Training for a 25K--Month 1, Dec 2009
Well, if this comes to fruition it may be interesting to re-read this. Starting a few days late (with the journal.. not the training). So.. here goes.
Day 8: 1 mile run easy or day off. I was too concerned that I might give up the ship if I took the day off. It was a fairly nice day, but I opted to run in place inside. I am not sure of the effectiveness of this.
Ordered my winter hat with clava and yak-trak. Not so much of a clown look then.
Day 9: 20 min run. B/c of an 8-5 work day, this is a run in the dark. I had been running at the lodge, but have changed to the mental health parking lot and drive. It is lighted with fewer puddles. Not too bad.
Day 10: 1 min run/1 min walk for 20 min. Did this before work b/c of the impending bad weather. Down to the stop sign and back.
Day 11: Under a blizzard warning.. I went out to do my 1 mile run or walk. Very cold and snow blowing horizontally. I put on my clown get up: navy/gold knit cap, black air exchanger, black fleece jacket, yellow vest and green gloves. Thought I would walk, but ended up running. Still rather slow, but some of that is avoiding icy/wet spots. Really about 17 min, but I had some inclement weather. We'll see how that changes.
Day 12. Blizzard and what seemed like a foot of snow. Did NOT do a straight 20 min walk, but shoveled snow for 1 hours. Disappointed that I forgot to put my pedometer on, as that would have been encouraging. A LOT of snow.
Day 13, Dec 11. The aftermath of the blizzard. Spent an unwanted hour shoveling what seemed to be ANOTHER foot of snow. Really, that's no exaggeration. It was just over a mile of plodding back and forth, but really today was supposed to be a run (which for me, is hardly a run...)
So... at 7:40 PM, I bundled up again..this time with my new Yak Trak on my feet and went for the mile run. It was hard to leave the house b/c Steven was home and if he is here, well, I'd like to spend time with him. I did leave and the *run* was done. Yeah!
The Yak Trak are not even discernible on my feet. Hopefully tomorrow my new winter cap arrives.
Day 14, Dec 12. The winter cap arrived today. It was a 2 mile run in the dark. Glad I switched places I run. This driveway and parking lot is paved and lighted. Every lap has a slight elevation on the driveway. Listened to a disturbing story on NPR, but I did the 2 miles.
Day 15, Dec 13. Harder to do even a mile with children home. I want to spend time with them. I planned on running in the afternoon, but he wanted to see a movie. I usually see movies alone (and that sometimes sucks...) so, I adjusted my schedule and went to see Invictus. Then I had to get home, prepare dinner and get that mile done. Warmer tonight and seemed faster. I think I had my pedometer calibrated wrong. I will have to check from stop sign to stop sign mileage in the next couple days. Tomorrow is a decision.. 2.5 miles. I think I have already run close to that with my wrong calibration.. so when is 3 miles.. oh, no.. the day after Christmas when we will be traveling. I can do it. I already know the path I can take in Kentucky.
Day 16, Dec 14. A bump up in the mileage. 2.5 mile run. I did it. It was hard to motivate myself b/c work was hectic. I HATE not having the time to complete my stuff in the time allotted. It frustrates me. Enough about that. It was a dark run and disappointing to me, not faster than before. I did re-calibrate my pedometer and there were slushy spots I had to slow down in. I didn't wear the Yak-Trak b/c they felt too springy on the plain surface. But... I did it. It doesn't increase until the day after Christmas. Maybe Andrew will run with me. Well, he could run and run back by the time I finish. eh.
Day 17, Dec 15. 5 min run/5 min walk/5 min run. Down to the stop sign and back. Total abt 2 miles, but not in the 15 min time. HA! Nice, (for winter), day out. Tired after running late last night, this one just over 12 hours later.
Day 18, Dec 16. Insomnia... last night. Up early, back to bed, considered skipping (for the 1st time in +10 yrs) my Bible Study class. Went to class, work lunch, dr appt w/S, more Christmas shopping and I wanted to nap. Instead.. wrapped office gift and ran my mile. blech. Wasn't very enthused about it. But... I DID it.
Day 19, Dec 17. 25 min walk. No problem. This works out sooo good on my full late day to work. (bah!). Walked on my lunch hour.. abt 1.5 miles. Another temptation.. free pizza at lunch. Umm. Had to leave. By the end of the day, I had cut off the tip of the triangle of one piece of the pizza.
Day 20. Dec 18. A slug day. An easy 1 mile run day, but that was hard to accomplish. Felt lazy after having so much to do earlier this week. I didn't want to say this was my breaking point on an easy day. Now tomorrow? 2.5 run. I don't know. That seems hard to do. Stay tuned.
Day 21. Dec 19. Takes three weeks to make a habit. Don't know if I can claim this, just yet. I was uncertain I could do the 2.5 miles today after a very sluggish feeling 1 mile yesterday. Then it was snowing this morning. But, I've done 2.5 before, I couldn't let that be the end.
I dress fairly well for the cold weather. It never bothers me. Had to use the Yaktrak this morning and on the way back I saw footprints going in the opposite direction. I had to think, *did I back track at one point*? Nope, the other footprint had the stride of a gazelle! I could not even come close to meeting those prints. 39 min (just over 15/min mile... blech!)
Day 22. Dec 20. Optional day off. Too afraid I will have trouble *getting back in the saddle*, so I don't skip these days. 1 mile run, 14 min.
Day 23, Dec 21. Okay day at work. Mixed up, but not really crazy hectic. But still, the shortest day of the year, about 19 degrees, light snow and dark. Dr. Phil said it was a 2.5 mile run. I was hungry when I left work and wanted to eat. But... eating first makes me *run* even slower (is that possible?).
BUT.. I had run 2.5 mile before, why let work stop me.. the 3 or 4 mile day probably will. So, out I went and had Jim put dinner on hold. And I ran my 2.5 in 37 min (the 15 min/mile pace).
THEN, I checked the schedule.. it WAS a 2 mile day.
Day 24, Dec 22. 5 min run, 2.5 min walk, 7.5 min run. I think I figured out why this day is hard. The long run the day before, just over 12 hours ago. 15 min mile pace, maybe a tad faster than that. COLD today.
Day 25, Dec 24 (Thursday). Easy days.. a walk, usually fits in easily into my lunch hour. Today, just last minute preps for visitors.
Day 26, Dec 25. CHRISTMAS. Nice morning with 2 youngest kids,s-i-l and hubby. Hard to find time to get my 1 mile run in.. b/c we were leaving shortly after the presenting of the presents and b'fast and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with dtr and s-i-l. Nicely.. my daughter went for the run with me. My yaktrak were very necessary this morning as we had freezing rain yesterday. Luckily daughter didn't fall either. I thought we were going faster than normal... but we didn't. But.. I did it.
AND only ate 1 pancake and 1 sausage. Can't lose ground b/c of that.
GOT.. Wii fit Plus for Christmas. Can't wait to use it. Kids played first and that's okay, b/c I will have lots of time later. Can't wait.
Day 27. Dec 26. In Kentucky! Horrible drive down (not the worst, but grey and rainy, sometimes torrential) 2.5 mile run this morning. Colder than I expected, but I was prepared adequately. Ran to Starbucks (2.5 mile..with some extra to get the total in), then walked back to A & As. By 9 am I already clocked 5 miles on my pedometer.
Considering when the mileage gets difficult to try and modify the Galloway training with the 25K training. I've done this 4 weeks now!
New addition to my run.. an older MP3 player. That was nice. Has a radio and voice recording too.
Day 28, Dec 27. 1 mile easy run today in blue sky Kentucky. Nice trail through the neighborhood. Very nice. Walked another 3 miles. Also 1 hour on the Wii fit. Ummm, delicious dinner last night at Malone's, but ate too much bread.
Day 29, Dec 28. Back in Michigan and it's cold and windy. Tired after drive yesterday and staying up late playing the wii. Decided to try and do the run on my lunch hour. It worked, but felt sluggish. 2 mile run abt 15 min/miles. Another 30+ min on the wii too. Bad news today affected my disposition. Feel so bad for Sue and Ashley.
Day 30, Dec 29. Scale betrayed me this morning. NOT FAIR! The things I HAVEN'T eaten are numerous. Keep going.
Day 31. Dec 30. Working AGAIN. Hate these extra holiday hours. I would have been a little more okay with them if Kathryn wasn't around. NEXT year... I will try and get more coordinated and NOT work on days she is around here. Even an extra meal with them is worth it. 1.5 mile run. I ran in the dark at the mental health place.
Day 32. Dec 31. MISSED NO days in my 1st month of training. None. But.. today, for my *official* walk of 25 min.. it was only 20 min... BUT... I also worked with the wii for 2 hours. My pedometer gave me a day total of > 6 miles. I feel like I completed the training. Down... about 13-16 pounds (depends on which source you believe... my scale or the wii. But I didn't do the *official* 1st weigh-in on the wii, so maybe that would be less.) Let's say 13 pounds then. Woo-hoo!
Have to confess to indulging briefly today, but not too bad. We'll see in a couple days if that was affected. Saturday is a deal-breaker... 3 miles. But if I did 2.5 miles, why can't I do 3?
Sometime soon I want to try running on a treadmill. I should go before the Feb trip so I am used to getting it done that way. That will be energizing too, running with a new view for a week.
Goals for New Year:
10,000 steps/day (with the training) and add the Wii fit program.
After Feb trip.. if *stuck* on weight loss.. write it down. (so far though, it seems to be okay, just *doing it in my head*.
Mar: YIPPEE.. sister's weekend. Sooooooooooooo looking forward to this.
May: If ... this goal met (my personal goal).. then parasailing in Virginia Beach.
August: ? Lansing Half-Marathon
October: ? Detroit Half-Marathon
Day 8: 1 mile run easy or day off. I was too concerned that I might give up the ship if I took the day off. It was a fairly nice day, but I opted to run in place inside. I am not sure of the effectiveness of this.
Ordered my winter hat with clava and yak-trak. Not so much of a clown look then.
Day 9: 20 min run. B/c of an 8-5 work day, this is a run in the dark. I had been running at the lodge, but have changed to the mental health parking lot and drive. It is lighted with fewer puddles. Not too bad.
Day 10: 1 min run/1 min walk for 20 min. Did this before work b/c of the impending bad weather. Down to the stop sign and back.
Day 11: Under a blizzard warning.. I went out to do my 1 mile run or walk. Very cold and snow blowing horizontally. I put on my clown get up: navy/gold knit cap, black air exchanger, black fleece jacket, yellow vest and green gloves. Thought I would walk, but ended up running. Still rather slow, but some of that is avoiding icy/wet spots. Really about 17 min, but I had some inclement weather. We'll see how that changes.
Day 12. Blizzard and what seemed like a foot of snow. Did NOT do a straight 20 min walk, but shoveled snow for 1 hours. Disappointed that I forgot to put my pedometer on, as that would have been encouraging. A LOT of snow.
Day 13, Dec 11. The aftermath of the blizzard. Spent an unwanted hour shoveling what seemed to be ANOTHER foot of snow. Really, that's no exaggeration. It was just over a mile of plodding back and forth, but really today was supposed to be a run (which for me, is hardly a run...)
So... at 7:40 PM, I bundled up again..this time with my new Yak Trak on my feet and went for the mile run. It was hard to leave the house b/c Steven was home and if he is here, well, I'd like to spend time with him. I did leave and the *run* was done. Yeah!
The Yak Trak are not even discernible on my feet. Hopefully tomorrow my new winter cap arrives.
Day 14, Dec 12. The winter cap arrived today. It was a 2 mile run in the dark. Glad I switched places I run. This driveway and parking lot is paved and lighted. Every lap has a slight elevation on the driveway. Listened to a disturbing story on NPR, but I did the 2 miles.
Day 15, Dec 13. Harder to do even a mile with children home. I want to spend time with them. I planned on running in the afternoon, but he wanted to see a movie. I usually see movies alone (and that sometimes sucks...) so, I adjusted my schedule and went to see Invictus. Then I had to get home, prepare dinner and get that mile done. Warmer tonight and seemed faster. I think I had my pedometer calibrated wrong. I will have to check from stop sign to stop sign mileage in the next couple days. Tomorrow is a decision.. 2.5 miles. I think I have already run close to that with my wrong calibration.. so when is 3 miles.. oh, no.. the day after Christmas when we will be traveling. I can do it. I already know the path I can take in Kentucky.
Day 16, Dec 14. A bump up in the mileage. 2.5 mile run. I did it. It was hard to motivate myself b/c work was hectic. I HATE not having the time to complete my stuff in the time allotted. It frustrates me. Enough about that. It was a dark run and disappointing to me, not faster than before. I did re-calibrate my pedometer and there were slushy spots I had to slow down in. I didn't wear the Yak-Trak b/c they felt too springy on the plain surface. But... I did it. It doesn't increase until the day after Christmas. Maybe Andrew will run with me. Well, he could run and run back by the time I finish. eh.
Day 17, Dec 15. 5 min run/5 min walk/5 min run. Down to the stop sign and back. Total abt 2 miles, but not in the 15 min time. HA! Nice, (for winter), day out. Tired after running late last night, this one just over 12 hours later.
Day 18, Dec 16. Insomnia... last night. Up early, back to bed, considered skipping (for the 1st time in +10 yrs) my Bible Study class. Went to class, work lunch, dr appt w/S, more Christmas shopping and I wanted to nap. Instead.. wrapped office gift and ran my mile. blech. Wasn't very enthused about it. But... I DID it.
Day 19, Dec 17. 25 min walk. No problem. This works out sooo good on my full late day to work. (bah!). Walked on my lunch hour.. abt 1.5 miles. Another temptation.. free pizza at lunch. Umm. Had to leave. By the end of the day, I had cut off the tip of the triangle of one piece of the pizza.
Day 20. Dec 18. A slug day. An easy 1 mile run day, but that was hard to accomplish. Felt lazy after having so much to do earlier this week. I didn't want to say this was my breaking point on an easy day. Now tomorrow? 2.5 run. I don't know. That seems hard to do. Stay tuned.
Day 21. Dec 19. Takes three weeks to make a habit. Don't know if I can claim this, just yet. I was uncertain I could do the 2.5 miles today after a very sluggish feeling 1 mile yesterday. Then it was snowing this morning. But, I've done 2.5 before, I couldn't let that be the end.
I dress fairly well for the cold weather. It never bothers me. Had to use the Yaktrak this morning and on the way back I saw footprints going in the opposite direction. I had to think, *did I back track at one point*? Nope, the other footprint had the stride of a gazelle! I could not even come close to meeting those prints. 39 min (just over 15/min mile... blech!)
Day 22. Dec 20. Optional day off. Too afraid I will have trouble *getting back in the saddle*, so I don't skip these days. 1 mile run, 14 min.
Day 23, Dec 21. Okay day at work. Mixed up, but not really crazy hectic. But still, the shortest day of the year, about 19 degrees, light snow and dark. Dr. Phil said it was a 2.5 mile run. I was hungry when I left work and wanted to eat. But... eating first makes me *run* even slower (is that possible?).
BUT.. I had run 2.5 mile before, why let work stop me.. the 3 or 4 mile day probably will. So, out I went and had Jim put dinner on hold. And I ran my 2.5 in 37 min (the 15 min/mile pace).
THEN, I checked the schedule.. it WAS a 2 mile day.
Day 24, Dec 22. 5 min run, 2.5 min walk, 7.5 min run. I think I figured out why this day is hard. The long run the day before, just over 12 hours ago. 15 min mile pace, maybe a tad faster than that. COLD today.
Day 25, Dec 24 (Thursday). Easy days.. a walk, usually fits in easily into my lunch hour. Today, just last minute preps for visitors.
Day 26, Dec 25. CHRISTMAS. Nice morning with 2 youngest kids,s-i-l and hubby. Hard to find time to get my 1 mile run in.. b/c we were leaving shortly after the presenting of the presents and b'fast and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with dtr and s-i-l. Nicely.. my daughter went for the run with me. My yaktrak were very necessary this morning as we had freezing rain yesterday. Luckily daughter didn't fall either. I thought we were going faster than normal... but we didn't. But.. I did it.
AND only ate 1 pancake and 1 sausage. Can't lose ground b/c of that.
GOT.. Wii fit Plus for Christmas. Can't wait to use it. Kids played first and that's okay, b/c I will have lots of time later. Can't wait.
Day 27. Dec 26. In Kentucky! Horrible drive down (not the worst, but grey and rainy, sometimes torrential) 2.5 mile run this morning. Colder than I expected, but I was prepared adequately. Ran to Starbucks (2.5 mile..with some extra to get the total in), then walked back to A & As. By 9 am I already clocked 5 miles on my pedometer.
Considering when the mileage gets difficult to try and modify the Galloway training with the 25K training. I've done this 4 weeks now!
New addition to my run.. an older MP3 player. That was nice. Has a radio and voice recording too.
Day 28, Dec 27. 1 mile easy run today in blue sky Kentucky. Nice trail through the neighborhood. Very nice. Walked another 3 miles. Also 1 hour on the Wii fit. Ummm, delicious dinner last night at Malone's, but ate too much bread.
Day 29, Dec 28. Back in Michigan and it's cold and windy. Tired after drive yesterday and staying up late playing the wii. Decided to try and do the run on my lunch hour. It worked, but felt sluggish. 2 mile run abt 15 min/miles. Another 30+ min on the wii too. Bad news today affected my disposition. Feel so bad for Sue and Ashley.
Day 30, Dec 29. Scale betrayed me this morning. NOT FAIR! The things I HAVEN'T eaten are numerous. Keep going.
Day 31. Dec 30. Working AGAIN. Hate these extra holiday hours. I would have been a little more okay with them if Kathryn wasn't around. NEXT year... I will try and get more coordinated and NOT work on days she is around here. Even an extra meal with them is worth it. 1.5 mile run. I ran in the dark at the mental health place.
Day 32. Dec 31. MISSED NO days in my 1st month of training. None. But.. today, for my *official* walk of 25 min.. it was only 20 min... BUT... I also worked with the wii for 2 hours. My pedometer gave me a day total of > 6 miles. I feel like I completed the training. Down... about 13-16 pounds (depends on which source you believe... my scale or the wii. But I didn't do the *official* 1st weigh-in on the wii, so maybe that would be less.) Let's say 13 pounds then. Woo-hoo!
Have to confess to indulging briefly today, but not too bad. We'll see in a couple days if that was affected. Saturday is a deal-breaker... 3 miles. But if I did 2.5 miles, why can't I do 3?
Sometime soon I want to try running on a treadmill. I should go before the Feb trip so I am used to getting it done that way. That will be energizing too, running with a new view for a week.
Goals for New Year:
10,000 steps/day (with the training) and add the Wii fit program.
After Feb trip.. if *stuck* on weight loss.. write it down. (so far though, it seems to be okay, just *doing it in my head*.
Mar: YIPPEE.. sister's weekend. Sooooooooooooo looking forward to this.
May: If ... this goal met (my personal goal).. then parasailing in Virginia Beach.
August: ? Lansing Half-Marathon
October: ? Detroit Half-Marathon