I've been thinking a lot about running and what my goals are and how I'm going to achieve those goals. I am now 3 weeks postpartum which means I've got just over 3 more weeks until I am cleared for running again and I want to use these next few weeks to come up with a clear plan. Here are some things that I've been thinking about:
First, running long distances is not the healthiest form of exercise. There is a lot of research about how hard on your body running is and the problems with "chronic cardio." I really love the race environment and having a goal such as a race to train for and look forward to. My thoughts right now are that maybe I will work on walk/jogging a half and then full marathon. I think that by purposefully adding walking to my runs I'll feel less like I've failed when I need to walk during a race and my training will be a lot less taxing on my body. I'm thinking of doing the Cowtown half in February 2014 and then the full the following year, 2015, which would give me plenty of time to train without overdoing it. It also means that most of the training would take place during the cooler months rather than the heat of summer.
Second, I really want to lift weights but have no idea where to begin. I'm going to think about this some more and perhaps look to see what the personal training options are at the gym on campus. I don't want to do the machines, I want to learn to lift weights for real in the "boy" section of the gym :)
So, right now I'm still thinking and plotting but I know that I need to have a goal or the only exercise I'll get will be walking from my office to the classroom!
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Back From a Blogging Hiatus
I'm back! No, I'm not back as a part of a New Years Resolution but because I finally have some energy back! Here's the brief update on what's been going on.
In mid-July we took a trip to the East Coast to visit friends and some historical sites. We made it to Annapolis (and the Naval Academy), Baltimore for an Orioles game, Gettysburg, Penn State (The husbands alma mater), and DC for a great day of sight seeing and a Nationals game. It was quite the whirlwind but so worth it!
We were home for about 3 weeks before we hit up the West coast with a trip to San Fran and a Giants game, a visit with my parents in NorCal before heading to Denver for a Sociology conference and to get the Rockies checked off our list. It was another great trip but it wiped me out and by the time we got home it was time to get ready for the school year.
September was full of college football, teaching and organizing small group activities. In October we found out that we are having a baby! I am due around June 28th! Around the end of October I started suffering from morning sickness and am just now coming out of the fog.
At the end of October I took a trip to Portland to celebrate a food friend and her upcoming wedding.
In November my grandfather passed away which left quite a gap in our family, he is greatly missed but we are so glad that he is no longer suffering. Unfortunately I couldn't make it back to California for the funeral but I am thankful that we got to see him in August.
Also in November I took a student to present a paper in Phoenix, so much fun but a little crazy since we presented our research and then I flew to Seattle for a wedding. I was in Washington for about 16 hours and managed to lose my license while there which made getting home exciting!
We celebrated Thanksgiving at home just the two of us and I spent most of the time laying on the couch trying not to throw up. I also got to see my baby and hear its heart beat, it was simply amazing and made it feel so real!
I managed to finish up the semester only canceling one day of classes and then we headed to NorCal to visit my family for the holidays. Tomorrow we head down to SoCal to visit friends and more family. We will get back to Texas just in time for the new year.
Through all of the craziness my eating and running have been terrible. For the last 8 weeks meat has repulsed me and nothin has sounded good. Now that I'm starting to feel better we are planning to meal plan again and eat foods that will nourish the baby and me.
Obviously, I didn't run a marathon at 6 weeks pregnant but I am looking ahead to next year after the baby is born and what my running goals will be. I'm definitely putting a BOB jogging stroller on our registry. For now my plan is walking and swimming now that I'm feeling better.
So, that's what's been going on here!
In mid-July we took a trip to the East Coast to visit friends and some historical sites. We made it to Annapolis (and the Naval Academy), Baltimore for an Orioles game, Gettysburg, Penn State (The husbands alma mater), and DC for a great day of sight seeing and a Nationals game. It was quite the whirlwind but so worth it!
We were home for about 3 weeks before we hit up the West coast with a trip to San Fran and a Giants game, a visit with my parents in NorCal before heading to Denver for a Sociology conference and to get the Rockies checked off our list. It was another great trip but it wiped me out and by the time we got home it was time to get ready for the school year.
September was full of college football, teaching and organizing small group activities. In October we found out that we are having a baby! I am due around June 28th! Around the end of October I started suffering from morning sickness and am just now coming out of the fog.
At the end of October I took a trip to Portland to celebrate a food friend and her upcoming wedding.
In November my grandfather passed away which left quite a gap in our family, he is greatly missed but we are so glad that he is no longer suffering. Unfortunately I couldn't make it back to California for the funeral but I am thankful that we got to see him in August.
Also in November I took a student to present a paper in Phoenix, so much fun but a little crazy since we presented our research and then I flew to Seattle for a wedding. I was in Washington for about 16 hours and managed to lose my license while there which made getting home exciting!
We celebrated Thanksgiving at home just the two of us and I spent most of the time laying on the couch trying not to throw up. I also got to see my baby and hear its heart beat, it was simply amazing and made it feel so real!
I managed to finish up the semester only canceling one day of classes and then we headed to NorCal to visit my family for the holidays. Tomorrow we head down to SoCal to visit friends and more family. We will get back to Texas just in time for the new year.
Through all of the craziness my eating and running have been terrible. For the last 8 weeks meat has repulsed me and nothin has sounded good. Now that I'm starting to feel better we are planning to meal plan again and eat foods that will nourish the baby and me.
Obviously, I didn't run a marathon at 6 weeks pregnant but I am looking ahead to next year after the baby is born and what my running goals will be. I'm definitely putting a BOB jogging stroller on our registry. For now my plan is walking and swimming now that I'm feeling better.
So, that's what's been going on here!
Friday, March 2, 2012
A Paleolithic Update
One of my 12 goals for the year was to go paleo, to attempt to eat like a cavewoman. So, how's that working out? Very well, thanks for asking! I have been living a primarily starch-free, dairy-free, legume-free life for over two months and I feel terrific. I also recently gave up soda for the lenten season which means I've cut out artificial sweeteners almost entirely as well. Since the New Year I have lost 13 pounds, my clothes are fitting better and I'm no longer getting the crazy sugar highs and lows.
One of the biggest comments I get from those around me is "so, what do you eat?" Well, a typical day of food starts with a frozen strawberry, pineapple and coconut milk smoothie. Today I put some orange flavored fish oil in it which sounds disgusting but it really has no flavor at all, high quality fish oil is expensive but it doesn't give you the nasty fish burps. For lunch I have a few hard boiled eggs, carrots and celery, an apple with some almond butter, an orange or other fruit and maybe some cashews or a Lara bar. I usually spread my lunch items out over the course of a few hours. For dinner I have a little more variety, last night we had salad with meatloaf. Sometimes we have chicken breasts cooked in bacon grease or perhaps an omelet with veggies and bacon or sausage. All of our food is organic and our meat and eggs are grass-fed and/or free-range. I drink a lot of water and unsweetened iced tea throughout my day and a lot of times I end my day with some dried fruit for a bit of sweetness. So, basically, I eat normal foods that most people eat but I leave out the extra filler.
Some interesting things that I've made recently have been some banana muffins (using almond flour and super sweet bananas), strawberry coconut ice cream, and almond chocolate chip "cookies." It's been fun experimenting with my food again.
I'll be honest, I have eaten some non-paleo foods in the last 2 months including ice cream (my biggest weakness), pizza, and a McD's burger and I do notice a difference. When I eat sugary, dairy laden, gluten-filled foods I feel sick and yucky so I try not to eat them.
In addition to eating a different way I've also been trying to get enough sleep. There is no such things as going to bed too early. I'd like to get to a point where I can go to sleep and wake up naturally with no alarm. I managed to do it last night by going to bed around 9:30 and waking up just before 7 this morning. That's a lot of sleep but I must have needed it :)
My next step is to work on the work outs. I've been "training" for my marathon and so my focus has been running and cardio. My next fitness goal is going to be to do a real push up, on my toes and not my knees. I'd also like to do a pull-up some day. I'll still run but I'm going to focus on shorter distances like 5k's and only one half marathon this year.
Life is good!
One of the biggest comments I get from those around me is "so, what do you eat?" Well, a typical day of food starts with a frozen strawberry, pineapple and coconut milk smoothie. Today I put some orange flavored fish oil in it which sounds disgusting but it really has no flavor at all, high quality fish oil is expensive but it doesn't give you the nasty fish burps. For lunch I have a few hard boiled eggs, carrots and celery, an apple with some almond butter, an orange or other fruit and maybe some cashews or a Lara bar. I usually spread my lunch items out over the course of a few hours. For dinner I have a little more variety, last night we had salad with meatloaf. Sometimes we have chicken breasts cooked in bacon grease or perhaps an omelet with veggies and bacon or sausage. All of our food is organic and our meat and eggs are grass-fed and/or free-range. I drink a lot of water and unsweetened iced tea throughout my day and a lot of times I end my day with some dried fruit for a bit of sweetness. So, basically, I eat normal foods that most people eat but I leave out the extra filler.
Some interesting things that I've made recently have been some banana muffins (using almond flour and super sweet bananas), strawberry coconut ice cream, and almond chocolate chip "cookies." It's been fun experimenting with my food again.
I'll be honest, I have eaten some non-paleo foods in the last 2 months including ice cream (my biggest weakness), pizza, and a McD's burger and I do notice a difference. When I eat sugary, dairy laden, gluten-filled foods I feel sick and yucky so I try not to eat them.
In addition to eating a different way I've also been trying to get enough sleep. There is no such things as going to bed too early. I'd like to get to a point where I can go to sleep and wake up naturally with no alarm. I managed to do it last night by going to bed around 9:30 and waking up just before 7 this morning. That's a lot of sleep but I must have needed it :)
My next step is to work on the work outs. I've been "training" for my marathon and so my focus has been running and cardio. My next fitness goal is going to be to do a real push up, on my toes and not my knees. I'd also like to do a pull-up some day. I'll still run but I'm going to focus on shorter distances like 5k's and only one half marathon this year.
Life is good!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Marathon Training
As I was thinking about what to write and I had a number of ideas, a recap of the first week of classes, my experience eating pizza after 20 days gluten and mostly dairy free, but then I thought what I really need to write about is my marathon training. Or, my lack of training if you want to get all technical.
I took a hiatus with the crazy short course and then the first week craziness. Yesterday was my first run in more than 2 weeks. I went to the gym and ran into a fellow runner and we went up to the track and pounded out 2 1/2 miles and it felt like the time flew by. Seriously, having a running buddy is the best thing on earth. We just chitchatted the entire time and the next thing I knew I had to stop and get back to my office for a meeting. It was also the first time I have ever run where I didn't keep track of time or distance. Our time was around 30 minutes based on when we started and stopped (although, I wasn't keeping track) and I didn't count laps but I felt like I was keeping a good 12 minute/mile pace.
It felt rather freeing to just go for a run, to not think about how far or how long I wanted to run but to actually enjoy it again. This is what gets me excited for the Catalina marathon, I get to run it with my California running buddy. I'm hopeful that we'll fall into our old pace and be able to talk and enjoy the race together but that's only going to happen if I put in the time and work into my training. If I don't train then I won't be able to keep up and once again I'll be running on my own and that is not the experience I want to have with this race.
Thankfully I now have a running buddy for my shorter runs. I still don't have one for the long runs but I'll manage. This afternoon I'll head back to the gym for another easy two miles or so and some weight training and then tomorrow morning I have a date for a 4 mile run outside around the campus. I am thankful to have a running buddy and to be running the race with a friend.
I took a hiatus with the crazy short course and then the first week craziness. Yesterday was my first run in more than 2 weeks. I went to the gym and ran into a fellow runner and we went up to the track and pounded out 2 1/2 miles and it felt like the time flew by. Seriously, having a running buddy is the best thing on earth. We just chitchatted the entire time and the next thing I knew I had to stop and get back to my office for a meeting. It was also the first time I have ever run where I didn't keep track of time or distance. Our time was around 30 minutes based on when we started and stopped (although, I wasn't keeping track) and I didn't count laps but I felt like I was keeping a good 12 minute/mile pace.
It felt rather freeing to just go for a run, to not think about how far or how long I wanted to run but to actually enjoy it again. This is what gets me excited for the Catalina marathon, I get to run it with my California running buddy. I'm hopeful that we'll fall into our old pace and be able to talk and enjoy the race together but that's only going to happen if I put in the time and work into my training. If I don't train then I won't be able to keep up and once again I'll be running on my own and that is not the experience I want to have with this race.
Thankfully I now have a running buddy for my shorter runs. I still don't have one for the long runs but I'll manage. This afternoon I'll head back to the gym for another easy two miles or so and some weight training and then tomorrow morning I have a date for a 4 mile run outside around the campus. I am thankful to have a running buddy and to be running the race with a friend.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
I must be out of my mind!
I just paid $125 to run 26.2 miles. That sounds ridiculous, why do I need to pay someone so that I can run? Crazy right? Well, I did it. I put my money where my mouth is and now I'm really doing it. I've been talking about it all year, I even posted a nifty little running plan on this here blog but now it's real.
You may have noticed that many of my runs have been red lately, I've not been keeping up with my training schedule. Oh, I've been working out, Zumba, Step, boot camp, I just haven't been running. Well, the excuses stop here. I'm going to get back on track this week starting tonight with a run before bed and then I'll keep the momentum going until the big day, November 13th.
You may have noticed that many of my runs have been red lately, I've not been keeping up with my training schedule. Oh, I've been working out, Zumba, Step, boot camp, I just haven't been running. Well, the excuses stop here. I'm going to get back on track this week starting tonight with a run before bed and then I'll keep the momentum going until the big day, November 13th.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Weekly Weigh-in
Starting weight: 212.6
Last week (3/15): 190.2
This week (3/22): 189.6
Change: -0.6
Total change: -23.0
This week I stayed on plan very carefully and decided to try an experiment and not eat all of the activity points that I earned so that I would still have a calorie deficit for the week. I ended up eating my 49 weeklies but only 4 of the 51 activity points that I earned through all of my running. As a result I saw a little more than a half pound, the loss isn't as much as I would have liked but I'm very happy to finally be heading in the right direction!
This week I am gearing up for the Great Race, 13.1 miles! My only concern is that it's been rainy this weekend and that means the trails are going to be super muddy and it's going to be a tough run. I'm going to eat for fuel again this week and follow my hunger cues, I will bust through this plateau!
Suzie :-)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The stress of writing a dissertation
Maybe I should have stuck with my original plan to be an elementary school teacher. Yeah, the hours are terrible, the work is hard and the pay is just okay but man, I would have been done with school about 5 years ago. That's 5 years that I could have been earning an income rather than racking up the debt. I need to stop thinking about it though, I chose the path I chose and I just need to finish the race that I started over 6 years ago. I guess that if I hadn't chosen grad school and a PhD I would never have met my husband or my best friends. I probably wouldn't live in the Los Angeles area either. It's interesting what an impact that one decision that I made 7 years ago has had on my life.
Right now, I sort of wish that I had made a different choice or at least chosen to stay in Indiana rather than move while I'm still trying to finish up my dissertation. But, that's not the choice I made and now I'm struggling because of that choice. I am trying to work on my current round of revisions but I just don't want to, I don't care about this line of research anymore. I want to do other things with my career! Anyway, I guess I should turn my thinking around and get this done so that I can do those things. The quicker I get through these revisions the sooner I'll be able to move on with my research. Yeah, that's it, finish quickly so that I can move on.
Speaking of moving on, I applied for the visiting professor job. They finally approved the budget for it and I took in my application materials. Now I'm just waiting to hear whether or not I'll get to interview for the job. I really want this job. I want to teach, even if it is a lot of intro. I want to be back in the classroom interacting with students again.
Another thing that I want that really has nothing to do with my dissertation is to run another half marathon. I'm thinking Long Beach or the other Dreamin' series race in SoCal. I think I can do it and I really want something to train for. It's hard though when I can't really afford to buy new running shoes or sports bras. I know that the training will help relieve stress and make me feel better though. I'm going to start small and build up to it. It will also help me with my weight loss goals which have really stalled the last few months. I'm working on it though and I know that it will all come together soon.
Right now, I sort of wish that I had made a different choice or at least chosen to stay in Indiana rather than move while I'm still trying to finish up my dissertation. But, that's not the choice I made and now I'm struggling because of that choice. I am trying to work on my current round of revisions but I just don't want to, I don't care about this line of research anymore. I want to do other things with my career! Anyway, I guess I should turn my thinking around and get this done so that I can do those things. The quicker I get through these revisions the sooner I'll be able to move on with my research. Yeah, that's it, finish quickly so that I can move on.
Speaking of moving on, I applied for the visiting professor job. They finally approved the budget for it and I took in my application materials. Now I'm just waiting to hear whether or not I'll get to interview for the job. I really want this job. I want to teach, even if it is a lot of intro. I want to be back in the classroom interacting with students again.
Another thing that I want that really has nothing to do with my dissertation is to run another half marathon. I'm thinking Long Beach or the other Dreamin' series race in SoCal. I think I can do it and I really want something to train for. It's hard though when I can't really afford to buy new running shoes or sports bras. I know that the training will help relieve stress and make me feel better though. I'm going to start small and build up to it. It will also help me with my weight loss goals which have really stalled the last few months. I'm working on it though and I know that it will all come together soon.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Half-Marathon Training
Okay, so, now with all of the updates out of the way here is what I really want to talk about: training. I am signed up for several events this fall that require lots of training. The first is a half-marathon. I'd like to complete the Long Beach half-marathon in 2 hours and 30 minutes. It took me 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete the Indy 500 mini. Terrible, I was basically hobbling over the finish line because I hadn't been training properly. This time I want to do it right. So, I am going to run 3 miles 3 days a week and have a long run on Saturday that starts with 4 miles and each week I'll increase the long run until it is 13 or 14 miles. I need to pay extra attention to my hips and knees to make sure that I don't have an injury flare up.
The second event that I am training for is the Breast Cancer 3-day in San Diego in November. In this event I will walk 60 miles over the course of three days. I'm very excited about it and am particularly happy that I won't have to do it alone this year. I'm not sure how to fit in the walking and running but I think that if I train for the half-marathon with a few long walking hikes thrown in I should be okay. I'll talk to the track coach about that to see if he has any advice. I really need to get some running shoes but am short on cash so I hope to get a few bucks for my birthday so that I can go to the running store. I also need walking shoes as well. Goodness, this is all so expensive!
My ultimate goal is to be in a place where people think of me when they are putting together a relay team, I'd like for my running friends to think "we need another team member, do you think Suzie would do it?" and not laugh :) I want to be a runner and while I will never be fast I want people to take my running seriously. Right now I often feel like they are thinking "yeah, right, she didn't really run a half-marathon!" Wow, that's pathetic! I doubt my friends think that at all, if they do they aren't very good friends.
The second event that I am training for is the Breast Cancer 3-day in San Diego in November. In this event I will walk 60 miles over the course of three days. I'm very excited about it and am particularly happy that I won't have to do it alone this year. I'm not sure how to fit in the walking and running but I think that if I train for the half-marathon with a few long walking hikes thrown in I should be okay. I'll talk to the track coach about that to see if he has any advice. I really need to get some running shoes but am short on cash so I hope to get a few bucks for my birthday so that I can go to the running store. I also need walking shoes as well. Goodness, this is all so expensive!
My ultimate goal is to be in a place where people think of me when they are putting together a relay team, I'd like for my running friends to think "we need another team member, do you think Suzie would do it?" and not laugh :) I want to be a runner and while I will never be fast I want people to take my running seriously. Right now I often feel like they are thinking "yeah, right, she didn't really run a half-marathon!" Wow, that's pathetic! I doubt my friends think that at all, if they do they aren't very good friends.
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