2012: My Year On The Run

Not A Running Day

tiredmama — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:21:28 +0000

So, today isn’t a running day. I let Jillian put me through my paces instead. It was definitely a good workout.

My BIG NEWS today is that I lost 20# in the last 6 weeks!!! I’m really excited. I think that change in my body is making it easier and more motivating for me to run, too.

(I wish that I could reward myself with the Boston 13.1! That would be fantastic! )

Training Day #16

tiredmama — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:39:02 +0000

Week 1, Day 1 (Personal Running Trainer “8 weeks to 5K” program)

What a beautiful day for a run!

I was itching all morning to get out for my run. I couldn’t wait to get my daughter home from school to get out on the road. (Those feelings did NOT exist in my body 5 weeks ago!)

This week seems much easier to me than the last two. The walking vs. running ratio is heavily weighted to the walking side this week, but that’s OK. The mileage that I covered definitely increased. That felt good. I’m looking forward to Friday.

(Since I was running “less” today, I tried to be very mindful of how I was running – foot strike, side-to-side and up-and-down movement, posture, etc. I think that Body Pump is definitely helping my running posture! Awesome!)

BodyPumping

tiredmama — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:13:25 +0000

I BodyPumped today. (Yes, I turned Body Pump into a verb!) I decided to kick the weights up a notch. Oh boy, what a workout! I’m thinking that I will be a bit sore tomorrow for my first day on the “8 week to 5K” program, but I feel so happy about the work. Woo hoo! I can definitely feel the change in my body. I feel stronger, happier, faster, and just better. I am SO excited!

Training Day #15

tiredmama — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:30:49 +0000

PRT Repeat of Week 4, Day 3 (one last time).

I was kind of concerned about my run today. Wondering whether or not I should actually get my butt out there and do it.

You see, my son was up at 1:30am and stayed up. I had moved out to our couch once he was up. He would let me barely fall asleep in-between asking me to repeat what he said, acknowledge his new Lego creation, or change the channel on the TV. I am super excited that he wants to include me in what is important to him (as we fought for that for so long). I just wish it wasn’t happening in the middle of the night. (One step at a time, right?!?)

Anyway, before leaving for my run, I was so tired that I felt as though I could fall asleep while on the move. I wasn’t feeling overly motivated and pretty sure that my body would demand a walking segment during my run today.

It didn’t. I actually felt fantastic when running. I finished my mile and felt like I could actually do more. Seriously?!? I’m pretty excited. What a feeling of accomplishment!

I can’t wait to start the Personal Running Trainer “8weeks to 5K” program on Wednesday. I finally feel ready for it!

Trying To Make THIS Happen

tiredmama — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:39:33 +0000

On Tuesday, I received a link to this post on Facebook. I read it and thought that it was a super cool idea, but way beyond what I was planning for myself this year. My plan included running a half-marathon in November, not September, and my mind immediately ruled out the thought of participating.

A few hours later, I reread the post and my mind started doing the math and figured that this wasn’t impossible, even for me to run a 13.1 in September. So it became a lingering thought in the back of my mind.

Tuesday night, I read the post yet again. This time I pondered actually meeting some of the people who I have “met” out here in the blog universe. Some of these bloggers, who I can’t wait to read daily, will be there. At that race. I could have the chance to have dinner with them the night before the race. How awesome would THAT be?!? And I could run in honor of my totally fantastic son.

My mind has become somewhat obsessed with trying to find a way to make this happen. The biggest obstacles for me would be the cost of getting there and the hotel. From what I was pricing out last night, I would need to fall into an extra $600 to cover those expenses. (Besides trying to figure out how to cover care for the children, etc. for two days.)

I haven’t totally ruled this race and cause out yet. I would LOVE to make this happen. We’ll see. Miracles do happen everyday.

Training Day #14+

tiredmama — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:55:05 +0000

Repeat of Week 4, Day 3. I treadmill ran this morning and did OK. I felt really tired by the last tenth of a mile. Maybe it was because I went to an hour-long Body Pump class first?!? I couldn’t help myself and this instructor pushed a bit more than the Tuesday instructor. Oh well, I survived, but now I just really want to nap…

You know what? I’m actually looking forward to start training for the 5K next week. I never thought that would happen to me!

Actual Training Day #13

tiredmama — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:15:12 +0000

OK. So yesterday turned into a dud of a day, training-wise, but I did get lots of rest. I still wasn’t feeling 100% when I got up this morning, but good enough to go about my “normal” Thursday morning routine.

We have been blessed with another beautifully warm and sunny February day in Wisconsin. I had to get out and run. I was glad to be back out, but still not feeling the greatest. I ended up throwing an unplanned 45-sec. walk into the middle of my run, but my body thanked me by allowing a pace-pickup after my stroll.

I have my next run scheduled for tomorrow. I’m hoping to feel even better by then.

Supposed to be Training Day #13

tiredmama — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:46:42 +0000

My kids had the flu a couple of weeks ago. Monday night, between my inability to sleep and my son being awake, I maybe pulled in an hour of sleep total. Today, when I woke up, my stomach was in knots. My head felt like it was in a vise grip. My eyes were super sensitive to light. I was exhausted after just packing my son’s lunch. I spent most of the morning and much of the afternoon curled up on the couch sleeping and too scared to be away from a bathroom for any given length of time.

It is absolutely gorgeous outside today. 40+ degrees. Sunny. Beautifully warm. Ice/snow on the road melted. It pains me not to be out there running, yet at the same time I’m not sure how long I would make it without passing out or needing the facilities. What do other runners do when they’re sick? Take the day off or push through it???

I hope that I am feeling better tomorrow and can makeup my run then. I guess I’ll have to wait and see what tomorrow holds.

Body Pumping Tuesday

tiredmama — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:41:11 +0000

This morning was my Body Pump class.

It kicked my butt. In a good way.

I am curious to see if I will be sore tomorrow or not. I put more weight on the bar this week and I could definitely tell by the end of class. I can still feel it in my shoulders.

I am eager for my run tomorrow. Repeating Week 4, Day 3. I feel ready.

Training Day #12

tiredmama — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:48:09 +0000

Week 4, Day 3. (No blizzard. Thank goodness!)

Final Day of the “4weeks to 1 mile” training program with the Personal Running Trainer. Guess what that means … that’s right, I ran a mile nonstop! Yippee!

I have to say that it wasn’t my easiest run today. I was very winded when I was done, but I did it and it didn’t take long during my cooldown walk to calm my body back down to my regular breath and heartrate.

My plan for my three running days next week is just to keep at this 1 mile (running week4, day3 every day), running it straight through with no breaks. I am hoping that each of these runs will become a bit easier than the one before.

I am definitely feeling much healthier. That, in and of itself, means the world to me.