another week and the end of January

I can hardly believe that it is already the end of January. As I posted earlier in the week I have learned a lot this month - I think the two most important lessons are to take my scheduled rest seriously and not to get too far ahead of myself comparing where I am to where I want to be.

There is still a lot of time. And I don't have to change anything for the month of February.

Here is this week's final summary:
Monday - 60 minutes @ Bressler's
Tuesday - 30 minutes on treadmill (with extra points since it was 6am)
Wednesday - 40 minutes @ Bressler's
Thursday - 35 minutes on treadmill (with extra points since it was 6am)
Friday - REST
Saturday - 1 hour on treadmill followed by 1 hour @ Bressler's
WEEK TOTAL: 290 fitness minutes

The scale hasn't really changed at all this week - or this month - but I am getting more tone. I think I am looking pretty good through the face and just below the boobs. Not ready to change pant sizes yet.

Things I am learning about food:
Too many refined carbs = heartburn.
I do not like gyoza from Sushi Express.
The donuts from Beyond Glaze are not as good as they used to be.
One chocolate donut from Winder on Friday is really enough.
One slice of good pizza is far more satisfying than several slices of ok pizza.
I feel better in the morning if I don't eat after 7pm.

In other news, I think I have another person convinced to join us in Logan - my neighbor Mindy. As she put it, "I've never been to a 26.2 mile birthday party!" :)

OH YEAH - this week's quote, "No one's training program goes exactly as planned. Be ready at any point to rethink your goals."

Craig Harper on Stop Stopping

This is from Craig Harper's blog and you can read the full article here. The point is that we all know what we need to do to "finish" (read: continue) on our journey. Here is what he has to say on the subject:

So here are some suggestions to help you finish – or perhaps keep doing – what you should.

1. Don’t make emotional or reactive decisions.

2. Don’t start something which is (probably) not maintainable.

3. Re-set your default setting.

4. Don’t rely on anyone to get you there.

5. Weigh up and accept the cost of change.

6. Stop giving yourself an escape clause.

one month down

So, I got this little note from Angela on Facebook this week (thanks for the accountability!) and thought it was worth actually being reflective. Here goes.





Training is ok. I have been getting 4-5 workouts in each week. I have been on the treadmill. I have hit a good balance between pushing myself and not overdoing. (Remember, I want to make it to my birthday withOUT an overuse injury!)

I have not yet bought a Garmin. I was planning on doing that with my tax refund, but we made $400 into the next tax bracket and now OWE almost $2000 in taxes. That is majorly frustrating to me, especially since I took a CUT in pay since August. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

I have been freaking out about my speed, or lack thereof, the past week or so. In my mind I am ready to start jogging. I want to start cranking out at least a 15 minute pace on the treadmill. But I know that I am too heavy to do that to my joints at this point. So, more waiting.

I have to trust this process and remind myself that I have TIME.

The plan for February is to continue in this groove. Boxing on Mon, Wed, Sat; walking on Tues, Thurs, Sat; rest on Fri and Sun.

I am also giving myself permission to wait until March to really work the nutrition piece.

Week in Review 1/24

This week has been an interesting mix of pushing myself and allowing myself to rest. I was happy when I finally gave into the notion that I may have been overtraining and that I needed to take some rest time to get my head back into the game. The irritability and the dull ache in my knee/quad/hip were what finally pushed me over the edge.

From a workout point of view this is what I got done:
Monday: 40 minutes at Bressler's - worked with Damien on correcting my form to take the pressure off my knee/quad/hip
Tuesday: off (had dental work done and didn't feel very good)
Wednesday: 30 minutes at Bressler's - I was actually there for more like an hour, but stood around talking for a lot of the time
Thursday: 30 minute interval workout on the treadmill
Friday: 50 minutes at Bressler's
Saturday and Sunday: Off - including a wonderful 90 minute massage

TOTAL Fitness Minutes this week: 150
YEAR TO DATE: 650 minutes

Nutrition has been up and down. I am definitely noticing that my physical appetite is satisfied with a LOT less food. That's not to say that I'm doing a good job of listening to my stomach and not over-eating, but that will come. I have struggled a bit with the emotional eating this week, too. But I think that being worn out had a lot to do with that.

For this last week of January the plan is boxing on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday; intervals on Tuesday and Thursday; steady state medium cardio on treadmill on Saturday; rest on Friday and Sunday.

The quote for this week was, "Don't get so focused on the road ahead that you forget to look around." When I finally gave in and embraced the resting weekend I remembered to do this. When I look around where I am right now I see two great sons, a wonderful pair of puppies and cats, a job that I love, a body that will do a lot of what I ask it to, a great house and terrific friends. Life is good!

I did it!

I rested.

I realized that my body an emotions were trying to tell me something (rest!!!!) and I listened.

I really wanted to go to Bressler's yesterday morning. I really wanted to hit some mitts and visit with people. But I didn't do it.

Instead, I booked a hair cut/color, a brow wax and a 90 minute massage and planned an early bedtims.

This morning, I look great, my body feels good, my head is more clear and I know when Monday rolls around and I go back to the grind it will be all good.

Today is more lazing around - coffee with Jen, a trip to the store and some paperwork for school.

Lesson learned: take the rest days!

overtrining?

The following is an exerpt from an article on overtraining found on shapefit.com:

The Signs

• Persistent muscle soreness
  
• Elevated resting heart rate
  
• Increased susceptibility to infections
  
• Increased incidence of injuries
  
• Irritability
  
• Depression
  
• Loss of motivation
  
• Insomnia
  
• Decreased appetite
  
• Weight loss

Experiencing a loss of interest in what you once felt passion for is never fun. What causes over training?

To see improvement in ones strength and fitness they must rest. The rest period following hard training is a magical process which takes at least 36 hours to complete. By skimping on rest, complete regeneration cannot occur. If the amount of training continues to exceed the rest period, the individual's performance will plateau and decline.

I am posting this because I **NEED** to take the resting part of the equation seriously. Friday was supposed to be my rest day and I totally was cranky and nasty and went to the gym to blow it all off. But I also have totally achey legs from working to correct some form issues at boxing, so I need to give those muscles time to recover.

Big problem: Bressler's is WAY more exciting than sitting at home.... Maybe I should start a new novel...

two questions that are changing my life

I was laying in bed getting ready to doze off when I remembered this video that @ddraper brought to my attention at the end of last week. I remember talking to Damien a little about it while we were hitting mitts on Saturday. And then suddenly this blog entry took over my mind and I had to come get it all out. :)

Here is the video.

Two questions that can change your life from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

Of course, this begs the question, "What's your sentence, Jen?"

Professionally it was easy: "13 years of teaching kids to love mathematics - and counting!" The pun is essential to this sentence since it captures that piece of irreverence that is such a integral part of how I am wired.

I've been working on my sentence for my "job" as a mom and my "job" as an individual.

As a mom it's something about loving my boys with all that I am and doing what I can to lead them down the path towards autonomy and their own sentences.

As an individual it has everything to do with answering the second question, "Am I better today than I was yesterday?" It has something to do with the byline of this blog: reaching for the best shape of my life by my birthday. But I think there is also a part of being that runner, that cyclist, that boxer, that athlete, that football mom, the teacher, the mother, the lover (dare I wish for that?)....

So, that is what I am ruminating on as my clock approaches the 240 day mark.

What is YOUR sentence?

week 2 in review

I had a total of 255 fitness minutes this week. 30 of them were on the bike and the rest were at the boxing gym. I average 750 calories per hour working out so that makes about 3000 calories burned for the week. Theoretically that's a pound burned off. We'll take it.

My left leg (knee, quad and hip) is a little tweaky and I finally figured out that it's because when I'm supposed to be pivoting on it from the ankle I'm actually doing more from the knee and hip. (I am numb in most of my left ankle from a tib/fib fracture in '95.) Keeping it taped and doing more treadmill and less boxing will help, too. But that's what I need to start doing anyway.

One thing I like about my training log is that it has these motivational quotes on each page. This week's was, "In the beginning there was you. You'll the YOU that you are now and make it the YOU that you're going to be. But throughout the journey, you are all you'll ever need."

I am in this for ME. I can do it.

it's looking like a party!

As I pulled into work the other day, I noticed a TOU (Top Of Utah) sticker on a colleague's car. Of course, I had to go ask if she had done the race. She has! Twice!

She told me about the course and her experience.

AND, she is going to try to sell her hubby on the two of them doing it together and with me this year. YAY!

Also, one of the trainers from the boxing gym wants in, even though he's not a runner.

So, at this point it looks like I'll have at least 5 people out there on the course "with" me.

I just love that so far the only people who have tried to dissuade me are my sisters and my parents. And that's not as facitous as it sounds.

Jeny says there's a good party the night before at TOU. So it'll be a great weekend. What a perfect way to ring in my 40th!

less than 250 days

Less than 250 days.

I know I already said that.

But, it's less than 250 days away.

And I still have time before the "real" training begins.

But, I'm getting a little nervous. Antsy is more the word for it. And some of the "what ifs" are dancing in my head. "What if" I get hurt during training? "What if" I can't get my speed up? "What if" I end up hating this? "What if" my schedule ends up messed up and I can't train? "What if......."

Then there's the part of me that is going "let's start let's start let's start let's start....." I wanna run. I wanna get fast(er). I wanna work. I wanna sweat. I wanna plan my long workouts.... I wanna go go go go go.

And then there's this one other thing - my real life local friends that have committed to do this crazy thing with me, I think they want to train with me, too, but I've gotten to be a big fan of the long, solo workout. Jen and I usually start at the same time and end at the same time but spend a lot of time going at our own paces. I've gotten so I really like that. That time alone with my thoughts and my music and my blood pumping and all that. So, I'm not sure how to handle that when it comes up. Guess I'll cross/burn that bridge when I come to it.

T-11 weeks until Week 1 of the training program. :)

uh.....yeah.......

So, do you remember that thing I said back at the beginning of the month about my tendency to get a little gung-ho and over do? Remember how I said I was purposely going to pull back? Remember how I said that I WASN'T going to risk any overuse injuries?

Well, I think I overdid just a little bit....... But I think that with some ibuprofen and laying low (read: not working out tomorrow morning) for a day or so that I will be ok......

This is the afterward to the psycho-babble post, and goes something along of the lines of "physician heal thyself" and "God can only help those who help themselves".

I need to not do too much - and I need to not freak about wanting it all NOW.

pity party

WARNING: psycho-babble blog entry ahead - PROCEED WITH CAUTION

Yesterday, Sunday, for no good reason I started getting that awful, tight, sore feeling in my right hip. It's an old vulnerable spot from a car accident when I was 19. For a lot of years I had chronic pain there. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that sometimes it flares up.

As I was winding out for the night having gone through my battery of stretches, and ice, and heat, and self-massage trying to loosen it up I got thinking about what that pain means to me.

It IS, quite literally, the embodiment of "not good enough" and "what will happen if...?"

Long story short, I am out of touch with my inner "sexy". I have let that die. I have covered it up with fat and aches and pains and busy-ness. And while I've said it before, I will say it again, this journey is NOT about some number on the scale. It is about FITNESS and being able to keep up with the life I want. It is about getting rid of all the stupid, weight-exacerbated prescriptions in my cabinet. It is about simply NOT being fat.

I am grateful that I know myself and my body well enough at this point to know that there are a myriad of "looks" I will never have. I just want to look in the mirror and be normal instead of fat.

And now, I need to give myself permission to let these next 9 months happen. Let them unfold slowly. So that when I'm standing at the starting line on September 18 I'm ready to let the marathon be the 26.2 mile gateway into the best years of my life with MY best body. And feeling good in that skin IS sexy.

not one, but two workouts

Yes, it's true, I worked out twice in a row today. On purpose.

Rationale: from an endurance standpoint I really need to be getting a "long" workout in each week.

So I went and worked out at Bressler's because I need my Saturday morning boxing workout with Tim. Once I was good and tired from that, I went over to Crossroads for 45-ish minutes on the treadmill. No need for speed, just time on the feet.

I actually loved every minute of it and wished I hadn't gotten such a late start and/or spent time watching Logan spar because I could've done a full hour on the treadmill had I played my cards better.

I did experience first hand why you shouldn't mess with a good breakfast routine. My gut didn't really like the granola bar and yogurt breakfast. I should have taken the extra time (or started a bit earlier) to do my regular protein shake.

Good planning on the water and fueling. I had 20 oz. of water at Bressler's, 4 oz. chocolate milk in between, and went back and forth between 20 oz. of water and 12 oz. of Cytomax while on the treadmill. Four more ounces of chocolate milk were waiting for me (I love it when it's cold outside and I can leave stuff just sitting in the car) when I was done.

I had a granola bar and some water before going to my massage. Now I'm having lunch and a coffee drink. I feel a little tired, but not totally spent. It's good!

In other news, I think I had one of the guys at the gym ready to train for the marathon, right up until he asked, "how far is it again?" Me, "26.2 miles." Him, "that's really long......" Uh, yeah. :)

junk food friday

I am a person who needs her routines! In my work hard/play hard mentality I have to know what each of those things look like. This is why I make a good teacher. I am good at breaking things down into easily recognizable steps. But sometimes I forget that I need to do that for myself!

So...... here are some new FUN routines (or ways to play) that are rewards for working hard. And the rationale behind them.

As a reprise, here is what I consider the hard work (although, truth be told there is a LOT of fun to it!): the five or so hours I am currently in the gym (or working out) per week! This week it has been the boxing gym for an hour on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday nights; an interval workout on the treadmill Thursday morning at 6am; there will be a workout at Bressler's tomorrow morning for an hour; there is possibly a workout on Sunday, as well. On workout days I would say I eat decently. There is room for more veggies and fruits and I could cut out more sweets, but from a "calories in" standpoint I don't think I am breaking the bank. I definitely get all my water in. The more I work out, the more I tend to naturally watch more of what I'm eating so that I can keep my body going for my workouts.

That's a lot of work!

So here's the play:

• Early bedtime Thursdays. My husband doesn't work on Fridays, so it's not so critical that he get to bed earlier, so he can be in charge of getting the boys to bed. He is already in charge of dinner that night since I have ESL class. So I can come home from class, get into my pjs and then just chilax and go to bed early. I am usually really ready for it by Thursdays, too. Like last night - out cold by 9. And we all know that SLEEP is an important element of training!
  
• Junk food Fridays. Fridays are already my "off" day from working out. It's also the day I have a more relaxed morning (again, since my husband is off on Fridays) and just love to do things like donuts for breakfast that I would NEVER do on a day I need to pull off a workout. Back in the day when "Body for Life" was big, people were always talking about taking a day off each week. There are other people (e.g. Jillian Michaels and my friend Kim Mitchell) who talk about taking days off or having "re-feeding" days. I think sometimes you just need to break it up. You need to know when the "deprivation" is going to end (well maybe you don't, but I do). Friday is also the day we usually do pizza dinner or I go out with friends. By just allowing it as a "fun food" day there is no guilt. It just is part of the program.
• Therapy Thursdays? This one has a question mark because I am still trying to work out the scheduling and financial details. I would love for Thursday to be the day I either get a chiropractic adjustment or a massage. Then I can have a full 24 hours for it to "take" before my next workout.

So, there you have it! What do you think?

first treadmill workout of 2010

I successfully got up and got to the gym at 6am. I had everything laid out last night to make it easier. I remembered to eat a little something (half a yogurt) and take some water. I wore my HR monitor and had my iPod all scrolled up to my Jonathan Roche Interval workout.

True confession time - I have not been on a treadmill in YEARS - like it was in that life BPF (Before Plantar Fasciitis). Thankfully, I am pretty aware of my walking pace from having trained for and walked a half marathon.

Another true confession - I was pretty sure that my AT (Anabolic Threshold) was lower than what my latest calculated one (158) - as I haven't trained that way since before my hyst last March.

So, I knew that today was going to be kind of like a pre-test. Let's see what I can do.

With all of that laid out, here's how I did.

I did my warmup at a 2.0 incline and a speed of 2.5. This was very comfortable. For my intervals I played with the incline and the speed. 3.0 on both incline and speed were good for those medium-hard intervals. For the hard intervals at the end of the workout I experimented a little with speed and even some jogging. My fast walking speed/slow jog speed is 3.5. The last interval was hard. HARD.

Total it was about 40 minutes and about 2 miles.

When I put the info from my HR monitor into my Momentum software it suggested that I use 152 as my AT, so I'll make that adjustment for next time.

So, I'm pretty happy overall on a lot of fronts: I did it, I did it at 6AM, I did NOT overwork, I did push myself appropriately, I know where I'm at relative to where I need to get. I'll take it. :)

rambling

I must be a little tired because I can't really think of a theme or a title or anything to go with any of this, so it's realy just random, scattered kinds of thoughts while I'm in my PJs on Wednesday night!

Random thing 1. You know that phenomenon when you first start working out hard and your body is tired so you are just hungry a lot? That's been me this week at the oddest times. I haven't been making the best choices to get through it either - like Double Stuff OREOs. I think I may need to start doing some pre-emptive eating to avoid the hungry.... of course, that would involve some planning and I haven't been mentally with it enough to do that, either. (Have I mentioned that I'm worn out by starting back to work?)

Random thing 2. I really love the boxing gym. It is kind of like Cheers without the beer and with really fit, ripped up guys around instead of Norm and Carla.

Random thing 3. I have everything all laid out for tomorrow's 6AM cardio workout at the new gym. Not the boxing gym. The other gym - Crossroads Fitness - that is open at that hour and has beautiful equipment. I am planning on doing an interval workout on the treadmill. (I cycle for 20 minutes a day when I go to Bressler - the boxing gym - so I think I need the time on my feet. We'll see.

Random thing 4. I have iced my knees each day this week and it is really starting to make a difference in how they feel all though the day.

Random thing 5. I can't wait until it's actually easy for me to get up and down - like from a chair to standing or up and down off the floor.

Random thing 6. I am so glad that I instituting a 9pm lights out rule at my house, because I don't think I could survive if I were any more tired!

Random thing 7. Speaking of being tired, there were so many other thoughts when I was eating dinner and stuff, but I can't remember them now. LOL!

LOL some more. As soon as I hit publish and it went back to my page I remembered one of the other things. Sometimes when I see that countdown timer at the top of my page, I panic just a little. I haven't decided if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

peanut butter cups and junk workouts

Well, today (actually yesterday since I'm writing this Tuesday morning instead of Monday night) was a lesson in many things.

1. Teaching is tiring. After being home for nearly 2 weeks with little to do except relax, workout on my own schedule, straighten up the house, it was back to the ole grind. And by 10am I was tired. By the time the day was over I could barely think in complete sentences - and it was only 4pm! This always makes me wonder what it is about teaching that is so tiring. I don't know that I was any more active than I was at home, but I think that just the sheer responsibility and interaction with so many little personalities is what does it. Imagine hosting a party for 30 11 year-olds for 180 days in a row - oh yeah, and at the end of the year they'll be tested on what you did and their scores will be published in the newspaper.
2. Peanut butter cups are not going to make or break this training. At least not at this stage in the game. My cute principal (who is likely going to read this - hi, Christie!) has a candy jar on her desk that is stocked with my favorite candy (Resess PB Cups). When I need a little pick-me-up I wander down there, say hi, eat some candy. I wasn't expecting to be asked how it fit into my training! The good news is that I already knew I was going to workout for an hour yesterday, so the calories weren't really an issue. The other good thing is that it reminded me that I am in this for the FITNESS not for the scale. But maybe I should get some cans of Starbucks espresso light to keep in her fridge instead.....
3. Junk workouts still count. Yesterday I was so exhausted by the time I went to the boxing gym. My shoulders were aching on my first round of the speed bag. I was getting cramps in all kinds of weird places. And when I got in the ring to hit mitts with Logan I could barely throw a punch, much less keep track of a sequence of punches. But when I got home, I still got to record it in my training log. So that old adage of "you'll never regret the workouts you do, just the ones you don't" was totally true.
   

Long story short, I was OUT COLD by 10pm last night and getting up to get my son to band this morning was about all I could do. But on the whole I feel about my day yesterday (although what I haven't told you all is that I was so tired after the teaching and workout and cooking dinner and getting boys to scouts that I had about a 700 calorie junk food binge while trying to collapse in the recliner) and have thought about some easy little switches that I can try to implement for the future. I'll take it. :)

the plan for jan - 39 weeks to the race

In the spirit of using this year to learn and grow I need to come face to face with my tendency to go overboard, overtrain, and then get hurt.

What I have been doing is averaging three hours at the boxing gym a week for just over a month now.

I am going to stick with that on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday for right now. It is super fun, recreational fitness. It is low impact and works more on my upper body.

I have tons of time to get there (the starting line) from here. And I have an intermediate goal of wanting to ride in Little Red.

With ALL of that in mind, here is the plan for Jan:

• Monday, Wednesday, Saturday: boxing gym
• Tuesday and Thursday: interval training workout (bike once, treadmill once)
• Sunday: optional walk and coffee with Jen/rest
• Friday: mandatory rest

A final note, as much as I want to start jogging, I am going to force myself NOT to for this month. Slow and steady.....

running reading

I've been reading more in "The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women", listening to the Two Gomers podcast, and generally reflecting on everything I've read about running over the years. Now, I love reading, so I don't mind having read a lot of the same things over and over and over, but in case you don't like to read, I thought I'd distill it all down into some a simple list of do's and don't bothers.

DO:

• Buy your running shoes from a good LRS (Local Running Store) - they will fit you, give you great advice, and talk you down when are completely freaked out about something running related. They also keep your shoe size, make and model in their computer so that you don't accidentally run in a size 10 when you are really a 10.5. Speaking of said computer, trust it and not your memory when it comes to what size, make and model you wear so that you don't accidentally run in a size 10 for 4 months when you are really a size 10.5.
  
• Buy your socks at the same time you buy your shoes. There is a magic that happens when your shoes and socks love each other. The only way to know that your shoes and socks are (most likely) to love each other is to try them on at the same time (at the LRS) and go for a little test jog. Your LRS will let you do this.
• Spend the money on "bottoms" with chafe-free seams. You can decide if you like shorts, capris, tights, or whatever. They will be more than you want to spend. The good thing about not walk/running every day is that you have time to give them a quick rinse when you get home and let them air dry before you need them again. They will also last a really long time. (I have a biking skort that has lasted 3 years and hundreds of hours.)
• Keep your eyes on Champion.com for their semi-annual bra sales. Not only are they great sports bras, but who doesn't love a sale?
• Ice, stretch and rest. I know that I have to ice after each workout and stretch at least once a day. I also know that my body needs 2 rest days a week. Find your sweet spot in these regards and keep your body happy.
• Ask! There always people in real life and online that have been there, done that and will be happy to tell you what worked for them.
  

DON'T BOTHER:

• Spending a lot of money on your tops. Target and the sale rack or other discount sites will do. You just want wicking fabrics.
• Getting a pedicure. You actually need to build UP your callouses so that you don't blister. If your heels are so rough they are tearing your sheets, then just get one of those foot files to keep in your shower.
• Worrying about your speed, pace, training program, or other preferences compared to anyone but yourself. That's the beauty of walk/running - for most of us we will never be competing with anyone - so the only person whose opinion really matters is you.
• Buying a lot of running books. Read them from the library first and then only buy the ones you know you'll want to re-read.
• Coming out of the gate too fast. As the queen of just about every over-use injury, I can tell you that it's not worth the time on the sofa. Take your time.

So, I think that's about it - years worth of reading, listening and doing, condensed and put out there for your consideration.

PS- Happy New Year!