July Numbers

Besides not being able to get the table copied my performance for July
was not stellar. Better then no exercise however and still a weight loss.
About 7 hours for the month. That is about a 13 minute average per day.
August wont look quite like June but there will be an improvement.

Date Activity Time Distance Stretch/weights Thoughts

7/1          EFX                  30              2.44                14 min                 Squeezing in workout before work
7/2        Walk      45               1.5                  10                          Stroll at dog park
7/3
7/4         Pool               Bobbed around in the pool for several hours. Fun but really not a work out.
7/5
7/6
7/7         Walk                50             2.25                      w/chari at track
7/8         Walk                60             3.0                        w/chari at track
7/9
7/10
7/11
7/12
7/13    EFX   20      2 miles                       Chari left this morning.

7/14                   3 hours shopping for cake
7/15                   10 hours baking
7/16                   Baking, filling frosting
7/17                   Cake Due
7/18      WALK         60               3 MILES             Walked Greenlake with Char. Felt great to be moving
7/19
7/20   EFX            30                  3.30                    30 minutes          Getting back in the groove
7/21      RUN           35      2.10                                                   RUN!! awesome
7/22   EFX            30                   2.75
7.23      EFX      30      2.75

6.5 19.59

August 2, 2009. Exercise, Goals, Running, Weight Journal, Weight Loss. Leave a comment.

boomerang

With Chari here for 11 days and then a wedding cake due there were legitimate reasons I haven’t gotten much exercise (so far) this month. However those “excuses” being over I have to get back on track.

It would be so easy to keep missing the workouts, I mean its not like I don’t have enough house work, yard work, garden work, pool maintenance and dog care to make more “legitimate” excuses.

However I am feeling better. That makes it sound like I felt bad, that’s not it. I am feeling prouder. Wait that makes it sound like I was ashamed. I am making progress, I am loosing weight. I am still getting projects done. Maybe not as quickly if I weren’t stopping in the middle to go for a run or ride the elliptical and do some weights but in my promise to take care of myself. Its just what has to happen.

Last week I didn’t loose everything from the 11 days Chari was here. But I also didn’t work out and baked a wedding cake all week (which includes required tasting of cake.) I did loose most of it so I am thinking with just doing what is now considered “my usual” routine, I should drop the rest and then some pretty quickly.

It will be hard but I can still make the 10% in 10 weeks if I really try hard. That will mean 2.5 pounds both this week and next.

July 20, 2009. Diet, Exercise, Goals, Healthy Food, Running, Venting, Weight Journal, Weight Loss. 1 comment.

June Exercise Totals

Attached is my chart for June. Trying to be cool like my friend Char who does this every month.
I did have one to copy from last November and December. Guess I got serious this time.

Almost 21 hours of exercise for the month.

Date	Activity	Time	Distance	Stretch/ weights	Thoughts

6/1	EFX	30	4 miles	14 min	1% weight loss goal this week. Starting PX90
6/2	Calisthenics	40		10
6/3	EFX	30	4 miles	10
6/4	BTN	30	5.2
6/5	RUN	30	2		On track. Lost count of laps. 2 miles or just under.
6/6	Walk	90	5.6		Two laps around green lake w/Char. Fabulous
6/7	Rest
6/8	Walk	40			Dog Park with Missy. Walked around for 40 minutes.
6/9	EFX	20	1.6		The minimum 20 minutes but I fit it in.
6/10	EFX	30	2.6	25	Feels good fitting in my workouts
6/11	EFX	20	1.75		Minimum 20 min
6/12	Run	35	2		Run/walk on street
6/13	Walk	45	2		Dog park with Katherine and dogs
6/14	Rest				Rest day: 8 hours of yard work
6/15	EFX	20	2		Minimum again
6/16	Run	40	2.2	20 min	Ran the whole thing. THRILLED
6/17	EFX	40	3.33
6/18	Walk	45	2.2		Walked Missy
6/19	EFX	30	2.56
6/20	RUN	35	2.2		Could have done more, had to pee
6/21	Rest
6/22	EFX	45	3.47	15
6/23	RUN	40	2.5		Ran further, added distance on the end. 2.1 miles ran, .4 miles walked
6/24	EFX	30	2.25
6/25	EFX BTN	37 18	3 3
6/26	REST
6/27	WALK/ RUN Walk	4 hours 30 min	13.1 2 miles		½ Marathon & to and from event
6/28	Walk	40	2		Dog Park
6/29	BTN	25	4.2
6/30					Missed Workout
TOTALS		19hours 15 min	80.76 miles	1 hour 34 min.	20 hours 49 minutes

Oh and in my little code, EFX is the elliptical trainer and BTN is the stationary bike (Bike To Nowhere).

July 1, 2009. Exercise, Goals, Marathon, Running, Weight Journal, Weight Loss. 4 comments.

Time

Well I’m done. By the times below from the web site, I only cut 25 minutes from last fall.
This doesn’t take into count the long wait for a porto potty or the about 10 minutes I had to take to stretch out my calf at about mile 10. I pulled my hip early on and then over compensating for that got a cramp in the calf of my other leg. It could have something to do with mild dehydration also.

The morning was tough. Up at 4 a.m. and ate my cereal and soy milk way to early in the day to eat anything. Got down town and parked about 5 a.m. Walked about a mile back to the shuttle pick up and stood in the cool morning and waited for the shuttles and then waited at the other end for over an hour for the race to start and another 37 minutes before I was able to go.

I was pretty stiff and cold by that point. Couldn’t really walk to warm back up because I was in the middle of a pack that were running. I started out to fast and got tired pretty quick. At about mile 2 I was running down a hill and thats were I pulled my hip.

But I kept going. I finished. Here are my times:

Splits: 5 Km 10 Km 9 Mile Finish

Times: 49:02 1:46:41 2:38:57 3:57:22

Pace: 15:47 17:11 17:40 18:07

I didn’t do as well as I had planned, or even as well as I had hoped. But I shaved time off from the last one and I did. I finished it. I may do the one in November again, but I am not signing up right now. Since Char, Leslie and I decided to do the one last year I have been signed up for a marathon for a year and a half except the five weeks after finishing that one and signing up for this one.

June 27, 2009. Exercise, Goals, Marathon, Running. 2 comments.

Cool Gear

Well today I picked up the packet for the race tomorrow. It was exciting and bustling with activity and I was very proud to be going through with this even though it will not be nearly as much fun without Char there this time. There were all kinds of t-shirts, sweatshirts, running pants, shorts, hats, water bottle carriers, GU, all kinds of stuff. I didn’t buy any shirts and will be wearing the free one.

I am glad that the T-shirt is short sleeved as the run wont be as hot, however the start of the race may be cold and if the end is anything like the last one I’ll be wrapping myself up in the mylar blanket.

I certainly hope so because I am carrying very little. I know the last marathon was in November and cold and I wore a fleece (and walked 99.7% as I couldn’t run) but I had pockets for things like lip balm and ID and keys.

What I was looking for I found lots of them. I had been looking for one of these belts because, well I’m tired of trying to figure out what to do with my keys and such when I run and this will come in handy for dog walks even.

In this little belt, that is not supposed to bounce, I have cash, debit card, drivers license, lip balm, keys and my phone. I have decided to take the clip on I-Pod but if I need to put it and the headphones in there they will fit also.

Everyone keeps saying leave the music at home becuse there are bands every mile, but I run better with tunes so I am taking them just in case.

My race number is 22621 and the finish line will be streamed live here.

June 26, 2009. Exercise, Fears, Goals, Marathon, Motivation, Running, Weight Journal, Weight Loss. 1 comment.

Found Some

Motivation that is.

Today’s motivation besides the fact that I simply tacked on a half mile to my run is the fact that a pair of trousers I bought in London last time I was there (2006?) I took the tags off today and am wearing.

I have officially dropped a size in the last 4 weeks.

M O T I V A T I O N !!

June 23, 2009. Diet, Exercise, Goals, Healthy Food, Motivation, Running, Venting, Weight Journal, Weight Loss. 1 comment.

Re-Focused

I had a fantastic walk with Char this weekend and was able to talk about my lack of motivation and admit to the bowl of frosting I ate while making a cake last week.

I also admitted that I know what it takes to lose weight. I have done it before. I just clearly haven’t wanted it as bad as say that bowl of frosting or putting working out before gardening, friends, napping, reading or anything.

The thing is the more time I make for working out, the more energy I have for all of the “other” things I put off exercising to do instead.

So we re-committed to ourselfs. My commitment was to lose 2% of my body weight this week, and 1% every week thereafter for 10 weeks which will put me at SO MANY MORE THINGS TO WEAR in my closet by the end of July.

Several days in and I have tracked my food on fit day for the last three days and I have worked out each day.

One of the other things I realized while walking and talked was that I have been so focused on the running, or rather the “attempting to run” that all my other enjoyable workouts I haven’t been doing either. Instead of doing weights or the elliptical trainer or anything else because if I was going to workout it SHOULD be a run. Well I was not getting any workouts on the days I couldn’t bring myself to run. So instead the goal is to just workout everyday. Some of them will be runs but more importantly is to move my every shrinking ass.

Today ended up being a run, and then some core work and stretching. Missy thought since I was on the floor and that is her territory I must need her assistance while stretching.

IMG00143[1] IMG00146[1]

May 27, 2009. Diet, Exercise, Goals, Marathon, Running, Weight Journal, Weight Loss. 1 comment.

and another month down

Yes its been a month since I posted last. phooey.

I decided today when running that I am not getting this distance thing down. I have some sort of a mind/body block. Also I keep to the same routes because I am trying to measure distance.

Well its not working, I am not getting any further.

So I ran for 30 minutes today. I am going to add 5 more to that tomorrow and just work on building time. For some reason pushing myself for 5 more minutes doesn’t seem to have as much of a block as say another quarter mile.

There is barely a month until the 1/2 marathon. I am doubting myself but I don’t even want to elaborate on those thoughts.

So for now I’m working on time.

May 20, 2009. Exercise, Goals, Marathon, Running. 1 comment.

Positive Running

I didn’t quite make my 10 runs in 13 days but I got 8 in. I took all of my running gear to Sacramento with me and brought it all back clean and unused. Even with our best intentions it just doesn’t ever work out (pun intended) which is why I was trying for the 10 runs before I left.

Tonight I was actually afraid to run, not because of the running but I didn’t want to overheat because of this nasty heat rash. But I had to do something so after my yummy salad for dinner I got on the elliptical trainer for 20 minutes. I am very pleased with myself.

One thing that was better on this trip was my food choices. It helped that Chari was trying to make better choices and its always easier to do that with someone else but also I have been doing some positive thinking exercises. Mostly inpired by my support group Char and our daily checking in. She has some great posts here, here and here about positive thinking and how it helps you succeed. Hell all of her posts are mind provoking!

The positive thinking has been helping. Increasingly with my food choices. If I think I make proper food choices, portion size and generally healthy choices. Then I do! It makes it easier to think I choose good healthy fuel to put into my body then my choices follow what my mind is telling me what I already do.

I haven’t found the perfect mantra to repeat, I like Char’s of “I am thin, happy and debt-free” I also have been stressing the healthy choices and like an old mantra I used to say of “I am Fit, Strong and Healthy” so that comes to mind pretty easily.

But I am trying to figure out what I want to Focus on. Healthy Choices and Running for now. So I am also throwing in “I am a runner and fuel my machine with only the best”

So I may not have run in five days but I didn’t gain anything over the weekend and am looking forward to my run tomorrow, even in the rain!

April 21, 2009. Diet, Exercise, Goals, Healthy Food, Marathon, Running, Running Shoes, Weight Journal, Weight Loss. 1 comment.

Doing It!!

Peak is over and work is more manageable. I am going down to see Chari in Sacramento next weekend and since I rarely exercise while with her I am focusing on getting in 10 runs before the 17th.

I volunteered all weekend so there was no running then but Monday and Tuesday both held runs. Monday’s was not great but yesterday’s was much better. I have 8 more runs to fit into the next 10 days. Its doable.

I also need to start getting some other exercise. Its so easy to just focus on the running and trying to improve that the weight lifting, any other cardio, core and stretching take a back burner.

But like I said, I’m doing it!

Stand by for amazing updates and thrilled posts on success’s. I know they are just around the corner!!!

April 8, 2009. Diet, Exercise, Goals, Marathon, Running, Weight Journal, Weight Loss. 1 comment.