Running in the rain

So this is what the world looked like outside my house this afternoon:

It's December in Pennsylvania, and that means it's cold and it's wet. It was raining lightly when I finally pushed myself out the door, and just above freezing. The weather was the same yesterday, when I used it as an excuse to keep baking Christmas cookies rather than get outside and run, but I decided that today I had to simply do it.

Of course, that doesn't mean I didn't bundle up.

Stylin'! But effective. And the nice white jacket is mostly waterproof and keeps me very visible.

Maybe it was the cold. Maybe I just wanted to hustle my way through the workout and get back inside, where my glasses don't fog up and get spattered with rain to the point that I can barely see (and no, shouting Impervio and tapping them with a stick doesn't work. Tried that.) Or maybe, just maybe, my fitness is already improving with just a week of effort under my belt. Whatever the case, I improved my time by almost a full minute, to 20 minutes and 57 seconds. That felt pretty good.

I was also able to run the first 1/4 mile, and didn't feel too shabby at the end of it. I plan to keep pushing that first run interval a little further every time. Expect me to be ridiculously proud of myself when I finish my first mile.

My plan for the remainder of the week:

Wednesday- 1 mile walk
Thursday- hill repeats (9 repeats)
Friday- 1 mile walk
Saturday- Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Sunday- Christmas! Take a break, or maybe a casual walk with my brother.

And my recap for today:

Workout: Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Time: 20:57
Pace: 13:58 per mile

Second run

First of all, I know I was supposed to run yesterday. But between an 8 AM final and starting work at 10 AM, there just wasn't enough time. I ran out of daylight. So I took a rest day yesterday, and went out this morning.

Today marked my first morning run- I got up at 7:30 (okay, the alarm went off at 7:30. I got UP at 7:45) and was out the door five minutes later, with some dried apple slices and a cup of water in my belly for fuel. It was cold- the occasional snowflake drifted by, and I was glad I'd bought a balaclava earlier in the week to keep my head and neck warm.

Running felt good. I was actually a bit slower than I was on my first run (by about 11 seconds, so it's not like it was much), which I put down to the early hour. My first run was well into the afternoon. But I felt looser and was definitely in less pain by the end: no twinges in my calf, no tightness in my achilles. My running intervals felt longer, although I think they were also a little less frequent, and I settled into a comfortable pace. I don't feel like I pushed myself too hard at any point.

I ran the first 3/16ths of a mile, approximately. I might have been able to push it to 1/4 mile, but I started feeling tired. I'm going to try to make it the full quarter on Monday.

But if I don't make it? No big deal. When I pulled up and stopped my stopwatch at the end of the run today, I saw the time and said aloud, "Oh well. Not the end of the world." And I felt it. And that, too, is progress of a kind.

Workout: Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Time: 21:54
Pace: 14:36 per mile

In sickness and in health

Good news- I don't have pneumonia! Yes, that was a possibility, and yes, you are allowed to imagine I said that in Professor Farnsworth's voice. The bad news is I have some lingering inflammation from whatever upper respiratory/strep throat type infection I had a couple of weeks ago. But a chest X-ray was taken and my lungs look fine. That's very good news, considering I have some important singing gigs coming up. I just hope I've recovered enough by then to not sound like I have been sounding lately (bad).

I debated whether or not I should really be going out running in the cold when my chest feels sore and I just bought a $200 inhaler to help me get over this thing, but finally decided that as long as I'm not exhausting myself, exercise is probably more helpful to my immune system than harmful. I also feel better than I have in a few days, so why not?

Today was my first day of hill repeats. This was actually less torturous than I thought it would be, probably because I paid close attention to my form and didn't push to go too fast. I did go a little faster than my normal jogging pace, just to get the full benefit of the muscle-building aspects of the exercise. I did the full 15 minutes, which I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do. I was able to do 8 repeats in that time- running up, then walking down, a hill in my neighborhood.

My plan is this: every Wednesday when I'm doing my hill repeats, I'll add another repeat. So next week it will be nine repeats, then ten, etc. When I reach 20, I'll either move to a steeper hill or start jogging down the hill rather than walking.

This morning was my introduction to nutrition final. Tomorrow morning is my anatomy and physiology final. I'm looking forward to next week, when I'll have time to do things other than study.

The day after

Less sore than I was afraid I would be. A little more soreness in the ankle I've sprained twice than I'd like. We'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow.

On the agenda for today: a hell of a lot of studying for my introduction to nutrition final, and a 1-mile walk around the neighborhood. Oh, and this evening we'll be picking out a Christmas tree and bringing it home! Always a good time.

I think that's all for now. I've got too much to get done.

First run down!

Today was a big day- I had an algebra final, hopefully the last math course of my life, and I also started my new, experimental running program. The less said about the math, the better, so let's focus on the running.

The route I found for myself is a loop around a small neighborhood just down the street from my own. Our neighborhoods are surrounded on two sides by farm land, so the views are at least half good, and the loop is a conveniently perfect mile. Cresting the hill on the back half of the loop is a gorgeous sight, particularly around sunset- looking westward over cow fields and corn fields, dotted with houses and barns. The giant stadium in the middle distance is maybe not aesthetically perfect, but makes me nostalgically happy anyway.

The plan for today was to do a Fartlek walk/run over a 1.5 mile course. And indeed, that's what I did! In my previous attempts to turn myself into a runner, I've been way too attached to measuring things- timing my run intervals, figuring out exact distances, pushing myself too hard to get to where I "should" be according to someone else's timetable. This time, I'm trying to let go of all that. The only thing I timed was the entire time it took me to cover the distance, so I can keep track of whether or not I'm improving at all.

It was liberating. I ran when I felt like it, and walked when I didn't. I didn't feel exhausted at the end, but just a little tired, with my calves just starting to feel worn out. It felt more like playing than a workout, which is definitely what I was looking for. My goal in all of this is never to push to the point where running feels like torture rather than recreation.

Workout: Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Time: 21:42
Pace: 14:28 per mile

Ideas come easy

So this next coming week is a big one. I'm not up for making life changes this weekend- I have a singing gig, work, and preparation for final exams to get through. But on Monday, I'm going to start running again.

I've been a runner before. I got up to running in one 5K and then quit, because that's about the time my life imploded in all kinds of other ways, too. I've since tried several times to get started again, only to have it fall apart due to injury or getting "too busy," a convenient excuse for not feeling like it. This time I'm determined to have it be different.

I've tried Couch to 5K several times, and have some problems with the program- I feel the intensity increases too sharply in the later weeks, as this is the time when I've consistently had problems, including a sprained ankle. I haven't found anything else I've liked as much, either, so this time I'm going it alone with a program of my own design.

For those of you who aren't familiar with running jargon (I took a class on running a few years ago, and have since read a lot, even if I haven't had good luck sustaining a program), a Fartlek run is a type of training run that's full of intervals. Runners widely vary their speed and intensity, based on how they feel. My main training runs are going to be Fartlek runs, only instead of jogging interspersed with faster runs, they'll be walking interspered with easy running intervals. No forcing myself to go further than I feel I'm ready to. No driving myself to exhaustion. Just working with where my fitness level is now, and just barely nudging beyond it. I'm hoping if I listen to my body instead of a stopwatch, I'll be less prone to injury. I'll be starting out by going a mile and a half. When I can do that running all the way, I'll start adding distance.

After my research into running form, I've also determined that hill repeats are probably the best possible thing I can do to help teach myself correct form and build up the muscle needed to drive it. So I've added hill repeats to my workouts (running up a steep hill, and then walking down it- later I'll switch to jogging down it, but that's asking way too much right now and it's very easy to injure yourself running downhill).

So here's my schedule for the first week:

Monday: Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Tuesday: Walk 1 mile
Wednesday: Hill repeats, 15 minutes
Thursday: Walk 1 mile
Friday: Fartlek walk/run, 1.5 miles
Saturday: rest
Sunday: walk 1 mile

Over time those walking days will transition to easy run days, while the Fartlek days will increase in intensity or become other heavy training days. But right now this seems like it would be a good level for me to start at.

I'm also looking into volunteer opportunities. I can't make a large time commitment or invest much cash- I'm too broke and I'm working and going to class full time to boot. Right now I'm looking at a wildlife watching program I could combine with my walking schedule, and an online mentoring program for at-risk kids. I'll be looking into my options more over the semester break.

The oak sleeps in the acorn

Who am I?

I'm 28, soon to be 29. Female. Caucasian and American, from a pretty varied cultural background. Overweight, bordering on obese according to BMI. Single, social life in fairly sad shape, but wanting a family. Two dogs, one cat. Reader, occasional artist, semi professional singer, baker, good cook, student, professional tailor (of all things).

Unfulfilled, dissatisfied. Living with my parents. Victim of a bad, emotionally fucked up relationship a few years back that has led to many difficulties in the here and now. Emotional overeater, gourmand, chronically sedentary.

Wanting to change! I'm here, in fact, to change and to document that change. I am tired of sabotaging myself. I have three simple to state, difficult to achieve goals:

-Fix my relationship with food. I need to be satisfied with eating smaller amounts of healthier foods, and treating my own nutritional needs with the same care with which I treat my pets' and would treat my children's. Especially important given I am, in fact, a nutrition major.

-Become an athlete. Not a professional, obviously, but someone who can without stretching the definition call herself an athlete. In my case I'd like to focus on running, with the goal of running in a half marathon by the end of next year.

-Give back. I want to be spending 10% of my time and money on charitable activity. I talk the talk- time to walk the walk.

Wish me luck! And stand by for updates.