I set my alarm last night, got my exercise clothes out. Arranged my tennis shoes with socks nearby. Agonized over not being able to find my iPod shuffle. Went to bed thinking, “There is NO way I’ll be able to get out of bed for this in the morning.”
The alarm went off at 6:05. My usual confusion over what that noise could be (BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP) was followed by a realization that my dream wasn’t all that great, and really wasn’t worth returning to. So, for the first time in what has probably been years, I got up early on a Monday morning to work out. I was dressed and out the door by 6:09. I was running by 6:12. And I kept at it for a solid 20 minutes – a new record for me. I probably went about a mile and a half, but that’s okay. The fact that I did it at all was what made me so happy. Especially after a weekend of no workouts whatsoever. (It was rainy, I was swamped with schoolwork, and not at all motivated to drive to the gym in a downpour.)
My knee survived all 20 minutes, which is also a first. I’ve learned a couple of new stretches to warm up my IT band before I work out. My goal is to become a runner. A real runner. Someone who can run 5 miles and like it. Someone who doesn’t like to miss a run because it calms me. Someone who hops out of the bed for a run.
I’m thinking I might have to get up just a bit earlier. Have part of a granola bar, a small glass of water and a few minutes for it to settle in my stomach. Because there was a lot of uncomfortable thirst and stomach gurgling as I ran today.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Yesterday I experienced success, and disappointment.
Yesterday afternoon, I looked at a set of goals I made a few weeks ago when I started running again. Here they are:
Running Goals:
By April 30th: Run 1.5 miles at 5.5 mph easily
By May 31: Run 2 miles easily
By June 8: Run 2.5 miles
By June 22: Run 3 miles
June 22 is my birthday, and I want to see what it feels like to run 3 miles before then. I’ve only ever run 3 miles once in my life.
So, after seeing that yesterday, and knowing that I was going to the gym last night, I decided that I’d better try to run 1.5 miles. I hadn’t tried it before yesterday for probably… 2 or 3 years. But, I did it! At 5.5 mph (around an 11-minute mile), I ran 1.5 miles, without batting an eyelash, really. Then, I cranked up the speed a little and exhausted myself before doing my cool-down.
I’d been reading, too, about the knee pain I’ve been having when I run. Turns out it’s my IT band (a band that runs along the outside of the leg), which is rubbing against my knee joint, causing pain. There were three recommendations for helping this pain – stretch, shorten your stride, and buy better shoes. My shoes are awful, so I’m going to have to remedy that soon, but I couldn’t do it right away. But I could shorten my stride and do the stretches needed, so I did those two things, and – miraculously – no knee pain! Nice.
After my excellent achievement, I continued my workout with some squats, stretches, and a few tricep extensions. The great news here is that now I know I can run 1.5 miles, so I can start working my way toward 2 miles.
And for the bad news… I got on the scale before I left. 152 pounds. Yikes. I’m pretty sure that’s the heaviest I’ve ever been. My ideal weight is 138-ish, so I’ve got some serious work to do. So far, though, I’m doing pretty well with my resolutions that I began this week. The last few nights dinners have been light, snacks have been few and far between, water consumption has been up, and I’ve been feeling pretty good. If I can get myself up tomorrow morning to go to the gym, I’ll be doing really good for this week. 5 workouts in a week is awesome. If I do that, I think I’ll give myself Sunday off for some rest.
Running Goals:
By April 30th: Run 1.5 miles at 5.5 mph easily
By May 31: Run 2 miles easily
By June 8: Run 2.5 miles
By June 22: Run 3 miles
June 22 is my birthday, and I want to see what it feels like to run 3 miles before then. I’ve only ever run 3 miles once in my life.
So, after seeing that yesterday, and knowing that I was going to the gym last night, I decided that I’d better try to run 1.5 miles. I hadn’t tried it before yesterday for probably… 2 or 3 years. But, I did it! At 5.5 mph (around an 11-minute mile), I ran 1.5 miles, without batting an eyelash, really. Then, I cranked up the speed a little and exhausted myself before doing my cool-down.
I’d been reading, too, about the knee pain I’ve been having when I run. Turns out it’s my IT band (a band that runs along the outside of the leg), which is rubbing against my knee joint, causing pain. There were three recommendations for helping this pain – stretch, shorten your stride, and buy better shoes. My shoes are awful, so I’m going to have to remedy that soon, but I couldn’t do it right away. But I could shorten my stride and do the stretches needed, so I did those two things, and – miraculously – no knee pain! Nice.
After my excellent achievement, I continued my workout with some squats, stretches, and a few tricep extensions. The great news here is that now I know I can run 1.5 miles, so I can start working my way toward 2 miles.
And for the bad news… I got on the scale before I left. 152 pounds. Yikes. I’m pretty sure that’s the heaviest I’ve ever been. My ideal weight is 138-ish, so I’ve got some serious work to do. So far, though, I’m doing pretty well with my resolutions that I began this week. The last few nights dinners have been light, snacks have been few and far between, water consumption has been up, and I’ve been feeling pretty good. If I can get myself up tomorrow morning to go to the gym, I’ll be doing really good for this week. 5 workouts in a week is awesome. If I do that, I think I’ll give myself Sunday off for some rest.
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