Running: An Update

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UGH. It seems like Oklahoma has transitioned from winter to summer in about 0-60. We bypassed spring completely. And I don’t care for it one bit.

I hate to admit it but since my 5k last month my running progress has not progressed at all. In the last couple weeks it seems like the universe had intervened, canceling Zumba classes on me and detouring me to the mechanics when I originally planned on going to yoga. Now summer has come to OK it’s really th rowing me off my game.

My ideal running temperature is between 40-60 degrees. I can tolerate mid sixties. But when I woke up this morning half past seven it was already in the seventies. Yesterday was so muggy out I felt as if I had stepped into a rainforest as soon as I went outside. It made me nervous, uncomfortable and apprehensive to run. So I didn’t.

But I did today. And at first it was good. There was a good breeze and for a few minutes I felt as if I was able to do it and that running int he summer may turn out to be so terrible after all. Until I got about ten minutes in.

You see, I cannot stand running with the sun on my face. It’s as if I’m being mocked. Also, I have one fitness tank top and the way it’s made kills me. It’s a Danskin, gift from my Mom. One of those with a built-in bra but I feel like if you’re planning on exerting more effort than restorative yoga requires you should find a different top. So I double up and put a sports bra on but now the dual elastic cuts into me. I can’t breathe as deep as I’m used to. I try to pull the tank top elastic down but then it cuts into my ribs. Very uncomfortable.

So I had that going for me and I felt defeated already. Not to mention that halfway through my run, as I’m struggling to breathe out of nowhere this fitness model runner comes barreling towards me. She’s in the tight, spandex Nike shorts, only a sports bra and shoes. And she’s running like crazy. I’m talking speed demon. Which made me feel like a complete and total fraud in my too tight pink tank top, red OU shorts and purple/grey shoes. Not a cute look. But hey, I didn’t care, I told myself when I went out this morning. I’m going out for a run and not a fashion show.

Now that I felt absolutely terrible about myself I trotted and dragged myself home, trying not to look at my paunchy stomach.

I understand that running in the summer will only enhance my running over all. That once fall comes around and the temperatures drop that all the summer running I did will make fall running a breeze, but it’s really daunting to me. I’m having a hard time finding a right time to run. When I get off of work it’s well into the high eighties now and I already wake up a five in the morning to leave for work by 7:15. I can’t wake up any earlier. Plus, I’m afraid of getting hit in the dark. I hear the cars speed down my street in the early mornings. I suppose I could join an air-conditioned gym but alas, no money. Or I could go to each gym in the neighborhood and use their free one-week pass in hopes of not getting found out. I wonder if I can wake up an hour later during the week and then use that extra hour to wake up earlier on the weekends.

I don’t know what I’m going to end up doing. All I know is that I’m going to keep pushing. Somehow.

The 5K: A Review

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It finally happened, my 5K was last Saturday. Now, I’ve been telling myself for years now that I’d run a 5K. And why not? They’re not terribly long, don’t require an excessive amount of training and it’s something feasible like you can just wake up one morning and sign up for next week’s charitable 5K event.

Or so that’s what I thought.

I am not a runner. Or, well, I suppose I was not a runner. Am I now? What is the definition of a runner? Anyway, what I mean is I’m not a runner in the sense that I can wake up one day and just decide to go out and run five, six, seven miles. I wish I could. I envy my friends that can. When I bartended there was a guy that would come in and smoke and drink all week then run on the weekends. If only.

I had run 3.2 miles before, on treadmills and such. A few years ago when I had a gym membership I trained (i.e. forced) myself to treadmill it to 3.2 miles, each time trying to do it faster and faster. It didn’t last. Nor did it work for when I tried to run outdoors.

Back in February, a few weeks after I began the C25K program I had booked myself a trip out to RI to visit my best friend. “Do you want to run a 5K while you’re here?” she asked. Did I ever. Before my nerves got the best of me I signed up online and registered for the event. I had it all figured out, by the time my C25K program was over I’d be running my first official 5K a few short weeks later.

S and me before the race

The event was in Providence, held at a gorgeous park and the weather couldn’t have been better. It was in the low sixties and sunny with a nice breeze. The event itself was a tad unorganized…the “start” area wasn’t very clearly marked and for awhile we stood around, hoping we were in the right place. The route itself was hilly. Afterwards I heard people commenting on how tough of a course they thought it was. Given that I’m not too familiar with the Providence terrain I had nothing to go off of other than thinking “there is a bit more elevation difference than back home”.

But either way I felt I finished strong. At the beginning I was intimidated and unsure. We were standing near the front of the starting line, next to the college kids in running groups. But after while everyone paced out and I felt good. My chest/ribs didn’t hurt like they had been lately and my legs felt strong. I used the hills to my advantage, taking giant horse strides and I probably pissed some people off as I weaved from one side of the road to the other in order to get the inside corner.

The race’s mile markers were hard to see. I didn’t see any, Sierra saw one on a water table (mile 2) so that was difficult for me in trying to keep a pace. I looked at my watch when it said 18 minutes and I had no idea how far I had left to go. All I could go by was that if I was at home I would be a little more than halfway through.

I did end up walking about a total of 3 minutes. In the end that bit me in the ass as I came into view of the finish line and saw the race clock at 29:54. If only I didn’t take those walking breaks I could have gotten in in under 30 minutes (my actual time was 30:06).

All in all it was a great time and I was really proud of myself. Right before the race began I was asked if I was an “avid runner”. Avid, me? Oh no. No, no. no. After the race she came by and told me how well I ran and how she used me as motivation during the race. I was extremely flattered. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.

My headband fell off (they always do) and I was wearing two shirts, but I did it. And I’ll do it again.

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What I did today

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I really wanted to run yesterday but had already signed up to go to yoga class after work. So I skipped Zumba tonight and I ended up running 3.8 miles and increased my pace by at least 1 minute.  Soon I’ll have to find a way to extend my route. And all I kept thinking about was the little boy waiting for his dad to cross the finish line. I also thought about all those people who trained so hard for yesterday. All the Saturday mornings dedicated to running, all the invites that were turned down in order to train. I thought about those runners who were running the marathon for the first time and those who hadn’t finished yet and didn’t know what to do. You train so hard and then the finish line is taken away from you? All these people wanted to do was run. That’s it. They wanted to run for 26.2 miles and their families and friends wanted to be there to support them.

Week 9 Day 3

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Written on Saturday, April 6, 2013:

This morning I finished my Couch 2 5k program! I woke up at seven in the morning which was odd but then again I went to bed the night before at ten so maybe I’m just getting old.. . .? But when I woke up all I could think about was going for my run. I’ve had that feeling before and I’ve ignored it and waited until later in the day; and we all know how well that turned out. So I checked the weather (a brisk 54 degrees) and by seven thirty I was out the door for my five minute warm up.

There have been very few moments as an adult when I’ve been outside in the morning for non-work related purposes. I always forget how much I enjoy a nice spring and summer morning until I’m actually out and about and can smell the new day in the air. Breathing in, the air reminded me of moments from my childhood, though I couldn’t place it at the time. Something to do with spending time with my family, particularly with my Dad…I have a feeling it’s back from when we would go camping in the summer. When we would wake up in the morning, the fresh day and when nobody else is awake around you. I didn’t see anyone else out until the last five minutes of my run. By the time I turned the corner for my cool down I saw people coming out of their houses walking their dogs and such, but not before.

Though I had a good run, I took it more leisurely than I had intended and finished about twenty seconds slower than I did on Wednesday. I’m not sure if perhaps subconsciously I wanted to have a nice, slow, rewarding jog for all the hard work I put in the least nine weeks or what but it was a little disappointing to realize that I wouldn’t be finishing my thirty minutes with an improved distance like I had on Wednesday.

The next day:

I woke up with absolutely no urge to run. Feeling approximately about the exact opposite as I did yesterday. Then I ate some cookies and a brownie and had even more of an urge not to run. It seems as though now that I have finished the C25K program I have no ambition/urge to go outside. Ugh, but I know I will. Even if I repeat and do one of the small walk/run combos.

On another note, I picked this up over the weekend:
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I read the book last weekend on my Kindle and had to have a copy for myself. Now my Mom will be getting a copy for herself for Mother’s Day next month. Because that’s what I do.

C25K Week 9 Day1

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Here I am. Hard to believe that nine weeks ago it was February and I was jogging with walking intervals for twenty some minutes. Now this morning I finished my first 30 minute jog.

As per my journal:

“…it was a good, decent jog. for the first time in a week.I haven’t felt that good about a jog since last Sunday when I went out with E and Liz and did 28 minutes. I wore my old shoes this time and I went out early in the morning when the temperature was still low from the early morning thunderstorm. What I’ll probably do for the rest of the week is yoga tomorrow, a jog/walk interval on Tuesday, a thirty minute jog on Wednesday, a jog/walk interval on Thursday, rest on Friday and my last thirty minute jog on Saturday morning. And then I’m done. It’s crazy, to think that two months have gone by already. Well, nine weeks. That I started this in February. To think back on all the good jogs and the bad jogs. When I hated my life for jogging thirteen, fifteen and then eighteen minutes in a row. Those stretches that felt like a lifetime. Today I jogged clear down Berry from Main to Robinson. That itself is a mile. Then instead of turning off to a side street like I had been doing I kept going and went left at the lights. I almost made it to Woods. I bet on Wednesday I’ll make it. Taking this route leaves me ending my run further from home than usual. So much so that after a nice, maybe five minute cool down I felt good enough to jog again. So I did. Twice. Nothing major, a minute here and there. But they were fast. I’m always surprised by my speed after a walk break. Now to get myself transitioned into my new shoes for my 3k at the end of the month I’ll do my walking/jog intervals. Not only will I be transitioning myself into these shoes but I’m sure this will also help with any speed issue I’m having.”

Oh yeah, I bought new running shoes. Finally. Well, I suppose I bought running shoes. Never before in my life have I bought running shoes. Workout shoes, yes. But shoes specifically for running, no. They’re from New Balance and different from the Adidas (or is it Reebok?) shoes I have now. I know I probably should have bought a similar style but with the budget I had my choices were slim pickings. So I’ll learn to transition. And I’m okay with that.

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On My New Running Habbit

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Yesterday was day 1 of week 7 for my Couch 2 5K program. I was to run 25 minutes straight. Eesh. It was a big mind-game for me considering only the day before was day 3 of week 6 and that run was a 22 min run that I almost died on. Seriously, people usually freak out about the week 5, day 3′s 20 min run but yesterday’s run, those extra two minutes killed me. Which is why I was so surprised that today’s 25 min run went so well.

I started the C25K program in February just because. I’ve been meaning to sign up and run a 5k for years now and this year I’m going to do it. I had (have) the run all picked out. It was in April but got rescheduled to the fall sometime. Not to worry, there are still more runs I’ll do. I hope. But first I have to make sure I can run 3 miles/thirty minutes without dying or vomiting.

There are a few factors I’ve been thinking about and considering in my runs though to get the most out of it. First, I run every Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday. On Mondays I usually do yoga and Tuesday and Thursdays I do Zumba leaving Friday to be my rest day. This routine was going great for the first half of the C25K program. Especially with the early running intervals of walking/jogging every 60-90 seconds. But then I started to run more often and for longer lengths.

So at first I didn’t take into consideration the extra energy I was using. And for a couple of weeks I was feeling really exhausted and crabby at the end of the day. Then it hit me: I was not taking in enough calories. Prior to this running program I had been eating a plant-based diet. Lots of fruits and veggies with some complex carbs and egg protein in the morning. At lunch I’d have some veggies with lentils, quinoa or brown rice and for dinner a protein shake or steamed veggies. Toss in some more raw fruits and veggies throughout the day for snacks. Turns out it’s not enough. Now I have to reconsider and add in even more complex carbs and proteins to my diet.

Yesterday morning I had a short stack of blueberry pancakes with a side of fried potatoes and onions. Not ideal but man, did I kill it on my run. Yoga breathing and all. I know I have to do it better though. So at night I made my first stew. A tomato, kale, bean and potato stew. The recipe made a hell of a lot which is great because I can freeze it but mostly I’ll be eating it during the week for lunch. I still want to focus on getting the majority of my calories in during the day and ending my last meal of the day with something small and light. But like all of my other diet transitions I know this is going to take a bit to figure out and perfect. I’m going to need more recipes to make and I’m going to mess up now and then by drinking too much one night or eating too much sugar.Don’t even get me started on the amount of sugar I had over the weekend.

My other two runs this week are the same. 25 minutes each. Only now they don’t intimidate me because not only do I know I can do it but that I can do it and do it well. Wednesdays are usually my best running day of the week so I was really surprised when I ran so well today. I figure by Wednesday my body is usually the most on-track with my healthy eating because with Friday being the first of the weekend and my rest day all hell usually breaks loose. I should fix that.

Next week I’ll run 28 min three times a week and then finally in week nine I’ll be running for 30 min nonstop. The route I take I have configured to be 3.1something miles. Right now it’s the perfect little route because by the time my 25 minutes are over I still have a couple of minutes left to walk for a cool down until I’m home. Now I may have to go the next block over these next two weeks to gain some distance.

It’s weird, this running habit. I’m not sure what will become of it but I like it. So far. Most days. seriously though, Saturday’s run was so bad that I had not hated running or the C25K program more than that run. And I went out early! It was 10 am! I can’t decide if it was the fact that my iPod died not one minute into my warm up and I had to listen to myself and breathing the whole time or if it was the unseasonably warm sun beating down the back of my neck on Main Street that got to me. I wonder how many people passed me and thought they should ask if I needed help.

But I feel if I just keep listening to my body as I have been, or have been trying to at least this shouldn’t be a problem. And to be honest it’s kind of exciting.

World Book Night 2013

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My book stars are lined-up  this week. First my very slow swap.com/media account finally matched me up and I have been accepted to receive the book Pug Hill. Finally. I’ve been wanting to read this book for years now (or a year, but it feels like years).

Then today I was informed that I had been selected to participate in World Book Night USA edition. It’s April 13th and next week I’ll find out which book I’ll be giving away. I love this idea, to get people into reading and offering them a free book.

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Finally, I stopped at the library tonight and picked up two books. This year I haven’t been devouring books like I have been the last two years. Maybe I burned myself out but I think I had just been in this bad book slump so I’m being a little more picky about what I read. Tonight seems like the perfect night to read as well. It’s been raining and snowing on and off here all day which put a damper on the daily dog walk as well as my C25K workout. Womp, womp.