Sunday, January 31 (Bad Running Week... But Good Stuff to Come!

Well, this week was ENTIRELY unremarkable- with only 2 days of exercise:

Tuesday: 60 Min Jog/Walk (well, really mostly walking): 5.6 km
Saturday: 45 Min. Jog

(I REALLY, REALLY intended to exercise Sunday, but it just didn't' happen!)

Off to Hawaii!

So far a perfect 3-0

A quick update this week... to report that I'm off to a rocky start... I've missed running M and T this week and forgot my running bag today also. I have to be at work late and had the ideal break in my schedule to hit the gym.... of course I realized once I got to work that I forgot my bag. Looks like I'm off to a perfect 3-0 start. Oh, add to that the fact that I've been eating like a bullet train.

I'm sure in Hawaii my habits will be much better!

mindless left, right, left right

I managed to squeak in 5 days last week, owing up to a migraine on Tuesday I took that day off.
M: 40 min walk
W: 30 min jog (horrifying)
R: 45 min walk
Sat: 7 miles
Sun: 45 min walk

Lots of walking in here. I really need to find how to cross train!

Sunday, 24 January

Well, another unremarkable week- only 3 days of exercise...

Tuesday: 35 Min Jog (5K)
Saturday: 40 Min Jog/Walk (5K)
Sunday: 40 Min Jog (5.5K)

Ho hum... I'd say I'm going to try harder next week, but I'm starting to sound like a broken record!

What have I learned this week?

Well, I did actually follow the Galloway plan for last week. I exercised all six days... of course I didn't go 10.5 miles like you did, Lisa. I'm pretty blown away by that! My long run was only 6 miles, and I spent 1/2 of it running to the bathroom. I clearly have digestive issues to figure out before Hawaii, let alone Syttende Mai or Gobi! Lesson #1, do NOT drink orange juice 30 minutes before getting on the treadmill!

Some funny things for this week: While running one of my 45 minute runs at the gym last week I saw someone sprint all out at about an 8 minute mile pace FOR 20 SECONDS then hop off and rest for about a minute, get back on for another 20 seconds, hop off for a minute (leaving the treadmill running)... and so on for about 10 minutes. It was about the strangest thing I'd ever seen. I can't imagine 20 second sprints really did all that much for her. Of course I was jealous of the fact she could hop on and off without breaking something.

Lesson #2: I have learned in my class already that when running on a treadmill it is ideal to "set the grade at one or even two percent to prevent the overstriding that sometimes occurs in individuals when running on a treadmill." That has been one of the questions I've always wondered!

So far my instructor's comments have been that I really need to have my stride assessed for custom orthotics to help prevent further injury. I'm considering going to a place in Madison that does these types of assessments. No doubt I really need to watch out for further injury.

I hope I can do this...

Sunday, 17 January

Well, (AGAIN!) I didn't do too well in terms of number of days of exercise- only 2 days this week.

Tuesday- 45 Min. on the treadmill (approx. 4.3 miles)
Sunday- 2 hours on the treadmill (17 km = approx. 10.5 miles)

I have to say that I think it pays off to exercise 4-5 times a week. When I was doing that - even 15 minute sessions sprinkled in there, it was a lot easier on my long jog day. I remember last month, I jogged 2 hours and didn't feel sore at all. Today, though, I feel achy and sore. I HAVE to try to increase the number of days per week that I exercise (even if it's small stuff). But I am happy with the 10.5 miles (I found a good movie on HBO and jogged/walked through the whole movie).

Emms, you are braver than I am- can't believe you're taking that marathon training class. You don't get graded, do you?! Is this a "just for fun" thing? Do you have to update the coach on your progress? Will they make you cry if you can't run 4 min. miles.... or 7 min. miles... or 9 minute miles.... or really even 11 min. miles if you go longer than 5 miles or so? Be brave!

I tried that "next blog" thing. I was just cracking up over some of those blogs... until it occurred to me that people might read ours and laugh over how lame some of our posts are!

Happy exercising! Less then one month to the Great Aloha Run! (8 Miles - Yeah!)

laugh until you pee... or have to sit down at the very least

You HAVE to check out some of the other blogs we are connected with! It is hysterical! Have you ever randomly hit the "Next blog" button after you've signed out of ours? Try it sometime! I did it for the first time today, while killing five minutes so that I would somehow "oooops" accidentally miss my BodyPump class and have to opt for walking 40 minutes on the treadmill instead...(our plan does say Walk OR cross train)... Anyway, I came up with this psycho dude's blog about how's he's training for back-to-back IronMans like a month apart!

Yup, he posts his work out schedule on there, too...Um, just SLIGHTLY different from ours. So,I clicked "Next Blog" again... got another one about someone trying to get back into shape as a spinning instructor.

Oh boy....

A picture really is worth a thousand words

I got my textbook for my online marathon training class... and the front photo has Olympic athletes on it! Let's suffice it to say that the prescribed running formulas are not quite the same as Galloway's or Penguin's "running for fat people." Granted I haven't actually read the book-- I've just looked at the tables-- but they are complicated and intimidating. When they start with 4-minute miles, you know someone like me is screwed!

Oh, thought you'd appreciate knowing that it's written by Jack Daniels (comma Ph.d)!

no earthquakes reported, just really cold weather!

I cannot comment as to whether fatties on treadmills cause earthquakes, but I do know they cause serious chafing... at least in my case! Certain nether regions will never forgive me, usually once I pass the 4 mile mark. I'm not sure how 26 miles is going to fare...

Anyway, this week I ALMOST stuck to the plan. I exercised 5 days:
M: walk 45 minutes
T: jog 40 minutes
W: bike 40 minutes
Sat: 5 miles
Sun: walk 40 minutes

I need to get the weightlifting in there...

Sunday, 10 January

Well, a slight improvement over last week... which really isn't THAT much of an achievement since I ran only once last week! I exercised three times:

Friday: 30 Min. on the treadmill
Saturday: 30 Min. on the treadmill
Sunday: 60 Min. on the treadmill (8 km = approx. 5 miles)

I HAVE to try to run at least 4 times next week... with one longer one.

Sunday, 3 January

Well, unlike Amy, I have started the New Year off with a .... fizzle. The week of 28 December to 3 January, I exercised a whopping ONE time- 40 minutes on the treadmill. In fairness, I was sick 4 of the 7 days, so we'll see if I can't pick up the pace again. :(

Miko's run

Mike jogged slowly on the treadmill right around lunch time (first time in 2 months). About 2 hours later there was a small earthquake that rattled the apartment (nothing fell down and there was no damage, so it was a very small one).

So now the question remains: can a fatty on a treadmill cause an earthquake?

I'm Starting out the New Year....

... the way everyone should. Obsessed! I find when I allow my OCD tendencies to take control I feel much better about myself. I actually RETYPED the Jeff Galloway running plan into an Excel spreadsheet so that I could adjust the days of the week to allow for my day off to be Friday and my long run to be Saturday instead of Sunday. This also makes the cross training days Tuesday and Thursday, which fits much better with the weight lifting schedule at the gym! Now I can use a highlighter to mark off the days I exercise in color! I back dated it so that the 17 mile date hit Syttende Mai. It officially starts on Feb. 1, and I had to add 3 weeks of training in there to stretch the schedule to accommodate Gobi.

I know, I'm a nutcase...

As for this week, though... I did much better. I actually hit the treadmill 5 (yes, f-i-v-e) times. Granted each was only for 3 miles. But, I basically did what the books are saying and did the low mileage stuff... even walked/jogged some of using the walk breaks. I have to admit I like the concept, go just as fast (okay as slow) and don't experience knee and back pain. I'm trying not to freak myself out with the thought that the 15 miles I did this week is not as far as the 17 I'm doing in one day in May and only about half of what I have to tackle in Gobi. But, I'm feeling better about having a plan. Thanks so MUCH for sending me the book. It's helping me tackle this while breaking a lot of bad habits that have caused my injuries up to this point. I'll use all of my obsessive tendencies for making color-coded spreadsheets instead....