at the end of march, i ran a 10k race. after a winter of treadmilling it, i was able to run 10k at least once before the race, which i did around the track at the high school. liz and i finished the race with decent time, and it was the first time she’d actually run that far.
and since liz is a masochist, she wants me to train to run a half marathon with her.
so, this summer i guess i start training for a half marathon. i had already thought about the fact that i needed to start running at least three miles every time i went out, but this sort of pushed the matter. but the matter with this matter is my muscle fatigue.
after five miles, my muscles decide enough is enough, and it’s time to sit down and lie on the ground for an hour. that just won’t do if i’m supposed to be running twice that distance. so i googled it and asked facebook advice from the runners on my friends list, and really i just came to a simple realization.
i need to just run longer distances more. i did decide to bring along a water bottle and some refueling snacks for the longer runs. the general advice out there is if you’re going to be running for more than an hour, you need to bring water and something to eat (but especially water so you don’t get deyhdrated).
i bought a nice looking fancy fanny pack for the water bottle and foodstuffs, as well as a place to hold my key (yay!) when i’m starting from the high school parking lot. i went out a couple weeks ago on a 6-mile run, and it actually worked pretty well. i stopped twice for water and eating, and when i got back to my car, i was still fatigued, but a little less so. (that was when i had my realization about long distances.)
last week, i ran 3+ miles every day i went out, and two of the days were 4+ miles. my body hated me by the end of the week.
(as an aside, this week has been horrible windy, so i went out for the first time today. i am not going back to the treadmill til i have to.)
so this summer, bring on the long distances.
i was out two weeks running for my foot issue back in october. last month was just frigid, so my outside running opportunities were close to nil, and i had to force myself to get on the treadmill (well, i’d rather run on the treadmill and be warm). i was really disappointed that my outdoor running for this past fall was cut so short.
then i saw that this weekend was supposed to be 40s out and no snow on the ground. i wasn’t incapacitated! i wasn’t sick! i threw on my running clothes and headed outside.
there is just something about running outside that is leaps and bounds (literally) ahead of treadmill running. the air is fresh. it blows in your face so you aren’t stewing in your sweat more than need be. there is more than the wall to look at. you’d think that running on a treadmill would be easier running, but it’s not, so i had a better time of actually getting my feet on the ground. i could weave all over the path and not worry about stepping off the side and falling to my death via moving machine. needless to say, my mid-december run was glorious. it wasn’t too cold, the asphalt wasn’t frozen, and there was moisture in the air so i wasn’t running with a raw throat. it was foggy, so visibility wasn’t great, but it meant i didn’t have to worry about sunglasses. i was just outside of a mile and a half when i realized i should probably turn around and head home because the sun set 4:30, otherwise i would’ve made this a four mile run. curse you axial tilt!
i got home – my cheeks were chilly and my glasses foggy, but overall it was a really good run. my time wasn’t the greatest, but what do you expect from two months of on and off running on a crappy treadmill?
here’s to outside running! *huzzah*
this summer has been really awful for running. i’ve been going three times a week, but they’re short runs, and i have a 10k coming up in a couple weeks that i’m really hoping i can pull off.
as it is, getting a run in outside by the time dark falls is starting to be a challenge. no longer is the sun out until 9 p.m. 🙁 i’m not looking forward to treadmill running.
so, next week i have to ramp it up and hopefully get some real miles under my belt. the weather’s supposed to be somewhat decent, not like this humid, hot week, with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. praise calliope.
i ran 6 miles once this summer so far, so i know it can be done. it’s just a matter of doing it. here’s hoping!
i don’t know what’s been going on with my body lately, but my runs have been really rough lately. i’ve been trying to eat earlier so i don’t have to worry about having a full stomach on my runs, and i’ve even taken aspirin before heading out in hopes that it would at least dull the overall pounding my body does on the pavement.
so, i figure it’s one of two things:
a. i need more sleep. this is highly likely. i’ve been sleeping like crap lately, and i really need to catch up on lost sleep from the last month, which i just haven’t been able to get around to doing. i try to get to sleep around 11 each night, but for some reason my brain doesn’t want me to go to sleep until midnight. thanks, brain. idiot.
b. i need new shoes. new shoes make everything better usually, but i know my current ones still have some life left in them. but, i will need some fairly quickly, and my knees haven’t been giving me too much grief lately.
or it could be a combination of the two, which is probably right. i’ve been avoiding the hills lately by driving down to the school and taking off either on the track or running around town. town is more exciting, but the track sure is nice on the feets and knees.
anyway, that’s my running update.
my 5k time was AWESOME this morning. started off with my co-runners, but after liz decided to need to slow down, i picked up and went off. after i nearly choked on my water and it dribbled down my front, i kicked it up a notch.
i hate running in the morning. unfortunately that’s when most races are held. needless to say, i was nearly croaked by the time i spied the finish line. after the gal in front of me got out the way, i booked it to the end. the timer, which is a close but not exact finish time, was closing in on 36 mins, and i wanted to beat it. i did.
later today i checked the site to see what my time was, and i did it UNDER 35!!! that is NUTS. crazytalk! that’s a pace of 11:14/mile. i have never run that! anyway, if the past two years are indicative, that will be around my average pace at the end of outdoor running season. woo!
i’d been really good about getting my 10,000 steps a day in with my fitbit as inspiration. but these olympics are just putting a dent in my steps per day. if i had space for the treadmill upstairs so i could walk and watch at the same time, i totally would. if my tv area were downstairs were my treadmill was, i would also totally walk/run and watch at the same time.
ALAS, it’s not to be. so for the next week, i guess i’ll be a schlub. after the olympics are done, time to get back in gear with my treadmill time. of course, by that time, it might be 40 degrees out already and i could take a run around st charles! (i’m really really looking forward to outside running.)
i got an anonymous* request for some of my current running tips and routine.
i’ve written a couple posts with running tips, so i’ll link and summarize:
1. runrunrunrun – 5 top tips from kate for running.
– gamify
– gear
– go (slow)
– get pumped up
– just do it
in which i discuss how people feel the need to cheer on hefty runners, even if they can run farther than a skinny runner. that makes me feel happy and patronized at the same time.
4. it’s hard jane – getting through couch to 5k is an ordeal
my c25k experience. how long it took, how much it sucked, what ailments i endured, etc.
my current routine? treadmill. ugh. treadmills suck. that said, i try to run at least 40 mins once a week and half an hour another two times a week, always in the evening. (and it sucks. i’ve really been not doing so well.) i still run between a 12-13 minute mile.
now that i have my fitbit, i’ve been trying to walk the days i don’t run so i can get 10,000 steps a day in. the walking is actually helping a little bit since it stretches out my longer leg muscles. while i run, i either listen to my running music playlist or an audiobook. when i walk, i bring down the laptop and watch TV shows on netflix/amazon.
another couple months and i’ll start running outside again. when i run outside, i tend to run a little more often, 4 times a week or more, and i’ll run 4+ miles at least once a week. this summer i think i’ll try to run more distance.
* not so anonymous, since megan posted it on facebook
running on a treadmill is really no fun.
when i first got the treadmill, i huffed and puffed on that thing and felt like i was getting nowhere (well, really i wasn’t anyway, but you know what i mean). i got the display working temporarily so i could actually see what the distances were, and i was barely breaking a 15-minute mile. what was wrong with me??
i got down on the ground, and it turns out the treadmill was at a constant incline. nopenopenope. evened that sucker out and got to my somewhat normal times. but still, trying to maintain your balance, running in place, and not tripping or tipping over is so annoying.
since i bought mine off craigslist, of course there are little weird things about it. the most dangerous is that the key is missing, so if you do something that would normally pull the plug on the machine, it actually keeps going. i’ve only almost biffed it once while i was trying to look at my time on my phone in my armband. that would’ve been a disaster on the concrete. (perhaps it’s the craigslist killer’s way of killing by natural selection…)
treadmilling on even tread is ok, but it still isn’t quite the same as running on flat, unmoving ground. or even unflat unmoving ground. i think you actually exert more energy just trying to stay between the handrails.
that said, WALKING on a treadmill is actually ok. maybe it’s because i never technically leave the ground for a split second like i do when running. maybe it’s because more of my foot is in contact with the ground and i don’t feel like i’m going to wobble my way over the side. i could walk for 5 hours on a treadmill and be ok.
so let’s just say that the current trend of daylight inching later and later into the day is a good one. the sooner i can get out on the pavement and trails the better.
scale victory, y’all. yes, the led is hard to read. it says 199.4.
height: 5’9″
bone structure: large
weight: 199.4!
i have lost enough weight where i feel a little comfortable talking about my weight. at this point, i am merely “overweight” and only about 30 lbs. so. that’s reasonable enough.
fall 2010 nate bought a scale. i’d never been a believer in scales, except when i went to the doctor’s office. he was on a health kick, though, and wanted a fancy one. ok. i avoided it for a while, then got on and started weighing myself occasionally. one day in spring 2011, i got on and weighed 268. it was like a moment of clarity – at this point, i realized that 268 was way too close to 275, and 275 was way too close to 300. and 300 was too much. i had to do something. i didn’t really know what.
i’d been corn syrup-free for a year, but that really hadn’t changed my eating habits – just what i ate. i still ate sugar, just not as much and only things made with actual sugar. i grazed after supper all the time. and no real activity.
at the same time, liz had mentioned doing couch-2-5k, and i read through the program. i had never considered myself a runner, even the summer after my first year at csb when liz and i ran every night. but this looked intriguing and relatively easy. so i decided to give it a try. in addition, i did my best to stop eating after supper.
over the summer, i sort of did the third week of c2-5k over and over, until mid-september when my knees started to hurt. but i had lost 15 lbs, just from not eating after supper and doing the piddly third week of c2-5k. but i needed to wait until i saw the doc.
once the doc gave me the ok, i went forward and even took out a monthly membership to the csb fieldhouse. and that’s when i really got going with c-2-5k. the fieldhouse had a track where i could measure exactly how far i ran. i went full tilt starting the beginning of november.
by christmas i’d lost almost 30 lbs. and was able to run a mile non-stop. in march, i finally ran a 5k non-stop. in july, i was down 50 lbs. summer was a little weird with events and stuff, and my weight was a little stagnant until september when i was down 55.
i didn’t count calories. i tried to eat a little less, ate more veggies and fruits, tried to eat less carbs. but stuff happens – i ate my seafood lasagna at ciatti’s over my bday and thoroughly enjoyed it. someone brought cake to work? i had a piece. there’s a brownie at my grandma’s house she offers? yes, please.
but i was pretty much only drinking water and iced tea. still no hfcs. trying to eat a little healthier. and i ran.
and now here i am, below 200 lbs for the first time in probably 14 years. i graduated from high school at 180, yo-yoed through college and left st. ben’s at about 220. when i started hanging out with the gays, i gained 10-15, then another 10 or so when i met nate (date nights…fancy supper). when i got married, i was about 245. somewhere in there, i gained another 20.
when i got bloodwork done at my high weight, my triglycerides were getting close to the warning level. a year after i’d started running, they were so low they couldn’t get a count on them. how awesome is that?
and the nice thing is that as i’m losing weight, i’m also gaining muscle, which means that the last time i weighed what i do, i wore a size or so bigger, so i look like i’ve lost more weight than i have. my legs have muscles! i can see my arm muscles! look at my somewhat visible collarbones! holy cow i can actually SEE my rib bones on my chest! (above the boobies, people.) people mistake me for liz all the time now and vice versa.
but here’s the thing that you have to know: i never had any self-image issues. i never hated my body or myself when i weighed 268. being that size was more of a nuisance than anything else. clothes didn’t fit me the way i wanted them to. some seats got clausterphobic. i actually had my hip fall asleep in a theater seat once. my boobs were ginormous and spendy (large-cup bras cost a pretty penny) and got and in the way ALL THE TIME (well, the boob stuff all still kind of applies…).
and i actually wonder if my weight was a detriment when i was looking for jobs in 2006 – 20 interviews and before getting a job? then in 2012 (after losing 50 lbs) i have ONE interview and get it?
NEITHER HERE NOR THERE. onward and upward, i say! i don’t FEEL different on the inside, but when i see pictures of when i was my heaviest, i say, holy cow. i look like a different person.
everyone always asks what a goal is, right? (although i haven’t had anyone ask me that personally, the loseit subreddit always asks.) BMI tells me the high end should be 168 or so. that sounds reasonable – that’s what i weighed in 11th grade. even if i don’t get to that, i’ll be happy. i’m happy NOW. i was happy at 268! but now i’m happy, healthy, and definitely more comfortable. (ps – here’s a PSA for c-2-5k. if you are wanting to get in shape and have a penchant for beating self-goals [i was never a team-player, myself], couch-2-5k could be the way to go. check out my post on how to do it.)
this month marks the 2nd year – SECOND YEAR- that i’ve been running. omg! that is nuts to me. in november 2011, i got my $20/month membership to the st. ben’s fieldhouse and used the track 3 times a week doing couch to 5k. two years later, here i am. i still run slow. i still plod along. but i am doing it! here are some tips. homer again because i always feel like this when i run.
1. make it a personal game with yourself. sure, you can get running buddies who force you to get out there and hit the pavement, but no one is going to make you do it but you. if you don’t have that mindset, you aren’t going to feel any sort of reward. i love it when i get a personal best.
2. get good gear. when i started out, i was wearing two bras (an underwire with a $10 sports bra over it) and a pair of crappy tennis shoes. an awesome bra and a pair of CORRECT running shoes will do wonders; they will help your joints and save the sag.
3. even if you go slow, still go. i can’t run a 10 minute mile. i can barely break a 12 minute mile. that doesn’t matter; at least i’m still out there running and breaking a sweat.
4. get pumped up. if listening to podcasts is your thing, then listen to them while you run. if listening to christmas music is it, then so be it. personally, my playlist is full of britney spears, prince, kesha, and flogging molly (quite the eclectic array, i know).
5. just do it. nike’s right. no excuses. what else were you going to do tonight? try to figure out what to watch on netflix for an hour? stare at cats on reddit for an hour? read crappy literature for an hour? (fyi – i never read crappy literature.) you can carve an hour or less out of your day to do this. what else were you going to do?
i did decide to bring along a water bottle and some refueling snacks for the longer runs. the general advice out there is if you’re going to be running for more than an hour, you need to bring water and something to eat (but especially water so you don’t get deyhdrated). 
