point of the trail and turned around and headed back to Mr. F .
I should know by this point that I cant do things as Mr. F does. Today reminded me of the time in college when I tried to study as Mr. F does. He can just go to class and listen and get A's on the tests. Well to make a long story short, it didnt work and I majorly failed. I learned the hard way, that I need to actually study! Well today I tried to sprint with Mr. F during the last minute. He has a wicked fast sprint!!! I may run faster during the workout but I cannot keep up with him during the last minute sprint. I did try today and kept pace with him for 20 seconds and then I thought I might just die right there on the trail. I forced myself to keep running but my side was killing me and I could barely breathe! I can speed up at the end. I tend to be more strong and steady and slowly increasing my pace rather than a major jump in speed to a sprint. This is good to know about oneself.
No problems with shin splints as I thought might be starting last time. Leg muscles are sore as are my shoulders and arms. They are sore like I just had a good workout, kind of sore.
I am still amazed that I can run for 25 minutes and that I made it thru 7 weeks of this!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
When I checked the temp earlier in the day, it said 41 degrees with 34 degree windchill temp. I was expecting it to feel much colder than it did. Mondays workout, I almost felt too hot with my layering, so I went with one less layer today. I elected to ditch the 3/4 quarter sleeve cotton shirt. That worked out great, I was plenty warm and not too chilled in the beginning.
I tend to walk slower than Mr. F for our warmup walk. I figure its okay, since I speed up my pace when I run. So I trailed behind him a bit as we started. I started out with a stocking cap and leather gloves. It wasnt more than 3 or 4 minutes that I ditched the gloves. The hat quickly followed.
The beginning and middle of the run felt great! I had a little pain going down my right leg. It disapeared about as quickly as it appeared. At points I could just feel the difference in my stride. My feet hit the ground lighter as I was able to speed up the pace. Other times I definitely felt the slog of the run. My feet felt heavy and like I was shuffling the leaves along the trail. I reached the end of the trail, turned around and met mr F again. I then reran the way to the end of the trail and took the street to a side path and ran back to our orginal trail. This allowed Mr. F to get further along on the trail before I caught up to him again.
I had attempted to borrow a watch from my son and promptly left it in the car. I wanted it with to give me a better idea of how to pace myself. Its hard when you hit that wall, not knowing then how much time you have left.I suppose it could be worse too, if you check the watch and find you have 24 of the 25 minutes left -- lol!
The end of the run, roughly about the last 8 or 10 minutes were hard. I started developing a minor sideache in the right, thus my pace slowed. And as I slowed, it increased my desire to walk. I did keep plugging away but the mental battle was much harder at that point. I tried to concentrate on taking slow deep breaths( kinda impossible when you are already breathing hard). The side ache would come and go as I tried to work my way thru the trail. As I neared a corner in our trail, I heard Mr. F whistle. So I turned around and ran back to him at that point. So we were running together for a little while. I pulled ahead and tried to find my stride again. Once I reached our beginning point of the trail and turned around and headed back to Mr. F .
I should know by this point that I cant do things as Mr. F does. Today reminded me of the time in college when I tried to study as Mr. F does. He can just go to class and listen and get A's on the tests. Well to make a long story short, it didnt work and I majorly failed. I learned the hard way, that I need to actually study! Well today I tried to sprint with Mr. F during the last minute. He has a wicked fast sprint!!! I may run faster during the workout but I cannot keep up with him during the last minute sprint. I did try today and kept pace with him for 20 seconds and then I thought I might just die right there on the trail. I forced myself to keep running but my side was killing me and I could barely breathe! I can speed up at the end. I tend to be more strong and steady and slowly increasing my pace rather than a major jump in speed to a sprint. This is good to know about oneself.
No problems with shin splints as I thought might be starting last time. Leg muscles are sore as are my shoulders and arms. They are sore like I just had a good workout, kind of sore.
I am still amazed that I can run for 25 minutes and that I made it thru 7 weeks of this!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Day 45 (week 7) - evening run
It has been one crazy evening! I got off work about 4:30 PM, an hour later than I had hoped. Getting home, I took in the quick news from the home front, including the updates on the sick ones, got changed, and managed to get out the door at just about 5 PM.
After our run, we stopped at the local grocery store and grabbed a couple of items, only to realize that neither of us had our cards with us (I only carry my license when I run). As we headed out the door, we realized that we needed to get our eldest son to the area high school for pep band. So, I dropped Mrs. F. at home, drove our son to the high school. When he came out to the car, he had my wallet with him, so I headed back to the grocery store after dropping him off. I picked up the items we set aside on our earlier visit, grabbed some bags of softener salt, and headed home.
As soon as I got through the door, Mrs. F informed me that our eldest son had called--pep band had been cancelled. So, back into the car I went; back to the local high school where I picked up our son and took him home. When I got home, I set about trying to unclog the kitchen sink, and I took over finishing off supper. With everything going on around here, I'm just amazed that we get out and run at all, morning or evening.
Okay, now that I got today's melodrama out of the way, let me get to reviewing today's run. It seems that the afternoon runs have been a little easier, at least as far as my legs being ready for them. Perhaps it's being more awake, or just the fact that I've been up and moving and that my body is warm. Even so, the first eight or so minutes of the run were hard. Almost immediately upon setting out I was fighting my internal dialogue that just wanted me to take a pass and go home. After all, I had already put in a full day of work... If you've ever tried to do something really hard, or something after a busy day, you probably know how that internal dialogue progresses.
So, I managed to tell that other part of me to "Sit on it!" and I kept going. I wrapped my leg a little differently today, since it had been bothering me less, and it seemed to be adequate when we began. Right off the bat, I was much happier with my pace today. Mrs. F was still able to pull ahead of me, but I didn't feel like I was fighting just to move at a decent pace, at least at the onset.
The first eight minutes were probably the hardest of the day, at least as far as the mental battle is concerned. After about the eight minute mark (I was listening to the podcast, so the time is just a guess--it might have been a little earlier or a little later), it was still hard, but it felt better. It was the one stretch where I got to relax a bit, mentally and perhaps physically. I remember looking to the lake, at the leaves on the ground, and at the trail ahead of me. Mrs. F was now way ahead, but it didn't bother me so much right then--I was running and all was good with the world.
We were back to our regular segment of trail today, so I was excited that I got to the far end and a good distance back before I heard the half-way point announced. It felt much more like last Friday (W6D3). Mrs. F had turned around and looped back to me once, and when we reached the end of the trail she took off to the side to make a loop through the park while I turned around and started back.
The half-way point came and went. I could tell it was getting a bit harder, and my left knee was starting to hurt, but I was still feeling pretty good.
Over the next few minutes, I really started to feel fatigue in my legs and my left really started to give me some grief. I concetrated on my stride. I was able to do a little to minimize the strain, but it was simply clear that the way I wrapped it was woefuly inadequate. I soon found myself fighting not to slip into that limping jog I had experienced two weeks ago. My pace slowed even more. I whistled and waved to Mrs. F so that she would loop back again. We were getting close to the point in the trail where I typically lose sight of her on the return, and that's a point that is always tough for me.
Her presence helped, but I was slogging so much that I was barely lifting my feet as I lurched forward in each stride. I asked her if I was even still running--it's almost as if my feet wanted to switch to walking, but my legs kept pushing them too far ahead--and she said that I was. I concentrated on lifting my feet more, and I forced myself to kick my heels further back. My pace improved slightly. I knew that our starting end of the trail would soon appear. While I was amazed that I had gone so far without hearing the final minute warning (we did not double back together today as we had done on Friday), I was also getting desperate to hear that final minute announcement.
It came right as we hit our starting point. Mrs. F was only a few steps ahead of me here, and we both quickened our pace a bit. After counting out approximately 15 seconds in my head, I pushed into a sprint--not as fast or free as the one I experienced on Monday, but a sprint all the same. I was tyring to hold a bit back, because I wanted to finish the last minute without slowing down. I picked a spot on the trail ahead of me and made it my finish line. As I reached it, there was no announcement, so I picked another spot ahead of me, and tried to push even more. As I reached it, the announcement came, my arms shot into the air, and I annouced the end to Mrs. F.
I knew I had pulled ahead of her, but I did not realize by how much until I turned around. She was, perhaps 10-15 meters behind me, her hand on her side, obviously from a side ache. I had pulled ahead of her, and I had finished the final minute in a sprint!
Our cool-down walk was slightly abbreviated, because we got back to our car before the time was up, but we were both happy with having finished another 25 minute run. As we began our drive home, we realized that we had run more than 75 minutes in less than a week (Friday through Wednesday)! That's just so amazing!
Because of the sickness going through the house and some other considerations, my plans for the weekend were cancelled. That means Mrs. F and I will be running together again on Friday morning. Since I will have the day off, we're planning to go out about an hour later, perhaps 6:30 AM, to benefit from the pending sunrise. I'll be back to wrapping my knee the other way, and I'm just glad I didn't seem to make it much worse (in how it feels now, a few hours later) with what I tried today.
I may never be able to run a seven minute mile, but I'm out there, being active, and working to lose a lot of weight. I hope that running becomes easier as my weight does go down, but I also hope that I'll have the perseverance required to get me that far. Weight check will be Friday morning, and I'm hoping to see a fair loss (perhaps a couple of pounds).
Well, that's it for now. We're going to sit down together and watch Heroes, and then, perhaps a little Eureka. Apart from that, I have a date with an ice pack and perhaps a cool bath.
After our run, we stopped at the local grocery store and grabbed a couple of items, only to realize that neither of us had our cards with us (I only carry my license when I run). As we headed out the door, we realized that we needed to get our eldest son to the area high school for pep band. So, I dropped Mrs. F. at home, drove our son to the high school. When he came out to the car, he had my wallet with him, so I headed back to the grocery store after dropping him off. I picked up the items we set aside on our earlier visit, grabbed some bags of softener salt, and headed home.
As soon as I got through the door, Mrs. F informed me that our eldest son had called--pep band had been cancelled. So, back into the car I went; back to the local high school where I picked up our son and took him home. When I got home, I set about trying to unclog the kitchen sink, and I took over finishing off supper. With everything going on around here, I'm just amazed that we get out and run at all, morning or evening.
Okay, now that I got today's melodrama out of the way, let me get to reviewing today's run. It seems that the afternoon runs have been a little easier, at least as far as my legs being ready for them. Perhaps it's being more awake, or just the fact that I've been up and moving and that my body is warm. Even so, the first eight or so minutes of the run were hard. Almost immediately upon setting out I was fighting my internal dialogue that just wanted me to take a pass and go home. After all, I had already put in a full day of work... If you've ever tried to do something really hard, or something after a busy day, you probably know how that internal dialogue progresses.
So, I managed to tell that other part of me to "Sit on it!" and I kept going. I wrapped my leg a little differently today, since it had been bothering me less, and it seemed to be adequate when we began. Right off the bat, I was much happier with my pace today. Mrs. F was still able to pull ahead of me, but I didn't feel like I was fighting just to move at a decent pace, at least at the onset.
The first eight minutes were probably the hardest of the day, at least as far as the mental battle is concerned. After about the eight minute mark (I was listening to the podcast, so the time is just a guess--it might have been a little earlier or a little later), it was still hard, but it felt better. It was the one stretch where I got to relax a bit, mentally and perhaps physically. I remember looking to the lake, at the leaves on the ground, and at the trail ahead of me. Mrs. F was now way ahead, but it didn't bother me so much right then--I was running and all was good with the world.
We were back to our regular segment of trail today, so I was excited that I got to the far end and a good distance back before I heard the half-way point announced. It felt much more like last Friday (W6D3). Mrs. F had turned around and looped back to me once, and when we reached the end of the trail she took off to the side to make a loop through the park while I turned around and started back.
The half-way point came and went. I could tell it was getting a bit harder, and my left knee was starting to hurt, but I was still feeling pretty good.
Over the next few minutes, I really started to feel fatigue in my legs and my left really started to give me some grief. I concetrated on my stride. I was able to do a little to minimize the strain, but it was simply clear that the way I wrapped it was woefuly inadequate. I soon found myself fighting not to slip into that limping jog I had experienced two weeks ago. My pace slowed even more. I whistled and waved to Mrs. F so that she would loop back again. We were getting close to the point in the trail where I typically lose sight of her on the return, and that's a point that is always tough for me.
Her presence helped, but I was slogging so much that I was barely lifting my feet as I lurched forward in each stride. I asked her if I was even still running--it's almost as if my feet wanted to switch to walking, but my legs kept pushing them too far ahead--and she said that I was. I concentrated on lifting my feet more, and I forced myself to kick my heels further back. My pace improved slightly. I knew that our starting end of the trail would soon appear. While I was amazed that I had gone so far without hearing the final minute warning (we did not double back together today as we had done on Friday), I was also getting desperate to hear that final minute announcement.
It came right as we hit our starting point. Mrs. F was only a few steps ahead of me here, and we both quickened our pace a bit. After counting out approximately 15 seconds in my head, I pushed into a sprint--not as fast or free as the one I experienced on Monday, but a sprint all the same. I was tyring to hold a bit back, because I wanted to finish the last minute without slowing down. I picked a spot on the trail ahead of me and made it my finish line. As I reached it, there was no announcement, so I picked another spot ahead of me, and tried to push even more. As I reached it, the announcement came, my arms shot into the air, and I annouced the end to Mrs. F.
I knew I had pulled ahead of her, but I did not realize by how much until I turned around. She was, perhaps 10-15 meters behind me, her hand on her side, obviously from a side ache. I had pulled ahead of her, and I had finished the final minute in a sprint!
Our cool-down walk was slightly abbreviated, because we got back to our car before the time was up, but we were both happy with having finished another 25 minute run. As we began our drive home, we realized that we had run more than 75 minutes in less than a week (Friday through Wednesday)! That's just so amazing!
Because of the sickness going through the house and some other considerations, my plans for the weekend were cancelled. That means Mrs. F and I will be running together again on Friday morning. Since I will have the day off, we're planning to go out about an hour later, perhaps 6:30 AM, to benefit from the pending sunrise. I'll be back to wrapping my knee the other way, and I'm just glad I didn't seem to make it much worse (in how it feels now, a few hours later) with what I tried today.
I may never be able to run a seven minute mile, but I'm out there, being active, and working to lose a lot of weight. I hope that running becomes easier as my weight does go down, but I also hope that I'll have the perseverance required to get me that far. Weight check will be Friday morning, and I'm hoping to see a fair loss (perhaps a couple of pounds).
Well, that's it for now. We're going to sit down together and watch Heroes, and then, perhaps a little Eureka. Apart from that, I have a date with an ice pack and perhaps a cool bath.
A down day - Mrs. F
I'm feeling rather down today. Im not sure if its that I havent worked out yet, lack of sleep or stresses of life. Most likely, a comibination of all the factors is the culprit.
At around 2 am, we had a hamster cagebreak. So we were looking for some baby hamsters and the momma. Thankfully by morning, all but one have been found. That definitely impacted my sleep though.
And a busy plate of activities for yesterday has left me drained as well.
Im hoping todays workout will perk up my mood and encourage my spirits some.
Keep on running
Mrs. F
At around 2 am, we had a hamster cagebreak. So we were looking for some baby hamsters and the momma. Thankfully by morning, all but one have been found. That definitely impacted my sleep though.
And a busy plate of activities for yesterday has left me drained as well.
Im hoping todays workout will perk up my mood and encourage my spirits some.
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Day 45 - morning (pre-workout)
As noted last night, we'll be running late today. I'm just taking a moment to post a bit of news on the clothing front. This morning, I grabbed a pair of trousers I picked up a couple of years ago that didn't fit me at the time. I found them at a bargain price, and grabbed them thinking that I could use them as motivation toward losing some weight. Well, as time has shown, they did not serve to be much of a motivation. The size of those pants: 42.
When I started this program, I could comfortably wear pants with a 46" waist. I could wear some 44s below my belly, on my hips, but they were not very comfortable. Today, I looked at the tag in those trousers and said, "What the heck." After all, I noted that they had a stretchy expansion panel on the side. The worst that could happen was that I would need to grab another pair of pants, and that my hopes would have been diminished.
As it turns out, the pants slid on without any trouble. There was no binding in the legs, the seat felt fine, and the clasp closed on my waist. I checked the expansion panels. To my surprise, the were pulling a bit but still had plenty of give. I really have dropped 4" from my waist!
Feeling good about the trousers, I reached in and grabbed a mock turtleneck that I typically only wear under a sweater. I pulled it on and noticed that it actually hung off my shoulders and was not stretched tight around my chest and abdomen. What a feeling!
So, I'm headed off to work in my "new" outfit. I'm longing for the day when I'll be able to wear trousers in the 30s again (even 38 would be fine), because that means I'll finally be able to go into any store and be able to find my size in just about every style. That will be a grand day.
So, for now, it's off to work and then on to running this afternoon. I think I'm going to have a little extra spring in my step today.
When I started this program, I could comfortably wear pants with a 46" waist. I could wear some 44s below my belly, on my hips, but they were not very comfortable. Today, I looked at the tag in those trousers and said, "What the heck." After all, I noted that they had a stretchy expansion panel on the side. The worst that could happen was that I would need to grab another pair of pants, and that my hopes would have been diminished.
As it turns out, the pants slid on without any trouble. There was no binding in the legs, the seat felt fine, and the clasp closed on my waist. I checked the expansion panels. To my surprise, the were pulling a bit but still had plenty of give. I really have dropped 4" from my waist!
Feeling good about the trousers, I reached in and grabbed a mock turtleneck that I typically only wear under a sweater. I pulled it on and noticed that it actually hung off my shoulders and was not stretched tight around my chest and abdomen. What a feeling!
So, I'm headed off to work in my "new" outfit. I'm longing for the day when I'll be able to wear trousers in the 30s again (even 38 would be fine), because that means I'll finally be able to go into any store and be able to find my size in just about every style. That will be a grand day.
So, for now, it's off to work and then on to running this afternoon. I think I'm going to have a little extra spring in my step today.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Day 44 - update and plans for Day 45
Our flu-stricken son won't be getting any medications. He was sent home with typical instructions of rest and fluids, despite the risk to our special needs child (not to mention the fact that our clinic sent us there specifically so he could get treated with Tamiflu). Well, we'll do the best we can with what we have.
I also need to be in to work early (i.e., before 7 AM) tomorrow, so we are postponing our Wednesday run until later in the day--likely sometime in the evening after our eldest son returns from cross country practice, since our eldest daughter is going on a trip with one of her friends.
There was good news on the cross country front: our eldest son qualified as an all-conference runner by placing in the top ten runners at tonight's conference meet. What was really exciting, however, was that two of his teammates (the same ones with which he had a near photo finish at an earlier meet) also placed in the top ten. The team did a fantastic job, and ranked as the second place team in the conference. Some of the boys were disappointed, however, because they missed taking the first place spot by two points! Had any two of their first five runners (the ones used for scoring) moved ahead just one position (or had one runner moved up two positions), they would have been the first place team. I'm pretty sure the guys who will be back next year will remember that lesson. Even so, they all ran a great race!
I also need to be in to work early (i.e., before 7 AM) tomorrow, so we are postponing our Wednesday run until later in the day--likely sometime in the evening after our eldest son returns from cross country practice, since our eldest daughter is going on a trip with one of her friends.
There was good news on the cross country front: our eldest son qualified as an all-conference runner by placing in the top ten runners at tonight's conference meet. What was really exciting, however, was that two of his teammates (the same ones with which he had a near photo finish at an earlier meet) also placed in the top ten. The team did a fantastic job, and ranked as the second place team in the conference. Some of the boys were disappointed, however, because they missed taking the first place spot by two points! Had any two of their first five runners (the ones used for scoring) moved ahead just one position (or had one runner moved up two positions), they would have been the first place team. I'm pretty sure the guys who will be back next year will remember that lesson. Even so, they all ran a great race!
Day 44 (week 7) - dull ache and family illness
It's still hard to believe we're in Week 7. Overall, I feel pretty good, other than my left knee. It has gone from being something that pained me when walking, rising, or sitting to being a steady, dull ache.
That's not the main issue in the house, today, however. We had one boy come down with mild cold or flu symptoms last week, and he has fully recovered. Another son, however, started to get ill on Sunday and has steadily gotten worse. His fever has topped 103°F, has no appetite, and is lethargic. We called the local clinic, but they referred us to the emergency room. Mrs. F is headed there with him now. She's also taking along our special needs toddler, who just started developing a fever, but has a history of going from healthy to extremely ill in a matter of hours. We're hoping that both will be given Tamiflu, but we have no guarantees.
If kids are still sick as we approach Thursday, I will cancel my plans for the weekend. That may allow Mrs. F and me to run together on Friday, but even that will depend on how well everyone is around here.
That's not the main issue in the house, today, however. We had one boy come down with mild cold or flu symptoms last week, and he has fully recovered. Another son, however, started to get ill on Sunday and has steadily gotten worse. His fever has topped 103°F, has no appetite, and is lethargic. We called the local clinic, but they referred us to the emergency room. Mrs. F is headed there with him now. She's also taking along our special needs toddler, who just started developing a fever, but has a history of going from healthy to extremely ill in a matter of hours. We're hoping that both will be given Tamiflu, but we have no guarantees.
If kids are still sick as we approach Thursday, I will cancel my plans for the weekend. That may allow Mrs. F and me to run together on Friday, but even that will depend on how well everyone is around here.
Day 44 - Mrs. F
I'm feeling pretty drained today. I really hope Im not getting sick. A couple of the kids are down with fevers and flu-like symptoms.
Body is doing okay, although my lower back is giving me trouble this morning. Muscles feel okay and the shin split on the left leg feels fine right now.
Its harder for me to get excited to run in the cold weather. I really dont enjoy being cold. Its harder to get moving and going, even though I know once IM running, ill feel warm.
I am still on the hunt for a treadmill. The plan is to run outside as long as possible until the snow/ice/weather forces us indoors. Then, we are hoping to have found a treadmill that will be able to continue our workouts.
It was exciting yesterday to go into our local pharmacy and talk with our pharmacist. She is doing the couch to 5k, after being inspired by our doing this as well as another worker there. I love seeing the effects stretching far beyond our circle of people! I am still amazed that indeed in 7 weeks, I can run 25 minutes.
Looking forward to my sons conference meet this evening. I changed my bet to him, that if he beats his personal best (18:55) I will run 2 minutes with him. And if he beats it by 30 seconds or more, I will run 5!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Body is doing okay, although my lower back is giving me trouble this morning. Muscles feel okay and the shin split on the left leg feels fine right now.
Its harder for me to get excited to run in the cold weather. I really dont enjoy being cold. Its harder to get moving and going, even though I know once IM running, ill feel warm.
I am still on the hunt for a treadmill. The plan is to run outside as long as possible until the snow/ice/weather forces us indoors. Then, we are hoping to have found a treadmill that will be able to continue our workouts.
It was exciting yesterday to go into our local pharmacy and talk with our pharmacist. She is doing the couch to 5k, after being inspired by our doing this as well as another worker there. I love seeing the effects stretching far beyond our circle of people! I am still amazed that indeed in 7 weeks, I can run 25 minutes.
Looking forward to my sons conference meet this evening. I changed my bet to him, that if he beats his personal best (18:55) I will run 2 minutes with him. And if he beats it by 30 seconds or more, I will run 5!
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Monday, October 12, 2009
Day 43 Week 7 Day 1 (Mrs. F)
I was tired, it was cold, it was snowing and I did not want to get up and run today. In the past, days like today would have been the ones where I put it off until another day. And then keep putting it off until the habit was firmly dead. Im pleased to say with Mr. F's help, I did not put off todays run!
I could feel the effects of too little sleep and too much junk food from this weekend. So it was hard to start and hard to get moving. For the first five minutes, the desire to walk was really really strong! It took every once of willpower I had to not walk and to deliberatly up my pace. If I run too slowly, it increases my desire to walk. So I need to be at a reasonable pace. And Im not running very fast by far but I need to be moving.This morning, I just didnt have the energy to get moving.
Slowly I increased my pace and the run was better. Still hard but better. Mr. F's announcement that we were more than halfway really surprised me. The first part had drug on so slowly that I figured I had tons of running yet to do.
I spent some time doubling back, per Mr. F's request. I would run ahead of him aways and then turn around, run back toward him and when I reached him, turn back the direction he was going. So I may have covered a bit more distance this way and it encouraged Mr. F -- a win win.
When Mr. F announced the last minute, I was super surprised. Since we had started further along the trail, we were nowhere near the same distance point we normally are at this juncture. So I sped up steadily. Mr. F whizzed on by me (he has a wicked sprint) and then slowed down again. So since i had kept my increased pace steady I was able to finish ahead of him still.
All in all a good run. I have a bit of shin splints starting on my left leg and my muscles are sore. But Im just going to try and take it easy on the rest days and let my body recooperate.
Keep on running
Mrs. F
I could feel the effects of too little sleep and too much junk food from this weekend. So it was hard to start and hard to get moving. For the first five minutes, the desire to walk was really really strong! It took every once of willpower I had to not walk and to deliberatly up my pace. If I run too slowly, it increases my desire to walk. So I need to be at a reasonable pace. And Im not running very fast by far but I need to be moving.This morning, I just didnt have the energy to get moving.
Slowly I increased my pace and the run was better. Still hard but better. Mr. F's announcement that we were more than halfway really surprised me. The first part had drug on so slowly that I figured I had tons of running yet to do.
I spent some time doubling back, per Mr. F's request. I would run ahead of him aways and then turn around, run back toward him and when I reached him, turn back the direction he was going. So I may have covered a bit more distance this way and it encouraged Mr. F -- a win win.
When Mr. F announced the last minute, I was super surprised. Since we had started further along the trail, we were nowhere near the same distance point we normally are at this juncture. So I sped up steadily. Mr. F whizzed on by me (he has a wicked sprint) and then slowed down again. So since i had kept my increased pace steady I was able to finish ahead of him still.
All in all a good run. I have a bit of shin splints starting on my left leg and my muscles are sore. But Im just going to try and take it easy on the rest days and let my body recooperate.
Keep on running
Mrs. F
Day 43 (week 7) - 25 minutes midst downy flake
Well, it's not as if I can claim that today was my first 25 minute run, since that's what we did last Friday. We can, however, note that it was our first run in the snow. We have a full winter weather advisory in effect here, and are likely to have up to 4" by the end of the day. It started snowing during the pre-dawn hours, and by the time we hit the trail, there was already an inch or more on the grassy areas and on some parts of the trail.
This was also my first morning out in my new moisture-wicking polyester and spandex leggings. Isn't it amazing that a fabric tht was so maligned during the 1970s, polyester, has become a primary component in many modern tech-friendly garments? Even more amazing was that I was able to buy a men's XL garment rather than an XXL one, and that's the first time I've been able to do that in about 14 years!
In the aftermath of the morning run, I feel pretty good. The run itself, however, was difficult for me. The shock of the cold during the first few moments was hard to overcome, and I just could not muster the same sustained pace as I had on Friday. For some reason, when we arrived at the trailhead, I was thinking that we were increasing our run time, so we started our warm-up walk headed the other direction down the trail. When it ended, we reversed directions and began our run.
As has been the case on these longer runs, Mrs. F spent most of the time well ahead of me. Only during the first five minutes or so, while she was warming up, was I able to keep pace with her. My double-wrapped knee held out pretty well until near the end, but I'll touch on that in a bit.
Running in the snow presented some challenges. As someone who wears eyeglasses, the precipitation caused them to become unusable not long into the run. As the glasses cooled, and I exhaled into the low, cold breeze, my breath also fogged them up. I ended up taking them off and carrying them in my hand for the rest of the run.
The second challenge had to do with my feet. There was just enough of the wet, sticky snow on the trail for some of it to end up on the top of my shoes on the toe-end. Of course, some of it melted and got my feet wet. Thankfully, I was wearing the socks the folks at Asiscs sent me, and they seemed to wick away most of the moisture. My toes did not begin to feel really cold until after our run was done.
Even though going the other direction for our warm-up walk meant we ran back that distance before starting along our regular path, I could still tell that I covered much less ground. I was going at a very labored pace much earlier, and the half-way announcement came while I still had much trail left ahead of me. Pushing past the half-way point, the front of my left leg, just above my ankle started to cramp up a bit. I played with my pace and pushed on. It stayed like that until I caught sight of Mrs. F, who doubled back for me after reaching the end of this segment of trail. She did much doubling back this time at my request. I just have a much harder time continuing on when she is completely out of sight.
Although I knew I should probably turn around at that point, I was determined to make it to that end of the trail. I slogged on, eventually reaching it before turning back around. We were probably only half-way back along the trail when the final minute announcement came. Mrs. F was well-ahead of me again, but I wanted to finish strong. Whereas I felt exhausted just seconds before, I suddenly found myself flush with adrenaline. I sped up to a full sprint, feeling myself now running only on the balls of my feet and on my toes. I was surprised by how quickly I caught and overcame her, especially since she was pushing hard, too. I sprinted a distance ahead of her and then had second thoughts about being able to maintain the pace through the whole of the final minute. I slowed my pace again, and she soon came by me. Seconds later, the podcast announced the end of the run. I could have kicked myself. I was afraid I had most of that final minute left, when, in reality, I had sprinted for about 45 seconds. Perhaps next time I'll be able to finish that final minute in a full sprint. The feeling of the run while sprinting is so different from the rest of the run. It almost feels like flying.
As soon as we resumed walking, we realized how far we yet had to go to get back to our car. My decision to start going the other direction today cost us an extra five minutes of running during a cold morning snowfall. We quickly re-donned our hats, and Mrs. F put her gloves back on. I zipped my vest shut. Now that we had slowed, we would lose our heat more quickly. Now I noticed that the toes of my right foot were cold. As we continued along, they began to feel colder. At one point, to help shorten the time it would take us to get back to the car, I sped back to a run for a few moments, and the burst of activity helped me to feel warmer again. I could really feel how breathable the shoes really are, however, as those light, meshed surfaces quickly had me feeling the cold again.
I'm hoping that we get a bit of a thaw before Wednesday morning. If it stays cold, our tracks in the trail will freeze (along with any others who are out and about on it while it it still wet). Having frozen track on the trail would make it much more treacherous than just a coating of snow. I've done some looking at treadmills online, but we're still not sure if we want to take that plunge. Neither of us really likes the idea of running on the road, but that might be our only real option once winter really settles in.
Well, I need to get changed so I may bike to work. I'll soon need to swap my tires out for a set of studded ones I got for my birthday. I should be fine for today, however, as the snow is not sticking much to the roads right now.
This was also my first morning out in my new moisture-wicking polyester and spandex leggings. Isn't it amazing that a fabric tht was so maligned during the 1970s, polyester, has become a primary component in many modern tech-friendly garments? Even more amazing was that I was able to buy a men's XL garment rather than an XXL one, and that's the first time I've been able to do that in about 14 years!
In the aftermath of the morning run, I feel pretty good. The run itself, however, was difficult for me. The shock of the cold during the first few moments was hard to overcome, and I just could not muster the same sustained pace as I had on Friday. For some reason, when we arrived at the trailhead, I was thinking that we were increasing our run time, so we started our warm-up walk headed the other direction down the trail. When it ended, we reversed directions and began our run.
As has been the case on these longer runs, Mrs. F spent most of the time well ahead of me. Only during the first five minutes or so, while she was warming up, was I able to keep pace with her. My double-wrapped knee held out pretty well until near the end, but I'll touch on that in a bit.
Running in the snow presented some challenges. As someone who wears eyeglasses, the precipitation caused them to become unusable not long into the run. As the glasses cooled, and I exhaled into the low, cold breeze, my breath also fogged them up. I ended up taking them off and carrying them in my hand for the rest of the run.
The second challenge had to do with my feet. There was just enough of the wet, sticky snow on the trail for some of it to end up on the top of my shoes on the toe-end. Of course, some of it melted and got my feet wet. Thankfully, I was wearing the socks the folks at Asiscs sent me, and they seemed to wick away most of the moisture. My toes did not begin to feel really cold until after our run was done.
Even though going the other direction for our warm-up walk meant we ran back that distance before starting along our regular path, I could still tell that I covered much less ground. I was going at a very labored pace much earlier, and the half-way announcement came while I still had much trail left ahead of me. Pushing past the half-way point, the front of my left leg, just above my ankle started to cramp up a bit. I played with my pace and pushed on. It stayed like that until I caught sight of Mrs. F, who doubled back for me after reaching the end of this segment of trail. She did much doubling back this time at my request. I just have a much harder time continuing on when she is completely out of sight.
Although I knew I should probably turn around at that point, I was determined to make it to that end of the trail. I slogged on, eventually reaching it before turning back around. We were probably only half-way back along the trail when the final minute announcement came. Mrs. F was well-ahead of me again, but I wanted to finish strong. Whereas I felt exhausted just seconds before, I suddenly found myself flush with adrenaline. I sped up to a full sprint, feeling myself now running only on the balls of my feet and on my toes. I was surprised by how quickly I caught and overcame her, especially since she was pushing hard, too. I sprinted a distance ahead of her and then had second thoughts about being able to maintain the pace through the whole of the final minute. I slowed my pace again, and she soon came by me. Seconds later, the podcast announced the end of the run. I could have kicked myself. I was afraid I had most of that final minute left, when, in reality, I had sprinted for about 45 seconds. Perhaps next time I'll be able to finish that final minute in a full sprint. The feeling of the run while sprinting is so different from the rest of the run. It almost feels like flying.
As soon as we resumed walking, we realized how far we yet had to go to get back to our car. My decision to start going the other direction today cost us an extra five minutes of running during a cold morning snowfall. We quickly re-donned our hats, and Mrs. F put her gloves back on. I zipped my vest shut. Now that we had slowed, we would lose our heat more quickly. Now I noticed that the toes of my right foot were cold. As we continued along, they began to feel colder. At one point, to help shorten the time it would take us to get back to the car, I sped back to a run for a few moments, and the burst of activity helped me to feel warmer again. I could really feel how breathable the shoes really are, however, as those light, meshed surfaces quickly had me feeling the cold again.
I'm hoping that we get a bit of a thaw before Wednesday morning. If it stays cold, our tracks in the trail will freeze (along with any others who are out and about on it while it it still wet). Having frozen track on the trail would make it much more treacherous than just a coating of snow. I've done some looking at treadmills online, but we're still not sure if we want to take that plunge. Neither of us really likes the idea of running on the road, but that might be our only real option once winter really settles in.
Well, I need to get changed so I may bike to work. I'll soon need to swap my tires out for a set of studded ones I got for my birthday. I should be fine for today, however, as the snow is not sticking much to the roads right now.
Day 43 - Waking
Well, it's snowing right now. I have a few moment to type before I run this morning because my sugar levels were too low this morning--I was feeling hypoglycemic. I toasted a piece of bread and slathered some peanut butter on it, and took it down with some water. I'm hoping that bit in my stomach won't make for a tough run this morning.
I'll be back later to post after our run in the snow.
I'll be back later to post after our run in the snow.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Day 42 - Getting ready for Week 7
I'll echo what Mrs. F wrote. While it was great to catch up with an old friend, I'm feeling the impact of shorter nights of rest, too. My left knee still hints at the trouble I had over the past couple of weeks, but it's not too bad. I'll still wrap it in the morning, just to play it safe.
The forecast for tonight and into the morning is actually for the first winter storm of the season. We're expecting up to 1"-2" of snow by morning, and perhaps 3" by the afternoon. We're still planning to run outside. I picked up a set of wicking compression leggings this afternoon, to help keep my legs warmer. I'm hoping that warmer legs will translate to a little less muscle strain as we run. Anyway, here is the plan for this week:
Week 7
Things are a little too crazy here for me to write any more right now. We'll see what the morning brings.
The forecast for tonight and into the morning is actually for the first winter storm of the season. We're expecting up to 1"-2" of snow by morning, and perhaps 3" by the afternoon. We're still planning to run outside. I picked up a set of wicking compression leggings this afternoon, to help keep my legs warmer. I'm hoping that warmer legs will translate to a little less muscle strain as we run. Anyway, here is the plan for this week:
Week 7
- 5 minute warm-up walk
- 25 minute run
Things are a little too crazy here for me to write any more right now. We'll see what the morning brings.
Day 42 (Mrs. F)
Im tired. Late nights with company in town are fast catching up to me. No real pain just some minor muscle aches. Im hoping to hit bed early tonite. Its really easy to increase your sleep debt and really hard to get caught back up!
I still cannot believe that I have completed 6 full weeks of this program. I hated running and now I find myself "wanting" to run. How crazy is that! I find myself telling anyone and everyone who will listen to my story. Im excited and i love sharing how this really has changed my outlook on running.
Its even more amazing to me that I have inspired others to start this journey. I couldnt even have dreamed of that occuring from something I started.
This will be the first week that Mr. F and I will be running apart on one day. He will be out of town on Friday, so we will both complete our workout on our own. The good part is its a timed run rather than intervals, so it shouldnt be hard to keep track of time with a borrowed watch. Although it just seems harder to accomplish on my own.
Week 7, here I come~
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
I still cannot believe that I have completed 6 full weeks of this program. I hated running and now I find myself "wanting" to run. How crazy is that! I find myself telling anyone and everyone who will listen to my story. Im excited and i love sharing how this really has changed my outlook on running.
Its even more amazing to me that I have inspired others to start this journey. I couldnt even have dreamed of that occuring from something I started.
This will be the first week that Mr. F and I will be running apart on one day. He will be out of town on Friday, so we will both complete our workout on our own. The good part is its a timed run rather than intervals, so it shouldnt be hard to keep track of time with a borrowed watch. Although it just seems harder to accomplish on my own.
Week 7, here I come~
Keep on running,
Mrs. F
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
