Day 7 - Last Day of Walking

Today was my last day of walking.  I'm super tired.  Too much fun over the weekend.  I decided to take a short walk. Eli and Macho tagged along.

I know what your thinking, he is tougher than he looks. 

I learned something important over the weekend.  Contrary to what I thought, the weekend is not a good time to schedule workouts.  There is usually a lot going on and in between it all there is no schedule.  The training plan I am using has 3 walk/run days.  I plan to knock those out during the week.  I would also like to take one other day and cross train.

However I am not counting the weekends out.  I will try to do unconventional workouts those days.  Like playing a sport or swimming with the kids.  I'm looking for to starting my running intervals tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Day 6 - Barely

One of those morning workout reasons was to avoid the day getting away from you. I woke up this morning knowing I should take my walk but the time just wasn't there. We took the kids to a fishing clinic today.  It was a lot of fun.  Afterwards I found myself home alone with them so there was no opportunity to walk then.  And then we went out with friends to a comedy club.  That was fun too. 

As short as it was, I manage to get a walk in.  If I can call it that.  I insisted Jonathan walk with me tonight. Even though I did a lot more physically then normal today I wanted to put my walk on the books.  So, when a friend was dropping us off tonight, I again insisted she drop us off at the front of the neighborhood so we could walk home from there.  She reluctantly did.  Thanks Lois :) 

One more day of walking.  Monday starts the running.

Day 5 - Afternoon Walk

I walked around Lake Eola this afternoon.  I get off at 3pm on Fridays so I headed over to the park.  The only problem was I was sooo unprepared!  One of the articles I read the other day had tips to bust excuses.  One of those tips was keep a spare pair of headphones.  Now I know, that's a good tip.    I forgot my headphones at home this morning. So, I found a pair of headphones in my bosses drawer.  I decided I would borrow those.  Too bad they were half broken.  I tossed them in the garbage half way through my last lap. No biggie. Something else I learned.  It's a good idea to charge your phone before going out. GPS and music use a lot of battery.

It wasn't all bad tho.  I saw a couple talking in sign language, another couple playing UNO, and the funniest swan ever.  Some of the swans were fishing.  They would stick their heads under the water to catch a fish but keep their body a float as graceful as ever.  But this one swan must have saw a fish he really wanted because he was so far down his feet and butt were wiggling in the air. Watching him made my day.

One of my goals is to run around Lake Eola without stopping.  One lap around the lake is approximately .88 of a mile.   I think thats a good starter goal.  Definitely doable.  

Before my phone died, I took some pictures of the park.

Day 4 - Morning Workout

In case you are wondering I did walk last night. I got home in just enough time to put my shoes on and walk my 40 mins before Big Brother.

This morning when my alarm went off I immediately turned it off.  Then I started to have second thoughts.  I got right up, put on my walking clothes and went out.  I'm glad to have that done.  I do feel a little tired though.  I never quite understood that, working out is suppose to give you energy for the day, but how can it when you feel drained after doing it?

I give credit to this blog for walking this morning.  I wanted to write about it but of course I can't unless I did it.  So I did.  This blog is doing its job.  Which leads me to an article I would like to share.  I found this a few weeks ago while researching beginning running. I was tossing the idea of a blog around.  Its called, "101 Kicks in the Butt" "You have 100 reasons for losing motivation to run. But we can top 'em with tips, inspiring quotes, and more. Pick your fix. Repeat as necessary."

http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/101-kicks-butt?page=4

Guess what tip No. 1 is. CREATE A BLOG where you post your daily mileage, then give out the Web address to your friends and family. Do you really want Aunt Ellen to ask why you skipped your four-miler on Wednesday?

Here are some of my other favorite tips.

7. SIGN UP NOW for a winter marathon in a warm state. Every training mile you log takes you closer to that winter getaway in toasty Phoenix, Florida, or Las Vegas.

12. EVERY MILE YOU RUN burns roughly 100 calories. Think of that next six-miler as two slices of pizza.

20. RUNNING COMMENTARY "The more I run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am." --George Sheehan, M.D., beloved former RW columnist

59. REMEMBER that you almost always feel better after a run than before it.

83. BE REALISTIC with your training. Sticking to a schedule of three workouts per week feels a lot better than quitting a more demanding plan. Go to runnersworld.com/smartcoach to customize your training program.

What's your motivation for running? 

Day 3 - The question on every one's mind, or maybe just mine... "Before or After Work"

I am not a morning person.  6, 7 or even 8, I do not want to get up.  So naturally morning workouts are not appealing to me.  There is an ongoing debate about morning v. evening. The main pro I see for morning workouts is you get it over with. The main pro for evening workouts is more time with no rush. 

The last two days I have walked in the evening with no problems.   However today I am feeling a little tired.  Currently my dad is in the hospital so I stopped by to visit him.   And at 8pm tonight my favorite show of all time comes on, Big Brother!!

 I'll admit I wish I had already walked today.   

I did a little online research.  Morning workouts seemed to be heavily weighted.  Here are two interesting articles.

http://www.boxingscene.com/exercise/1312.php 

http://www.fitsugar.com/Should-I-Work-Out-Morning-Evening-25313792. 

I'll let you know what schedule I end up taking in a few weeks.

I will go with which works best for me. What's your opinion on the morning v. evening workout debate?

Day 2 - If I am going to do anything crazy...

Second day of walking. After work I fiddled around and eventually put on my shoes and went for a walk.  It was very nice outside, probably the perfect temperature, and lots of people walking.  It was actually pretty peaceful.

The last few months I have been saying if I am going to do anything crazy, I should do it before I am 30.  That gives me just under 2 and a half years.  Here's my list (so far)

1. Run around Lake Eola without stopping

2. Enter a paddle board race

3. Get a tattoo on my back (bigger than the tiny one I already have)

4. Learn to surf

5. Run a 5k without stopping

6. Lose 65lbs 

7. Wear a bikini

8. Dance like no one is watching 

9. Buy a bike

10. Stretch enough to touch my toes (I know silly, but I cannot do it) 

11. Ride a jet ski

12. Run a half marathon 

13. Go skiing (again)

14. Volunteer for a race

15. Swim/Bike/Run an Irongirl 

16. Grow a garden 

17. Take a trip to NY City

18. Go hiking in Tennessee

19. Go on a family camping trip

20. Put a purple streak in my hair   

Day 1 - So many choices

If you google running training plans the results will be hundreds of different plans with different time frames, progression and days. And then there are the books. There are two aspects I am looking for. 1. A plan that does not require 6 to 7 days of running per week. I would like to cross train on free days. 2. A modest progression of running. I do not want a plan that has running 5 minutes on the third week. After lots of research I have decided to use the book, The Beginning Runner's Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk/Run Program by Ian MacNeill. I learned through reading reviews that there are two versions of this book. I decided that the older version was best suited for me.

Since it is not the newest version I had to order a used copy. However, I was able to find a PDF copy of the plan. Which means, no excuses. I must start now.

The plan starts with 5 tips to help you start running safely

1. Walk for the first week If you are new to running - even if you are physically fit - you should walk for the first week. Although this may sound boring, there is statistically a very good chance of becoming injured in your third month of running if you do not begin with a period of walking. It takes time for your joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones to get used to the impact and mechanics of running. Your overall fitness tends to increase before your body has fully adapted, and that is when you get injured. Use the first week of walking to get into the habit of exercise, and adjust your daily routine, and let your body get a head start on adapting to running. If you have jogged a little, but never run far, it is still advisable to begin a program of mainly walking before you start running.

2. Remember the talk test When you are training, you should be able to maintain a conversation, talking in complete sentences. If you are too out of breath to do this, you are training too fast.

3. Rest Your fitness and strength do not improve while you are running. They improve while you are resting, as your body responds to the stresses it has experienced. Rest is just as important a part of your training program as running. When you start running, you should not run more than every other day. As you get more experienced, you should take a day off each week.

4. Do not increase your distance more than 3 miles a week You should not increase your weekly mileage more than 3 miles in any one week. This will ensure that you build up slowly. Jumps in mileage are asking for injury.

5. Keep at it for at least 4 weeks For many runners, the first 3-4 weeks are a real struggle. Every time you put on your running shoes, you wonder why you are doing it. But one day, after about 3 weeks, you will suddenly feel the wind at your back, and you will run easily and smoothly without effort. Running will get easier from then on, and the good days will increase while the hard days recede.

I dragged my good friend Kayla out tonight. I made sure to give her a heads up, no running. She was a good sport. So for the next seven days, its me and walking!